A Visit to a Winery and Burgos

Most of the time, I like planning my own trups.  I have done group travel a few times and while it is convenient I generally prefer to strike out on my own.  Sometimes it is nice to relax and have someone arrange everything for you however, which is what I did this weekend when I took a trip with a travel group to Burgos.  There are several companies which help set up trips and tours outside of Madrid for foreigners.  I had wanted to tour a winery for a while and this was a very affordable option, especially since the transportation was included in the cost of the trip.

                After catching an early bus from Madrid, I ended up in Ribera del Duero, a wine country about two hours north of Madrid.  We started with a wine tour at Portia Bodegas.  I had never toured a full winery before and it was interesting to learn about the purpose of each room.  Even the architecture was significant, the building was designed so that trucks would be able to drop off crates of grapes from the surrounding fields  easily.  We saw the vats where the wine is fermented and then got to see the wine cellars.  After that we had the main event: the wine tasting.  We got to try two samples of the same wine, one was aged a year longer than the other.  It was interesting to learn about the subtle differences that come from just a year of difference.

We then headed onto Burgos.  At this point, we had the option of staying with the group or going off on our own, which I chose to do.  The city almost seemed like it could be a small town in Southern France.  The main cathedral was inspired by Notre Dame and the inside is beautiful as well.  If you cover up the gothic spires in the image above, you will see what I mean.  This cathedral hosts several reliquaries as we as the tomb of El Cid, so it is a must see.

                The other excursion I had time for was visiting the castle, although to be honest, there was not much there.  This is because most of it was destroyed during the French occupation in 1813.  Despite the size, it is still worth a visit.  It was fascinating to see how well preserved the remains of the castle are, despite being slightly overgrown by plants.  Additionally, the view of the city made the hike worth it!  As you can see, the catherdral I visited earlier is very prominent in the city.

                There was so much to do in Burgos.  There is the Museum of Human Evolution, as well as a monastery.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to visit those as I had to make sure I caught the bus back to Madrid.  That is one downside of group travel, you are always on someone else’s schedule.  It was worth it however, I can’t imagine how much work went into scheduling that wine tour and the bus ride out there.  Perhaps I will have to make another trip to Burgos in the future!