Our Weekend in Montilla, Spain January 2014

In honor of the one year (or by the time I post this, one year and two weeks) anniversary of our weekend trip to Montilla, the home town of our greatest Spanish amigos, Jose Carlos and Nico, I want to (finally) share a brief recap and some pictures of that trip. I can’t believe it has taken me this long to get around to it, but with my goal being to document every trip we took, a year later (or two or three) is better than never.

We stayed at Jose Carlos’s parents home, and when we arrived on Friday evening, we shared ham and tortilla and wine with his parents. Jose Carlos’s mom had a room all ready for us, including a perfect, cozy crib for Nora. On Saturday, Jose Carlos’s sister, Belen, treated us to a private tour and tasting at the winery where she worked, Alvear, while Jose Carlos’s mom watched tiny 3 month old Nora. After the winery, we all  (Nora included) went to a wonderful long lunch at Nico’s house. I can’t recall what all we had, but it was obvious that Nico’s mom is a wonderful cook! One of my favorite things about the Spanish culture was is long, slow lunches with starters and wine and desert – the whole shebang! It was so special to be able to experience that with our good friends in a true Spanish home! Later that evening we went out to a group dinner with both Nico’s family and Jose Carlos’s family and had a great time until we had to walk home with a screaming baby! (It was super late and at this time of her life, Nora only believed in 45 minute naps so she was way over tired.) After a Spanish breakfast of toast and ham (I think) on Sunday morning, we headed back to Madrid by way of Cordoba. Our authentic Andalucían amigos took us on a quick tour of all the things to see in Cordoba before we made the 5ish hour trip back to Madrid.

Although we were unlucky and visited Montilla (and Cordoba) on one of the very rare weekends where it was cold, gray and cloudy instead of sunny and beautiful, we still had an unforgettable time and were so honored to be guests in Montilla.

And now I’m ready to visit Southern Spain!