Abroad Adventures: Tarragona & Wine Cellar Tour

Hola!

Sorry I haven't been able to post in a long time... I've been so busy with midterms (yes I do actually go to school here) and other things. This past week and a half has been one of the craziest but most fun I've had while I've been in Spain so there will be many blog posts coming your way very soon.

On March 1, my roommates and I went with our program on a day trip to a wine cellar and to Tarragona. We had to be on the bus to get there at 8:45 and somehow we managed to make it there in time since we were going on 2 hours of sleep! (Not one of our smartest moves on our part staying out until 6am the night before!)

The bus ride was only an hour and we arrived at a wine cellar and vineyard. It was a cute area and a different part of Spain I hadn't seen before. When we got there, it was pretty windy and cold and we were not prepared for this type of weather. Our guides were really nice and had been working at the vineyard for a long time; it has been a part of their family for years. They took us out into the fields, explained how they pick the grapes and the process that goes into fermenting the grapes. Then we took a tour of the inside building and saw the bottles where the finished product goes, the big containers of wine and all the boxes of wine that get sold. Finally, we got to try the wine they make! They drink them out of different containers than regular glasses - it had a little spout and you had to hold it up high above your mouth and have enough coordination to get it into your mouth! It was actually pretty hard and I (obviously) spilled all over me. We then had the chance to buy wine that they made. After being there for about 2 hours, we went back on the bus and headed over to the restaurant to have lunch.

The lunch place they took us was a typical Catalan restaurant. It was a 4 course meal and we didn't even have to pay! At first, we had bread (which you usually have to pay for in Spain), then we got these long onions and artichokes that you dipped in this tomato like sauce. The onions were sweet and you had to peel the outer layer off to get to the part you can eat. They weren't regular onions but long, skinny with green on the top. It was...interesting. The next course was salad with anchovies and grilled peppers and eggplant on the side. I ate the salad but I am not a big anchovies fan! After the salad, the main course came. We had sausage, french fries and white beans. It was so good! I had a hard time finishing all the food because I had eaten so much bread before the main dish even came! Finally, desert was a custard like thing with all kinds of fruit in it. As amazing as the food was, the best part was the free water that we had with it. Like bread, you have to pay for water at restaurants. We totally took advantage of the free water and drank as much as we could. I know when I get back to the states I will never take advantage of the free water again.

After lunch, we had an hour bus ride to the town of Tarragona which was perfect since everyone was in a food coma and needed a nap. Tarragona is an old town in Spain that has a deep history. In the 1800s, it was held under siege until it was captured by the Anglo-Spanish in 1813. Many of the old ruins are still there which is what we saw. We saw the Cathedral which was built in the 12-13th century, the underneath part of the Roman Circus and the Amphitheater. Tarragona was much different than Barcelona, it was much older, smaller and the buildings were more made of stone and brick.