Ribera del duero and Province of Burgos (Day 3)
We woke up super late once again and missed our morning bird watching at Tablas Daimiel, as our bodies were still getting accustomed to the 7 hrs time difference as well as the very late lunch and dinner times in Spain. Feeling a little guilty about that, we headed towards the Plaza Mayor, 5 mins walking from the hotel to have breakfast. Soon we learnt that all museums and governmental sites there are closed on Mondays.. We really wanted to visit the Corral de comedias de Almagro ,meaning the Theatrical Courtyard, which is a preserved building of its kind from the 17th century, still in use. It is a type of open-air theater specific to Spain. During the Spanish Golden Age, in early 16th century, corrals became popular sites for theatrical presentations when the theater took on a special importance in the country. The performance was held in the afternoon and lasted two to three hours, with no intermission, and few breaks. The entertainment was continuous, including complete shows with parts sung and danced.
Sitting down for a breakfast of toast with fresh tomato puree and jamon, accompanied by orange juice and coffee at the plaza, we watched people starting their mondays over beer (yes, on a monday noon), buying lottery tickets and chatting with friends and family.
After we checked out we roamed around in the corridors of the historic building of the parador and at about 1pm we started driving towards our next destination of Lerma with a detour via Peñafiel in the province of Valladolid ,where we wanted to see the Peñafiel castle, built in the famous German gothic style. It is unique as a super long and narrow castle at 210 meters long by 33 meters wide ,and is located on a hill overlooking the valleys of Duratón and Botijas. Unfortunately this too was closed due to it being a monday.. as were some of the Ribera del Duero winery stores which peppered in that region. Fortunately one winey, the famous Tinto Pesquera, which was on our list to visit was open.
Tinto Pesquera’s 200 hectares of vineyards sits near the Duero River, in the province of Valladolid, at close to 2,400 feet in elevation. The vines grow in well-drained soils, composed of sand and gravel over a limestone and clay subsoil. This ideal combination produces the legendary silky and sumptuous Tempranillo wines of Tinto Pesquera iconic to the D.O. Ribera del Duero. We did a little tasting there, learnt a lot about their wines and of course, bought a few bottles of wine made from one of our favorite grapes.
It was close to 5.30 when we left the winery and started driving towards our second Parador hotel in Lerma. This one is located right in the Plaza Mayor of Lerma, one of the largest well preserved medieval towns (almost 7,000 square meters).
“This 17th century palace, which the Duke of Lerma had built on top of a medieval castle, was the envy of the court. A royal wedding was held here: a queen gave birth, and Napoleon Bonaparte slept here”
The palace, besides having an imposing façade with its 4 stone corner towers, can also be seen from miles away. The inside of the palace includes an inner cloister where Lope de Vega’s works were first performed 500 years ago. After we checked in, we had some local cheeses and vermouth under the central courtyard surrounded by semicircular arches supported on stone columns and admired the beautiful structure decorated with huge tapestries.
Since it was getting cloudy we decided to not go to Burgos for the evening and instead just walked around the neighborhood, cherishing each other's company in the golden glow of the setting sun on the sandstone walls and happy that we choose to stay mostly in the parador hotels , a hidden gem in deed. night. We scouted the area to familiarize ourselves with the local convents and monasteries such as the Collegiate Church of San Pedro and the Convent of San Blas.
Once again, being a monday we were told that the local asador restaurants closed early, but luckily all paradores that we went to (except one) had its own renowned restaurants serving local food and wine. We had a wonderful dinner right after sunset and called it a day!
