After a morning of more exploration following up the tips from chef Jesus Marie, I set off toward Montsant/Priorat. My plan was to stop along the way and I decided in the very late part of the afternoon that the large city of Lleida would be my destination.
The weather thus far had been somewhere between perfect and more than perfect. Warm breezy days were the counterpoint to cold nights, the best for deep sleep under luscious down comforters. But this day a storm drifted in from the north and it was cold and wet. I arrived later than hoped to Lleida but had my trusty IBIS hotel book and although the Accor Group does not have a lot of hotels yet in Spain, Lleida was listed in their 2012 book. I arrived as the dreary late afternoon was turning a dark gray and started my general wandering around the city heading to the centro part of town, looking for hotel signs. An hour later I was still wandering around looking for the hotel….or for that matter at this point, any hotel. I was having no luck. I had noticed a hotel just as I pulled off the auto pista and decided I should head back to that. It took far too long to retrace my steps but finally, and almost accidently, I found the hotel. I pulled up to the front very relieved to find my resting spot for the night but before even getting out of the car I thought better of this. Perhaps it was the proximity to the AP but somehow this did not look like the kind of place where a single woman (of any age!) should be staying. So, I turned around to return to Lleida. I headed back to the center of the city and started my hunt again for my IBIS or any other hotel that looked like a good place to rest my head. Unbelievably, I could not find any hotel that looked halfway decent (and I have stayed in my share of those) and kept looking. Thankfully as I neared the train station there was a tourist office….and this being Spain it was still open at 7:30. I drove around the block and then into the alley going the wrong way just to get somewhat close to the office (By now I am SO used to those looks…..I just smile and wave). In my best Spanish I asked about the IBIS and showed the clerk the book. Ah……turns out that this IBIS is not open yet….probably the end of March. That was both wonderful as it confirmed why I could not find the hotel, but it left me without a clue. But the clerk gave me a couple of ideas, a map and off I went. By now the rain was coming down in sheets and it was completely dark (this was a few days before day light savings in Europe) but I had a map! Let’s see….how many times did I get to practice my Spanish vocabulary and the art of asking directions?…..well, plenty. But finally I pulled up in front of the NH Lleida…..and thankfully they had a room. I am sure you can feel and hear the sigh of relief when I had parked the car, pulled my suitcase up to my room, and opened that bottle of wine.
It continued to rain, hard, the next day, which was coincidentally the 21st of March. In no time I was in the high hills and valleys of Montsant/Priorat. David and I had visited the region in May of 2010 which was great in helping me with the lay of the land. But I had forgotten how absolutely beautiful the area is. It is extreme farming whether grapes, almonds, or olives. I pulled into my destination, the Hostal Sport in Falset just in time to close the restaurant for lunch.
By late afternoon the storms had retreated, the sun was dappled through billowy clouds and the air was clean and fresh. The next couple of days were picture perfect spring days and I spent them exploring every small sub-region, the varied vineyards, and many small grower/vintners.
I arrived having forgotten our first date; I left perfectly smitten.
Guiamets Resevoir through Old Vines
Retrofitted Irrigation on Old Vines
Extreme Farming on Schist
Steep Slopes and a Solution to Erosion
Hmmmm, Maybe I Should Turn Around…..
Shear Schist
“Trellis” Retrofit
One of the Five Towns of Priorat
