26 Apr 2024
First the winery tour and wine tasting was exemplary! The family that owns the wineries were gracious and informative. They shared the knowledge of how they approach the production of first class cavas and still wines. The facilities and vineyards were beautiful. Even for a well traveled oenophile, there was much to learn. The little bites were well paired with the wines (4 cavas and 3 still wines). The issue was with the transportation. It was St Jordi's day and the downstreets of Barcelona packed. I am handicapped. The meeting point was a distance from the bus pick-up point and we rushed through the streets after our initial guide was 10 minutes late in meeting the group. THe bus took a long time to show up - no coordination, no anticipation. We arrived late to the vieyards and we missed seeing some of the operations as the vineyard tried to make up time. On the way back, one member of the group received a text telling her we would be left off on the outskirts of Barcelona. Again, a hike to the nearest Metro stop. After emails to the operator, the driver brought us directly to a Metro entrance. Luckily some of us knoew the metro system and go everybody directed to their destination. The operator provided no assistance. We heard the driver saying that he had another pick up, so we needed to be dumped off (yes, some of us speak Spanish!). We missed a late lunch reservation, but really no harm done at the end, not because of the assistance of the operator, however.