Iberian Traveler blog

The Casa de Misericordia, owners of the bullring, has selected the work of one of its past presidents, the artist Ignacio Cía Iribarren, for this year’s feria poster, which celebrates 50 years of the Feria in Pamplona. Ignacio Cía has been a member of the Misericordia for 30 years and a member of the bull commission for 42 years.

Fiesta de San Fermín 2008 - Special Festival Programs

Iberian Traveler, along with our friends and associates in Pamplona, have put together a series of programs to help you enjoy your stay, capture the excitement and greatly enhance the overall experience of this truly unique fiesta, one of the largest in Spain and among the most popular in Europe, and known around the world.

“Txupinazo” Program - At noon on the 6th of July the txupinazo, the ceremonial rockets, are fired from the upper balcony of the Town Hall building, officially opening the fiesta as thousands of people, dressed in white, hold their pañuelicos, the traditional red bandannas, aloft for a bless-ing from San Fermín, Pamplona and Navarra’s patron saint. The crowd begins to gather in the Town Hall Square, Plaza around 10:00 am, singing and cheering San Fermín, while they await the firing of the first rocket. When the rockets begin to explode high overhead the crowd waves their pañuelicos as the corks of thousands of bottles of Cava (Spain’s excellent champagne) explode all around them. The square itself erupts into song and dance as the nine-day fiesta begins.

Through our association we are able to offer our clients exclusive use of balconies overlooking the Town Hall Square, a privileged place where you can watch the event unfold before your eyes and share the emotion with the crowd gathered below. Our guides will meet you at a location in the casco viejo, the Old City, at 10:00 in the morning and accompany you to the balcony where they will explain the history and traditions associated with Sanfermines and the “txupinazo” while you enjoy a selection of typical snacks and cava to toast the beginning of the fiesta.

The Txupinazo Program (5 hours) will conclude with our special celebration lunch at the Nuevo Casino, a private social club above the famous Iruña Café in the Plaza del Castillo where Chef Jorge Gracia will offer you a tasting menu of his new Navarran cuisine. This program is limited. Please contact us regarding price and availability.


Encierro, the “running of the bulls” - The encierro takes place each morning at 8:00 from the 7th through the 14th of July. The six bulls and six steers are driven from the corral near the bottom of C/Santo Domingo by the shepherded after the first rocket is fired warning the runners that the gate is open. The second rocket lets the runners know that the last bull has left the corral. The bulls, which weigh between 500 and 700 kg, can cover the 830-meter distance in approxi-mately 3 minutes on the average if everything goes according to plan. The uphill stretch along Santo Domingo can take as little as 30 seconds, leaving the runners little room for error as they count the seconds. The bulls have traditionally been in the lead only until they reach C/Estafeta, when the larger, slower moving steers take over, but recent improvements along the route have resulted in more of the fighting bulls maintaining the lead through the turn from Mercaderes onto Estafeta, resulting in a faster, and somewhat unpredictable encierro as the week progresses and the steers slow down even more.


VIP Balcony Program - This program gives you a place on a balcony in a private home situ-ated along the route, on either the 1st or 2nd level, depending on the property and its location. You will meet with the guide at 6:30 the morning of your reservation at a location just outside of the Old City. The guide will then escort you to your balcony and remain with you until the run is completed, answering any questions you may have concerning the encierro. Those clients staying at one of our select hotels in the modern city will be picked up by our bus service and driven to the meeting place. Snacks are provided and there will be a television so that you can watch the replay of the run.

This program includes our special buffet breakfast at the Nuevo Casino in the Plaza del Castillo following the encierro. This program is included for one morning with all of our Standard Hotel Packages. This program is limited to 35 people/day. Additional VIP Balcony Programs can be added at a cost of €125/person/day + 16% IVA.


Standard Balcony Program - This program is similar to the VIP Program regarding balcony locations, but without the special breakfast, and is included for one morning as part of our Basic Hotel Package. A Standard Balcony Program can be added at a cost of only €85/person + 16% IVA, including the private transfer in the morning. This program is limited to a total of 100 people/day.


Probe de mi Program - The private balcony for the closing ceremony on the 14th will allow you to witness, as well as participate, in the candle-light ceremony that takes place at midnight in the Town Hall Square when thousands of Pamplonesa converge once again in Plaza Consistorial to say good-bye to another fiesta and begin the countdown to Sanfermín 2009. The Probe de mi Program can be added at a cost of €85/person + 16% IVA. This program is limited to 30 people.


Excursions and Lunch Programs - We offer a variety of excursions in a around the city, in-cluding a chance to sample the traditional gastronomy of Navarra at one of our select restaurants between the 6th and 13th of July


7, 9 & 12 July - A visit to the casco viejo, the Old City - After a post-encierro breakfast, we will walk along the streets and learn about the history and origins of the city of Pamplona and for a while, trace the steps of the famous Pilgrims Route of Santiago, which runs through the heart of the Old City on its way south to the historical village of Puente la Reina on the Camino de Santiago. You will have a chance to watch and follow the “Gigantes y Gabezudos”, the giants and big heads, as the daily procession moves and dances its way through the casco viejo followed by hundreds of children and their parents.

An added bonus on the 7th is the chance to join the main procession of San Fermín as the saint is moved from the Capilla de San Fermín following the 10:00 AM mass. The procession slowly winds its way through the narrow streets of the Old City accompanied by the official city band, city dignitaries, thousands of Pamplonicas and the Gigantes and Gabezudos (giants and big heads).

Lunch will be at Restaurante El Molino Errota located in a beautifully restored stone water mill in the village of Aoiz, a short distance outside of Pamplona. Here you will be served the tra-ditional Navarran country cuisine of this classic asador (roasting house) and have a chance to learn the technique of catching a stream of cider in your glass directly from the giant oak barrels. The technique, often referred to as “a bounce”, allows the cider to bubble, giving it the texture of sparkling wine.


8 & 11 July - Bodega Tour - Located between the Sierra del Perdón and Sierra de Echauri mountains, with the Agra River acting as a natural boundary, the Bodega Otazu on the Señorío de Otazu, a 115-hectare estate, is the northernmost area in Navarra, and Spain, for growing rich, complex and aromatic red wines. Although influenced by the Atlantic climate, the natural barrier formed by the Rio Agra, the local oak forest and popular groves, combine to trap the heat and help create a mild microclimate unique to the region. A 19th century French-style wine cellar is located in the center of the estate, which is comprised of the Palace, the ancestral home dating from the middle ages, the 17th century Hermitage in the gardens behind the Palace, the 13th cen-tury Romanesque Church of St. Esteban, and the Dove Tower, once a military fortification and characteristic of those still found in the valley of Echauri, is in near perfect condition.

Following the tour and tasting, we will depart for the village of Lumbier, 37 kms east of Pamplona at the confluence of the Salazar and Irati Rivers, and the Restaurant Aristu, where José and Asun will offer us a gastronomic experience, their “cuisine with feeling”.


10 & 13 July - Finca La Tejería - The Casta Navarra is a small bull-raising ranch located south of Pamplona where the Navarrese fighting bulls are bred. This breed of Toro Bravo is known as being agile, alert, rather nervous and highly aggressive and was very popular between the 18th and mid-19th centuries before loosing out to a new bullfighting style that favored a larger, slightly less aggressive animal, therefore presenting fewer complications for the matador, but their aggres-sive nature has been more in demand the last few years, especially in the south.
The visit to the Finca La Tejería begins with an explanation of the process in the recovery of the Navarrese breed of fighting bull, followed by a walk in the countryside where you will have the opportunity to safely approach the bulls on their open range, feed them, and take part in some of the routine chores associated with cattle farming in Navarra.

The visit will end with a “comida campera”, a picnic style lunch at the farm’s small bullring.

All of our Excursions and Lunch Programs can be added at a cost of only €160/person + 7% IVA, and are limited to a total of 35 people/day.

Additional tours before, during and following the fiesta:

1. A day in Orreaga/Roncesvalles – The pass at Roncesvalles is the traditional route followed by the Pilgrims on the Road to Santiago de Compostela arriving from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pays Basque (France). The area is famous for its excellent beef, pork, lamb, wild game, pâtés and world-renowned cheeses such as Idiazábal (sheep).

Not to be missed:

Ibañeta Pass and Roland (La Chanson de Roland)
The Collegiate Church of Roncesvalles
Auritz/Burguete
Aurizberri/Espinal
Romerías – pilgrimage to Orreaga/Roncesvalles on Sundays in the spring.
"Los bolantes de Luzaide-Valcarlos" on Easter Sunday.
Cattle branding in Sorogain – May and September.


2. A visit to the Irati Forest – The largest beech-spruce forest in Europe.

Not to be missed:

A stroll through the Irati forest
The Irabia reservoir – The reservoir can be reached on foot from the hermitage of the Virgen of the Nieves (Virgin of the Snows).
The villages of Salazar and Aezkoa valleys – Small villages with stone street, hórreos (granaries) and manor houses with their coats of arms.
The ancient dances at Muskilda – 16 July and 8 September.


3. The beautiful Baztan valley – The land of noblemen, green meadows and rolling hills.

Not to be missed:

The famous witches cave of Zugarramurdi
The caves of Urdazube/Urdax (beautiful stalactites and stalagmites)
Noble houses in Arriaoz, Irurita and Elizondo.
Museo Santxotena (Arizkun) – outdoor sculptures park.
Museo Etnográfico (Elizondo)
Waterfall in Erratzu

The Hemingway Suite, room 201, retains some of the original furnishings (room 217) from when Papa stayed here in 1923. The double occupancy room, with a huge bathroom, typical of the hotel, has two balconies overlooking C/Estafeta, about 60 meters down from La Curva, offering one of the best vantage points in Pamplona to witness the encierro, the “running of the bulls”.

The cartel for Sanfermín 2007 has finally been announced!

Día 5 de julio a las 19,30 horas - Seis novillos-toros, desecho de tienta y cerrado, de MIRANDA DE PERICALVO, de Galindo y Perahuy (Salamanca), con divisa celeste y blanca. Señal: Despuntada la derecha y orejisana la izquierda, para los novilleros: PÉREZ MOTA, PEPE MORAL y ROBERTO ARMENDÁRIZ - un novillo-toro, cuyas defensas están despuntadas, de una ganadería a designar, para el rejoneador navarro
ROBERTO ARMENDÁRIZ

Día 6 de julio - Seis toros, cuyas defensas están despuntadas, de la ganadería de D. FERMÍN BOHÓRQUEZ, de Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), con divisa Verde y encarnada. Señal: Hoja de higuera en la izquierda y corte en la derecha. Para los rejoneadores: FERMÍN BOHÓRQUEZ, PABLO HERMOSO DE MENDOZA y SERGIO GALÁN

Día 7 de julio - Seis toros de DÑA. DOLORES AGUIRRE YBARRA, de Constantina (Sevilla), con divisa amarilla y azul. Señal: despuntada en ambas orejas. Para los diestros: UCEDA LEAL, SERAFÍN MARÍN e IVÁN VICENTE.

Día 8 de julio - Seis toros de MIURA, de Lora del Rio (Sevilla) con divisa verde y grana. Señal: hendido y muesca en la izquierda y despuntada con golpe en la derecha. 
 Para los diestros: LUIS MIGUEL ENCABO, RAFAEL RUBIO "RAFAELILLO" y FERNANDO ROBLEÑO.

Día 9 de julio - Seis toros de FUENTE YMBRO, de San José del Valle (Cádiz), con divisa verde. Señal: punta de lanza en ambas orejas. Para los diestros: ANTONIO FERRERA, MATÍAS TEJELA y SALVADOR CORTÉS.

Día 10 de julio - Seis toros de HROS. de DON JOSÉ CEBADA GAGO, de Medina Sidonia (Cádiz), con divisa colorado y verde. Señal: zarcillo en ambas orejas. Para los diestros: LÓPEZ CHAVES, JUAN BAUTISTA y ALEJANDRO TALAVANTE.

Día 11 de julio - Seis toros de JANDILLA, de Mérida (Badajoz), con divisa azul. Señal: Horquilla en ambas. Para los diestros: FRANCISCO MARCO, EL CID y EL FANDI.

Día 12 de julio - Seis toros de GANADERÍA MARQUÉS DE DOMECQ, de Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), con divisa azul y amarilla. Señal: punta de espada en ambas orejas. Para los diestros: JESULÍN DE UBRIQUE, SEBASTIÁN CASTELLA y ALEJANDRO TALAVANTE.

Día 13 de julio - Seis toros de D. ANTONIO BAÑUELOS, de Hontomín (Burgos) con divisa Rojo carmesí y pardo. Señal: Orejisana en ambas. Para los diestros: JULIÁN LÓPEZ "EL JULI", SEBASTIÁN CASTELLA y JOSÉ MARÍA MANZANARES.

Día 14 de julio - Seis toros de D. VICTORINO MARTÍN ANDRÉS, de Portezuelo (Cáceres), con divisa azul y encarnada. Señal: hoja de higuera en ambas orejas. Para los diestros: PEPÍN LIRIA, ANTONIO FERRERA y FERNANDO CRUZ

















During our post-Christmas excursion through Catalunya, we were fortunate to have the time to take a leisurely tour of several pueblos con encanto, charming villages dating from the Middle Ages, all beautifully well-preserved.


From our base at the newly redecorated Parador high atop the Sau reservoir outside of Vic, we recently took a memorable day trip to tiny Tavertet and slightly larger Rupit. Both are two of the most photographed, highly picturesque hilltop villages in the Barcelona province, reminiscent of the Luberon hill towns of Provence, but less manicured, far more rustic and happily, are minus the tourist hordes.


Tavertet is found well off the beaten tourist path, nestled at the end of a 13-kilometer, narrow, winding road through a forest and craggy limestone outcrops. But this a detour well worth the trouble-to discover a hidden village of remarkable beauty, tranquility and with breathtaking views. The village is so well preserved that everything looks brand new. Although the majority of the homes date from the 17th-18th centuries, the new dwellings, getaway homes for the wealthy of Barcelona, have been built following the traditional style of stone and slate so as to blend perfectly with the ancient houses. The immaculately kept town, with only 40 full time residents, consists of two main streets, a Romanesque church, a rebost (village store, bar and local hangout), one gastronomic restaurant, Faves Comptades, a few traditional inns to feed the weekend day-trippers, one cute B&B, and a few cottages to rent. Following the path from the church leading away from the town, you’ll come to a magnificent but dizzying viewpoint at the edge of the rocky cliffs of Tavertet, with indescribable views across the valley to the Sau reservoir. This hamlet is very worthy of your discovery.



Equally pretty Rupit, with its 340 inhabitants, has been well discovered, and known as one of the most beautiful villages in all of Catalunya, but it remains remarkably unspoiled. After driving the meandering road from Vic through rugged grazing lands, you will reach the 1 km. detour to the town but must leave your car in the lot in the “new” town and walk to the medieval side. Entrance to the village is via a suspension footbridge across the brook that divides the town. With its ruggedly steep streets, ancient stone houses, some dating from the 16th century and all with hanging balconies bedecked with geraniums and dried flowers at each door, medieval Rupit is as picturesque as they come. This makes for a fine stop at lunch hour, as the friendly Hostal Estrella on the main square serves rich and hearty mountain cuisine at very low prices.

Contact us about preparing a custom package for you to explore this delightful area of Catalunya.

This May’s issue of Bon Appétit magazine features an article written by cookbook author Melissa Clark about the Priorat wine region of Catalunya, “Priorat The Next Generation”.

While the Priorat is know for its heady, robust and very expensive wines, such as the pricey but prestigious Clos Mogador, there is a new generation emerging of second tier, exciting yet affordable wines from the region’s best winemakers.

The Priorat makes for an easy pre or post excursion from Barcelona, and several winemakers, such as Alvaro Palacios, Costers del Siruana and Mas Martinet eagerly open their wineries to visitors. Although the tourist infrastructure is still not nearly as highly developed as it is now in the Rioja (thanks to Frank Gehry), you will find a charming B&B or two, some great restaurants and one very luxurious manor house to use as a weekend base.

We’re great fans of the small, atmospheric and distinctive Rusticae properties, and there are now two to recommend in the Priorat: the B&B style Cal Llop (The Wolf’s Den), which has gotten rave reviews for its hospitality and food. The nine rooms and suites come equipped with Wi-Fi, plasma TV and DVDs, and it has a stellar and charming restaurant in the converted stables. And great service from a caring staff.

Further a field, you can rest and relax in 5-star splendor in the Mas Passamaner, a reconverted 1920s mansion designed by famed Modernist architect Domènech i Muntaner, complete with wellness spa and restaurant run by 2 star Michelin chef. The two Royal Suites have their own private pools. It’s also a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. And better still, you can reach the Mas Passamaner from Madrid via the high speed AVE in 3 hrs. And it’s only a 1½ hr. drive south from Barcelona.

Please contact us about arranging an exciting Barcelona city stay followed by a Priorat wine package for you.

On March 31, ’07 the new 22,000 square-meter annex designed by Navarran architect Rafael Moneo was officially presented to the press by the Minister of Culture. This new wing adds fifty per cent to the museum’s total space allowing the museum to exhibit some 500 more works from the permanent collection. This constitutes the largest expansion in the museum’s history. The expansion work was begun at the end of 2002 in the cloister of the neighboring San Jerónimo church and has cost over 152 million euros. The principal entrance will now be through the center Velázquez door facing the Paseo del Prado, and the vestibule connecting the original Villanueva building to the Moneo annex will house ticket booths, the coat check, an auditorium and new cafeteria. The annex will officially open on 30 October with a special exhibit of 19th century Spanish paintings.

Iberia has just announced new non-stop flights from Boston to Madrid beginning 6 May and from Washington D.C. to Madrid beginning 2 June. The flights will connect to Barcelona, Bilbao, Malaga, Santiago, Sevilla and Valencia.

Sale restriction: Tickets must be purchased by May 31, 2007.

Offer validity:
From Boston: Valid on flights starting May 6 up to May 15. (Departures from May 16 up to December 31, you must add $100 to prices specified).
From Washington D.C. on flights starting June 2 up to December 31, 2007.
Minimum stay: Sunday stay.
Maximum stay: 30 days
Child discounts: - Child (2-11 years): 25% of the adult fare - Infant (0-2 years): 90%, not occupying a seat.

This Sunday’s New York Times Style magazine “Spanish Major” highlights Madrid as Spain’s “coolest city”. It features several hotels, restaurants, tapas bars and shops, which we thoroughly researched during our Christmas stay in the city. Their hotel choices include the ultra slick, boutique 4-star Hotel Urban and the more moderately priced designer-on-a-budget Hotel Room Mate Alicia both perfectly located just minutes from the Prado.

The writer also hails our favorite tapas bar in this fantastic area, the Cervecería Cervantes, always lively and packed with locals, offering great canapés, grilled shrimp and the best draft beer in town. A must stop for us when staying in the neighborhood.

Of the five disciples of Ferran Adria of El Bulli mentioned, we enjoyed the creative dishes of Dario Barrio, chef of Dassa Bassa, whose three subterranean, stone, all-white dining rooms are housed in a former coal warehouse in the elegant Salamanca neighborhood.

And for the ladies, the best shop in town to buy high style rope soled espadrilles is Cristina Castañer on Claudio Coello, one of the most posh of the Salamanca district's shopping streets.

You can read the complete article at - http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/travel/tmagazine/03place.opener.13.t.html?em&ex=1174968000&en=80cee8f4a6959d05&ei=5087%0A

For more a more informative and personal look at Spain’s coolest city, you should refer to Maribel’s Guide to Madrid (http://maribelsguides.com).

By Eric Asimov

For 25 years one of the great wine stories has been the rapid transformation of sluggish, antiquated local production networks into dynamic winemakers to the world.

Nowhere has this been more striking than in Europe's longtime vinous backwaters, regions that for centuries churned out the village plonk, which was usually sold in bulk.

With the transportation and communication revolutions of the 20th century, to say nothing of the economic, social and political changes that have opened trade pretty much around the world, wine drinkers everywhere no longer had to settle for what their parents drank. They had choices.

The evolving wine business required the people who made the plonk and the farmers who sold their grapes to the people who made the plonk to fundamentally rethink what they were doing. They would have to adopt modern techniques of viticulture and winemaking to survive. And they would have to give more thought to quality and less to quantity. They would no longer have a monopoly on the local market. They would have to appeal to wine drinkers around the world.

Those changes led to a marked expansion of the market, with the possibility of undreamed-of profits and fame.

But it had a downside, too, because it came with the crucial but difficult decision that winemakers and restaurateurs face around the world: Do we give the people what they think they want? Or do we give them something that we like and can make well? In other words, do winemakers try to capitalize on what's already popular and middle-of-the-road, or do they offer something distinctive and original?

The answers to these questions are playing out in Campania and Sicily, Languedoc and the Jura, and almost everywhere in Spain and Portugal. It is the privilege and pleasure of the wine panel to look in periodically on these developing regions, to gauge how the evolution is going. But it's not always easy to come up with a definitive answer.

Such is the case with Navarre, a region in northern Spain a little northeast of Rioja. Rioja has long overshadowed its neighbor. For years Navarre was known mostly for its rosados, or roses, and after the French phylloxera crisis of the 19th century a fair amount of Navarre wine was sold in France until its vineyards had been replanted. By then, phylloxera had struck Navarre, too.

In the last 20 years, growth in Navarre has been swift, propelled by improved research and technology. Its wines, now primarily red, have been gaining a reputation for quality.

The panel tasted 25 Navarre reds from vintages ranging from 1999 to 2005 and priced from $6 to $45. For the tasting Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Roger Kugler, general manager of Suba, a Spanish restaurant in New York, and Rafael Mateo, managing partner of Ostia, a new tapas lounge in Greenwich Village.

The tasting revealed a region in transition but without a clear destination. Unlike other reborn regions, Navarre lacks both industry leaders to set examples — like the Mastroberardinos of Campania in Italy and the Palacios family of Bierzo in Spain — and distinctive indigenous grapes to carve out identities. Bierzo has its exotic mencia grape, and Campania its aglianico. But Navarre's production was built on garnacha, or grenache as it is known in French. Garnacha can be wonderful in the right circumstances, but less interesting if yields are not controlled and the soils and climate are not right.

In Navarre growers have greatly increased plantings of tempranillo, the leading grape of Rioja, and have added considerable amounts of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, as well as a little graciano, a spicy, unusual grape found occasionally in Rioja and Navarre. Often the grapes are blended together.

We found many enjoyable wines that we would not hesitate to drink. While some wines tasted of hot weather — baked fruit — the good ones balanced the fruit with acidity and so were lively and would be particularly good with grilled meats. But few of these wines were distinctive. Generic would not be too strong a word.

Sometimes the results of modern blending are promising, as in the case of our No. 2 wine, the 2000 Vina Sardasol reserve from Virgen Blanca, which is 50 percent tempranillo, 30 percent cabernet and 20 percent merlot. This wine had a lot of jammy fruit, but also enough acidity to give it shape, which kept it lively and refreshing. We gave it the same score as our No. 1 wine, the 2002 Santa Cruz de Artazu, but the Artazu, made solely from garnacha, had an earthy elegance that gave it the edge.

Our No. 3 wine, the 2000 crianza from Javier Asensio, is made up of 50 percent cabernet, 30 percent merlot and 20 percent tempranillo. It had a surprising juiciness that reminded me of a barbera. The 2001 Arteaga crianza, our best value, was deliciously spicy and fruity, and only $13.50.

Despite the various combinations of grapes, we didn't find a lot of variety in the wines. The profile was narrow, the range small. For now, at least, the bottom line on Navarre reds is good value, good wines for a barbecue, but little excitement.