13 Saturday Jul 2019
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Up early to visit wineries in Rías Baixas, about an hour’s drive from Santiago. Jorge & Anna @guitianmayer had organised a very full day for us, with the first of our FIVE winery visits at 9.30. I was excited because everyone wants to go to Rías Baixas when they visit Galicia, though apparently summer is full-on touristy. Luckily we had private tours booked at the bodegas and missed most of the crowds.
12 Friday Jul 2019
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I arrived in Santiago late afternoon on Thursday and was met at the airport by Anna & Jorge @guitianmayer, who whisked me away to the lovely Hotel Pazo de Altamira, which was to be my home for my first two nights in Santiago.
11 Thursday Jul 2019
Posted in gastronomy, getaways
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Greetings from Galicia! A couple of weeks ago I was commissioned to write another article for Decanter (!!!), this time on Galicia. At first I thought I’d have to refuse since I hadn’t been here for awhile, but after chatting with friends (and Galicia “fixers” extraordinaire) a plan was made for me to come up for a few days to visit some wineries and refresh my knowledge of the region.
Very excited to be here. Stay tuned for updates on this latest Galicia Getaway.
14 Friday Jun 2019
About a million years ago (okay, maybe 12?) I was a member of a travel forum called SlowTrav and got to “meet” a lot of interesting people there. The forum has since moved on, but I stay in touch with some of the old SlowTrav people via Twitter and Instagram, one of whom is Kathy @trekcapri. She’s been in Portugal with another SlowTrav alumni, and now she’s here in Sevilla, with her sister and brother in law. So today we met for a lovely seafood lunch at La Barra de Inchausti. As you can see, everyone had a great time. They are here for a week so we plan to meet up again.
31 Friday May 2019
Posted in andalucia, food & drink, friends, getaways
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Sam & Jeannie Chesterton
I’ve been virtual friends with Jeannie @jeanniechesterton and Sam @samchesterton on social media for years and have been wanting to visit their Finca Buenvino ever since I first heard of it. So when Alexis @evoo_workshop said she was heading up there to do an olive oil tasting, and J & S invited me for lunch, I naturally jumped at the chance.
It turned out that the people who were to be Alexis’s olive oil clients were also doing a photo shoot at Finca Buenvino, and the photographer was none other than Tim Clinch @clinchpics, who I had met here in Sevilla a couple of years ago, and who is also a close friend of Jeannie & Sam.
Aside from being the Chesterton’s family home for more than 35 years, Finca Buenvino is also a peaceful mountain retreat, nestled in the hills in Huelva, just a short drive from Sevilla. There are two self-catering cottages on the grounds, as well as six B&B rooms in the main house, with various activities available, including cooking classes run by Jeannie.
While Alexis did her tasting I wandered around the gorgeous sprawling house and grounds, including a trip over to the spectacular salt water infinity pool, followed by the Buenvino dogs, until it was time for lunch. Which was fabulous. Along with the house guests, we were joined by the Chesterton sons, Sam, who shares cooking duties with his mother, and Jago, who works at nearby Cinco Jotas, producer of exquisite Jamón Ibérico de Bellota.
It was a spendid day in the country, and one that I hope I can repeat again soon. Thanks for the wonderful hospitality Los Chestertons, and thanks to Alexis for taking me there and back again. Photos below…
casa azahar 