A Trip to La Rioja

We have just returned from visiting friends in Laguardia, a tiny village in the Rioja region. Our last visit was in 2014, but this picturesque place never changes, thank goodness.

Laguardia was founded by King Sancho Abarca in 1164 and was originally a fort and series of underground tunnels used for protection and defense. The village sits upon a hill that overlooks the entire valley, so it was the perfect location in that sense. In 1486 a village was built on top of the tunnels and a wall was also erected. 

Fast forward to 2017 and not much has changed in this well-preserved medieval town. The walls still stand, though many sections have been rebuilt over the years. Cars are not allowed inside the walls, so children can roam freely in this tiny pueblo. Plaza Mayor is full of children on bikes and scooters and the parents sit in the surrounding cafes enjoying a local wine or some tapas.

Though Laguardia is small, it is quite popular. There are a few small inns and casa rurals (similar to a bed and breakfast) and we stayed in one of these.  Casa Rural Mayor 35 has just four rooms and they are all freshly remodeled and lovely. Our room had plenty of space for our family and it was very quiet and peaceful at night.

 Rory brought his bike and had to train and the children of our friends were at a futbol camp during the mornings, so I found a local tour company that offers a family tour of the Rioja vineyards. We met our guide in the nearby town of Fuenmayor and set off for the vineyards. RiojaTreks offers this tour and I highly recommend it for families. Our guide Diego was super informative and answered all of the kids questions. He did not speak down to the children, but he made all of the information accessible and interesting for them--not easy to do when talking about grapes and wine!

Here we are learning about the details of growing the actual grapes---irrigation, soil, rocks, wind, humidity...we learned so many new things and have a real appreciation for wine makers!

 The tour ends in a local bodega where the kids get to learn about the fermentation and bottling process. Both kids were able to play a bit with the equipment in order to learn more about how wine is made and appreciated in this region of the world.

Laguardia is full of great restaurants and tapas bars, so it is a foodie paradise. Most of the old tunnels are now wine caves and you can tour and walk through a lot of them, which is lots of fun for the kids!

 Laguardia looks out on the Cantabrian Mountains and there is a beautiful walking path just outside the city walls. Perfect for bikes or scooters.

Our kids spent several afternoons enjoying the local park with friends. 

We are back home in Girona where the kids are enjoying the week at casal.