So when we weren't touring palaces or watching parades, we travelled around the villages of Andalucia.
One of our stops was to visit a vineyard in Montilla. Montilla is famous for making a specific type of sherry-like wine, which is sweet and dry. The wine is graded by age, the oldest wines dating from 100 years ago when the vineyard was opened, although, as you can imagine, these come at a price. The maturing of the wine takes place in large barrels, in cool rooms requiring a very specific climate. The floor is mopped every morning to keep the moisture levels up but the windows must also be opened every morning and evening to keep the air flowing and the temperature just right. The new wine is put into the top barrels, then the older wine is tapped off from the bottom of that barrel and into the one below and so on. this means the oldest, finest wine is at the bottom of the bottom barrels.
We also visited the farms around the area. Andalucia is a huge producer of olives, and much of the landscape is just olive groves as far as the eye can see, creating a very unique landscape. Even the air smells of olives. If there is one answer to 'what is Andalucian countryside like?' it's this:
Our trip was concluded with some true Spanish hospitality, as we were invited to a big family party just outside the village we were staying in. Everyone bought food, a jamon joint was carved up (a cured ham) and the largest and yummiest pot of paella was cooked up. In a moment of spontinaeity that can surely only happen in Spain, the neighbour came round to join in the fun and brought his guitar. He played some traditional Spanish guitar to entertain us, to which many members of the family started to flamenco to. A party quite unlike any other I've been to!
No comments:
Post a Comment