Just before we hit the road I have to jump back and mention that in Barcelona, we attended the Opera y Flamenco concert in the glowing Spanish art nouveau theatre, the Palau de la Musica.

After setting out on our adventure to our first stop outside Barcelona, we popped in to a co-operative wine cellar for a tour, tasting, and lunch. Gerard punctuated his informative tour with many of his own gems.

“The monks originated all the great drinks – vermouth, benedictine, etc., because the priests knew you know God better if you drink something before you talk to him.”

“The Nationalist military refused to give soldiers a drink of wine, pity, because if they had given wine to both sides, civil war would have ended a lot sooner.”

After a great lunch, we headed for Zaragoza which was, for me, a complete unknown…