Category: Castilla y León

Peñafiel

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This destination is the second stop of the Birthday Road Trip.

Day One-continued…

We arrived to Peñafiel in the late afternoon on a Friday, and we met up with our friends who were coming from all parts of Spain, to join us on our weekend festivities. Peñafiel is a charming town located at the heart of the wine country of Ribera del Duero in the province of Valladolid in the region Castilla y León.  Its first distinctive feature is a castle atop a giant rock “peña” mountain, with expansive views of the beautiful vineyards.

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Some of the famous wineries of this area are  Vega Sicilia, Pingus, Abadia Retuerta, Alion, Mauro and Protos.  If you want to purchase or sample wines from smaller wineries you can stop at the wine shop in town, Vinos Ojosnegros.

Another distinctive site, is the “Plaza del Coso”, a bullfighting ring completely enclosed by private residences dating from the middle ages.  It is really spectacular to enter through a small opening on the housing block to find this singular space with the castle in the background.

detail of the balconies

Day Two- After breakfast some people walked around the city, visited the Plaza del Coso and then we met for our first planned activity: a tour of the Protos winery.  We chose this winery not only for the quality of the wine, but also because their modern building was designed by the British architect Richard Rogers.  You have to make reservations ahead of time for their wonderful one and a half hour tour, which takes you through their cellars built on the natural caves under the mountain. You can see from afar the multiple chimneys that ventilate these underground spaces.

After the fabulous wine tasting, we went to lunch at Asados Mauro, whose specialty is the most delicious “lechazo”, young lamb roasted on firewood.  Other delicacies of the region are Flor de Esgueva cheese, sopa castellana, the dessert Ponche Segoviano and of course all the wines.

After lunch, most went back to the hotel for a siesta, but the most active of the bunch toured the castle. We all reconvened for the official birthday dinner party that lasted until 3:30 am the next day.

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Sleep: There are many wonderful lodging options ranging from small boutique hotels on specific vineyards such as Hotel AF Pesquera. We decided to stay in the heart of town in the Hotel Convento las Claras. We were hosting over 80 guests so we chose this very well equipped hotel and the lawn/pool area had great views of the castle which was lit at night.

Coming Soon: Day Three: Roa and Aranda del Duero

Day Trip: Segovia and Day One of Road Trip to Peñafiel

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To celebrate my husband’s and brother’s big birthday we decided to throw a huge party in Peñafiel, home to its famed castle and the center of many wonderful Ribera del Duero wines.

Day One: We departed north from Madrid towards Peñafiel. We were traveling with a good friend who had never been to Segovia and decided to stop there for lunch at our favorite place to eat “cochinillo” (suckling pig), Mesón de Cándido.  We got a little bit lost along the way, because my husband took a wrong exit, and it was close to 4:00pm, so I called to inquire if they were still serving lunch.  The man who answered the phone decided to stay on line with us as we drove, giving us detailed directions, precisely predicting each rotonda and marker we would pass, until we would physically reach him, waiting for us, standing below the roman aqueduct. Wearing his white chef smock, he was Cándido, the grandson, of the family of Cándidos who own this famed restaurant with views to the Aqueduct.  Press the link above to read more about the history of this family and the restaurant.  I have taken various family members and friends, at different times to celebrate big birthdays. Cándido conducts a ritual of the cutting of the pig with the edge of the plate, followed by the smashing of the plate.  A video of this ritual from our 2007 visit, celebrating my niece’s 15th bday is below.

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The Roman Aqueduct from the first century A.D. spans 15km of arcs formed by granite blocks. Of special note is the double archway overlooking the Azoguejo plaza.

Post lunch we stopped by the river park, Alameda de Fuencisla, to capture the views of the Alcazar de Segovia. This less visited area of Segovia has the Convent of San Juan de la Cruz and the not to be missed, romanesque Church of Vera Cruz. This church has a very interesting dodectagonal plan, and in its center, it has a small two-level “edículo” or temple.  You can read more about it on the link above.  We were able to peak inside, moments before a wedding.  My little nieces believed the “tale” that the bride was the princess who lived in the castle above.

Alameda de Fuencisla
Church of Vera Cruz and Segovia skyline
View of top and lower floor of the central “edículo” or central temple
Detail of the stair to the upper level of the edículo, with the flags of the Order of Malta
Plan of the church
lower level of circular central temple

Of course, Segovia offers much more to see, and it merits a long day trip from Madrid.  I will eventually add more sights to see. The first stop would be the Alcazar or castle which is rumored to be the source of inspiration to Disney’s Cinderella castle.  It offers great guided tours, for more info press on the link. Proceed to walk the city’s core and cathedral.

We proceeded to our final destination of day one of our weekend festivities: Peñafiel.