The sun shone brightly all week for the 44 members who had joined the Spanish Culture and Cuisine tour, visiting Almagro and Jaen and the 2 UNESCO World Heritage towns of Úbeda and Baeza. Our first two nights were spent in the historic Parador de Almagro, a former Franciscan convent located a few minutes’ walk from the Plaza de Mayor.
Our guide explained many of the interesting sights in Almagro, and our visit included the Corral de Comedias, the only theatre of its kind built in the 17th century that is preserved in Europe.
On the second day we visited Encomienda de Cervera, in the heart of the Campo de Calatrava Volcanic Massif, first touring the estate by coach to see the volcanic area, with olive oil tasting at a beautiful viewpoint.
Next followed the winery visit (pouring our own red wine for the tasting!).
and a tapas lunch, with more tasting of white and red wine.
Enroute to Úbeda we stopped for a tour of the olive oil cooperative, Picualia, regarded as one of the main contributors to the revolution that has shaken the olive oil industry in recent years. The director accompanied us, explaining the process of making olive oil, from the olive on the branch to the oil in the bottle. A tasting of olive oil came next, followed by an excellent lunch with wine.
We spent the next 3 nights at the Parador de Úbeda, originally built as the residence of the chaplain of the funeral chapel of El Salvador, it was the first palace to be converted into a Parador. It is located in a central square where it shares space with some of the most outstanding monuments of the town, and is beautifully lit up at night.
During the next few days we had free time for sightseeing in Jaén and Baeza, both of major historical interest.
On our last evening, it was drinks all round as we sang happy birthday to 2 lovely ladies who shared their birthdays with us all on tour, Jane Ireland and Pauline Speer. Everyone then gave a round of applause and warm congratulations to Pauline & Peter Speer, who were celebrating their 62nd wedding anniversary the same day.
We would like to thank everyone on the tour for making it such a fun and enjoyable trip. Angela & Tony, group leaders Spanish Culture and Cuisine.
Photos: Angela & Sieglinde
