Tours and guides to the Basque Country and Northern Spain

Basque Food

Basque Country and Rioja for gourmets

Day One

San Sebastian, the pearl of the Cantabrian sea with its shell shaped bay, wide, tree lined boulevards and protected fishing harbour is the ideal spot to begin our Basque adventure. We meet in the lobby of the Londres Hotel on the beach overlooking La Concha Bay to begin a walking tour of the city which takes us through the historic old part and center of town with special attention to the Art Nouveau architecture, a visit to the Naval Museum and the recently restored San Vicente church.
	Tonight's welcome dinner is in a private Gastronomic Society only open to members and their guests. The chef will happily welcome those who wish into the kitchen to learn how to prepare some of the regional specialties.	Hotel de Londres-San Sebastian

Overnight: Hotel Londres
Meals: D

Day Two
This morning we will take the coastal road to Getaria, home of Magellan's navigator Elcano and the designer Balenciaga. The Balenciaga Museum opens this year in the former summer home of Fabiola, Queen of Belgium.

In the surrounding hills we will visit a wine cellar where they produce the sightly tart white wine Txakoli. Family farms have been whipped into shape since receiveing D.O staus in 1989 and the wines have a lot to show for it. Dock side freshly caught fish is grilled on open air charcoal grilled. One of them has our name on it! After lunch, the celebrated painter Ignacio Zuloaga's daughter will open his studio/museum to us. Filled with the painter's work as well as remarkable early Goyas and Rodins it is a unique monument to a life devoted to art.

Vineyards in Getaria

In the evening we will meet in San Sebastian's old part and dine as the locals do on the surprising and delicious miniature cuisine known as pintxos. A dining experience like no other. Pintxos range from the traditional grilled wild mushrooms, spicy stuffed peppers and Bellota ham to elaborate creations by young chefs trained with the greats who have decided to take their culinary talents down a new path.
Overnight: Hotel Londres.
Meals: B,L,D

Day Three
Surprises await on the French Side of the Pyrenees. Iparralde, as the French Basque Country is known, is filled with peaceful villages of red and white half timber farmhouses. Cottage industries producing delicious sheeps milk cheese, foie gras, pottery, baskets and jewelery abound.

The fishing village of San Jean de Luz grew up around a pilgrim's hospital in the middle ages. Corsaires built impressive mansions from which to watch their boats at sea.Tribute to the town's importance came in 1660 when Louis XIV, the Sun King, chose it as the site for his marriage to Maria-Theresa. After lunch we can take a walk along the dramatic cliffs of Hendaye and visit an explorer's crazy neo-gothic palace or continue up the coast to Biarritz for an afternoon of Bel Epoque glamor and exquisite shopping.

Overnight: Hotel Londres.
Meals: B,L

Day Four

Frank Gehry's acclaimed Guggenheim Museum is the focus of our morning. The titanium-clad structure remarkable in itself has been the catalyst for Bilbao's economic revival along with Sir Norman Foster's unique metro system. The changes that have taken place in Bilbao are staggering.		Cesar Pelli's plan to unify the river bed with the modern city center is in full swing. After lunch at the museum you can choose to explore Bilbao, it's shops and fascinating architecture or visit the Basque council house and the legendary Tree of Gernika made famous throughout the world by Picasso's remarkable painting.

Overnight: Hotel Londres.
Meals: B,D

Day Five

Today we head for The Rioja area, as we travel down through the Sierra de Cantabria mountain range we will have a spectacular view of the region. Our first stop is a traditional winery whose entire production is still fermented and aged in oak barrels made on the premises with excellent results. We will taste several of their efforts before a traditional Riojan lunch.		The village of Santo Domingo is an important stop on the medieval pilgrimage route to Santiago. The former pilgrim's hospital has been converted into a luxurious parador which we will call home for the next few nights. The cathedral is home to a pair of live chickens in homage to a local legend which suggests that the judge's dinner stood up and crowed to save a pilgrim wrongly accused of theft.
	Tempranillo grape: the treasure of Rioja

Overnight: Parador de Santo Domingo.
Meals: B,L

Day Six

At the base of the mountains, La Granja de Remelluri produces lovely red wines on the grounds of an old monastery. They will show us through their bodega and offer us a tasting before a lunch of roast lamb grilled over grape vines and other local specialities.

After lunch we explore the village of Laguardia. The Church of Santa Maria la Real has a unique polychromed stone portal. The entire village is built on top of a network of interconnected underground wine cellars.

At sunset we can make our way up to a prehistoric sacred spot topped by a 4000 year old funeral monument.

Overnight: Parador de Santo Domingo.
Meals: B,L

Day Seven
We return to San Sebastian by way of Pamplona, home of the running of the bulls during the Festival of San Fermin and the setting for Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises. A tour of the old city is followed by lunch in one of Papa's favorite haunts.

Late afternoon at your leisure before our celebratory farewell dinner at one of the Michelin three starred restaurants where the chef himself will greet us and offer the opportunity of a rare kitchen visit.

Overnight: Parador de Hondarribia.
Meals: B,L,D

Day Eight
Morning transfers provided to plane or train connections.

Parador in Hondarribia	Bar in San Sebastian	Basque farm

PRICE: US$ 2,075 per person, based on double occupancy. Single supplement: $365

INCLUDED:
Seven nights accomodations in unique four star hotels
All ground transportation and transfers
Meals with wine in specially chosen restaurants as indicated
Experienced guidance

TOUR DATES:
April 21-28