Day 9 – Breezing through Barcelona to 13th Century Laguardia There’s only hours to spare in Barcelona as I work my way to the Barcelona Sants train station for the 4½ hour train ride to Laguardia, a little wine town that is the capital of La Rioja. I manage to take in Montjuïc—a hill located near the center of Barcelona that features the Spanish Village, the Magic Fountain and the Palau Nacional (National Palace), home to the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC). There’s only time to dine in the station but fear not—some of the cuisine rivals street food. Here, shops offer an array of meats, dried beans (in a train station?) and of course, pastries. Once aboard, I traverse miles of pastoral land, flanked by the still snow-capped Pyrenees to the east, looming over northern Catalunya, separating the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe. Once in Laguardia I’m on an agenda: with over 500 vineyards, I can only visit a few bodegas and discriminate among internationally famous red wines and hidden gems, like this one. I close the day at Castillo El Collado with its panoramic views of exquisitely manicured grapevines. Cars off limits here. Enjoy my traditional local meal of cheese croquettes with fried scallions, clams in such a savory sauce, fresh prawns, bean and sausage soup, rice pudding and flan. Just enough room left for my last day/night in Bilbao. What lies ahead?