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Back to Chef Esteban’s Basque Home March 20‐28, 2015 Day to Day Itinerary Depart the United States March 19, 2015 Day 1 │March 20, 2015 │ Independent Arrival in Barcelona, Spain [D] Highlight: Walking Tapas Tour Arrive independently in Barcelona, Spain and transfer on your own from the airport to the hotel. The trip begins in the energy driven city of Barcelona with its incredible museums and architecture, and one of the most evolving food scenes on the planet. You’ll check into the Hotel Colon, a family run, four‐star hotel (www.colonhotelbarcelona.com) in the centrally located Gothic Quarter. In the evening you will meet your Barcelona food‐guide for a walking tour and tasting dinner through a few of the city’s acclaimed tapas bars. Day 2 │ March 21, 2015 │Penedés [B, L] Highlight: Winery estate tour, tasting and lunch After a buffet breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, you will meet a young local wine expert and depart by motorcoach for a one hour drive into the Penedés wine region. Your destination is one of the region’s top family run wine estates, where you will board a four‐wheel drive vehicle for a tour of their estate, ending on a mountain ridge with an incredible view of the Mediterranean Sea. After the estate tour, you’ll taste their wines and enjoy a wine‐paired lunch with the family. After your meal you will board the motorcoach for the return drive to your Barcelona Hotel. Dinner this evening is on your own. Day 3 │ March 22, 2015 │ Basque Country [B, L] Highlight: Guggenheim Museum tour in Bilbao & San Sebastian After a buffet breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, the group will check‐out of the hotel and board a motorcoach to the airport. 707 Fourth St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 │ (707) 526‐2922 │www.foodandwinetrails.com │ CST: 1005413‐10 You’ll board a domestic flight to the city of Bilbao. A local guide will meet the group at the airport in Bilbao where you will board a motorcoach and drive to architect Frank Gehry’s critically acclaimed Guggenheim museum for a tour. Lunch will follow at a local restaurant. After lunch you will drive an hour or so north east to the beautiful beachside city of San Sebastian, a city that features more Michelin rated restaurants than anywhere else in Europe and is near the home of Chef Rose’s Basque family Your accommodation for the next four nights will be at one of the city’s most prestigious (and recently remodeled) properties, Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra (www.hlondres.com/en). Dinner this evening is on your own so you can explore the city’s many dining options. The next few days are designed to show you why San Sebastian has become the center of Spain and Europe’s food scene. Day 4 │ March 23, 2015 │ San Sebastian, Basque Country [B, D] Highlight: Chef led market tour and cooking class & Basque Culinary Center dinner Enjoy breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant and meet the group in the hotel lobby. Chef Rose will start your day by guiding you through the city’s lively public market. Your goal is to shop for ingredients that you will prepare under his guidance at the newly opened Basque Culinary Center. The afternoon is free to enjoy your luxurious resort, the adjacent beach or the vibrant city scene. In the evening you will head to the Basque Culinary Center for a cooking class led by Chef Esteban and a local Basque chef. Dinner this evening will be enjoying the fruits of your labor! Day 5 │ March 24, 2015 │Cantábrico Coast, Basque Country [B, L] Highlight: Introduction the fishing and wine traditions of the Basque coast After breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, you will board a motorcoach and drive to the beautiful Cantábrico Coast to discover the fishing traditions of the Basque Country, considered by many to have the world’s best seafood. The specialty here is canned fish which is more expensive and more prized than fresh. You’ll visit a fish processing plant, followed by lunch at a restaurant afterwards that specializes in fish. Continue to the outskirts of nearby Zarautz to discover its famed Txakoli wines, made with local grape varieties that grow on terraces overlooking the sea. Visit a charming family‐owned winery and enjoy a guided tasting of what many consider to be the world’s best seafood wine. For those who wish, you can take an hour walk along the spectacular coast and return independently via public transit, or head back to San Sebastian with the group. Dinner this evening is on your own. 707 Fourth St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 │ (707) 526‐2922 │www.foodandwinetrails.com │ CST: 1005413‐10 Day 6 │ March 25, 2015 │ San Sebastian [B, D] Highlight: Independent day and Chef‐led dinner at Cofradía Vasca de Gastronomía Enjoy your breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant before you depart on your own and enjoy a free day to explore San Sebastian. Tonight you are in for a special treat. San Sebastian is unique in many ways, but unlike many cultures, here the men form clubs to cook. This evening you will visit one of these clubs. Traditionally for men only (today some clubs allow women to join) these cooking clubs are a tradition that goes back to the 19th century, visits are only allowed with an invitation from a member. Each society has its own recipes, mostly created through the years of experience of its members. They are widely considered to be the reason that the Basques have had such gastronomic success in the world. Dinners here are like eating with family, and it’s normal that a meal ends with a game of cards or singing. This will be as close as you can come to experiencing the cultural life of Basque Country. Day 7 │ March 26, 2015 │ La Rioja [B, L] Highlight: La Rioja winery tour, tasting, and lunch After breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, you will check‐out of your room and met the group in the hotel lobby and board a motorcoach and drive to the La Rioja region. One of Spain’s most famous wine regions due in part an phylloxera outbreak in nearby Bordeaux that forced wine growers to go to La Rioja to grow their grapes. You will visit two acclaimed “bodegas” or wineries and at one, enjoy a traditional regional luncheon. You will continue on to the region’s capital city of Logroño, where you will check‐in for the night’s accommodations at the beautiful Hotel Marques de Vallejo (www.hotelmarquesdevallejo.com/en). The evening is yours to enjoy the city streets lined with lively tapas bars and dine on your own. Day 8 │ March 27, 2015 │ Segovia & Madrid [B, L, D] Highlight: Lunch in Segovia & Farewell dinner in Madrid Begin the day with breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant before checking‐out of your room and meeting the group in the hotel lobby. You will board the motorcoach and drive to Segovia. Segovia is famous for three things — the fairy‐tale Alcázar Castle where Spain’s Queen Isabella married Ferdinand in 1474, the well preserved and still functioning Roman aqueduct, and the restaurant Meson de Candido. Set in a beautiful 18th century building, Candido is widely considered to be the home of one of Spain’s most iconic dishes: “cochinillo asado” or roasted baby pig. You’ll have a chance to first tour the city and then have lunch at Candido, where the owner will proudly carve the tender roasted pig with a plate, as is their tradition. 707 Fourth St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 │ (707) 526‐2922 │www.foodandwinetrails.com │ CST: 1005413‐10 After lunch you will board the motorcoach for the drive to Madrid. Your last night accommodations are at the perfectly located 4‐star Madrid property, Hotel Las Letras (www.hoteldelasletras.com/en). Join your group for a final farewell dinner at one of the city’s best local restaurants. Day 9 │ March 28, 2015 │Madrid & Depart for the US [B] Enjoy breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant and check‐out of your room. For those returning to the US, you will need to arrange your own transportation to the Madrid airport. If you wish to extend your stay in Europe, your Food & Wine Trails Travel Consultant can assist you with your desired travel services. Tour Price: $3,999.00 double occupancy Single Supplement: $549.00 Includes*: Tour host services of Chef Esteban (Steve) Rose, 8‐Nights 4‐star hotel accommodations, local English‐speaking culinary guides, local land transportation by motorcoach, breakfast daily, 5 lunches served with Spanish wine, 4 dinners served with Spanish wine, private cooking class with souvenir recipe book, tours, tastings, and activities as outlined in itinerary, all entrance fees , and some local taxes. Not included: Roundtrip international airfare, arrival and departure airport transfers, meals and beverages not outlined in itinerary, passport fees, inoculations, or travel insurance, guide and driver gratuities, Barcelona hotel city tax of 1.25€ per person, per night, and all items of a personal nature. *Food & Wine Trails reserves the right to change suppliers and activities to comparable providers if necessary. 707 Fourth St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 │ (707) 526‐2922 │www.foodandwinetrails.com │ CST: 1005413‐10