Architecture and Wine

Like I said in my previous post, it does occasionally rain in northern Spain. So when the forecast predicted not so nice weather in Santander, we decided to leave our friends for a few days to travel south to the area of La Rioja. Sometime last year I  had read an article in Easyjet's inflight magazine (of all places..) about the amazing architecture of some of the wineries in that region. I had kept a copy and with its help we mapped out a route for our little road trip.

After spending the night in a charming posada in the (extremely) sleepy village of Sajazarra (there was not even a shop in this village, but at 8.30 am a man drove through the village blaring through a megaphone that he was selling melons from his trunk) we had our first tour and wine tasting at 10 am at Bodegas López de Heredia Viña Tondonia. Architecturally not the most exciting winery (only the reception slash tasting room has a futuristic, decanter-shaped design), but our friends (and Easyjet) recommended the place because it's one of the oldest wineries in the region and they still make wine the traditional way. 

I'm glad we made this our first stop, because we learned a lot about the process of wine making and the natural conditions that influence it (temperature, the wood and age of the barrels, humidity, mold and spiders). I was very impressed (and at the same time disgusted) by all the mold that covers the walls. It works as a form of insulation that keeps the temperature and humidity in check.

They make some unique white wines, that are well worth a taste. Best thing is the tour will cost you €10, but when you buy a bottle they'll give you a €10 discount on showing them your ticket. So we left, after being entertained and educated for an hour and a half, had two free glasses of wine, with two bottles of wine that had cost us €2,50!

After about a half an hour drive we reached Marqués de Riscal in the village of Elciego, in the Basque country. It is well known for the building designed by Frank Gehry (opened in 2006). The colors reflect the colors of the wine and bottles (silver and gold). The story goes Gehry was apprehensive at first, but was convinced to work for them after they had opened a bottle from the year he was born, 1929.

∧ I couldn't even get a decent photo of the whole building because they were cleaning the titanium  (!) plates with a cherry picker :-(

Gehry's building is a hotel, restaurant, bistro and spa. Unless you're staying at this luxury hotel or have a (Michelin starred) meal or have a vinotherapy (pfff!) here you can't get nearer than where I took my picture. The winery itself is housed in far less interesting buildings and is much more like a factory really, with massive halls filled with massive stainless steel tanks. 

By inviting Gehry they hoped the building would do for the winery what the Guggenheim did for Bilbao. And I think it has worked... The places was heaving. There were about 30 people on the tour, which started by showing us an awful corporate film. In all the whole experience was a bit of a disappointment. But I would love to go back and have their tasting menu in the more affordable bistro, to get a closer look at the building, and to sample their chickpea stew with monkfish and clams and meat balls with truffle.

That afternoon we continued our roadtrip by driving in a south-western direction towards the region of Ribera del Duero. It was a long but beautiful drive that took us through green hills, rocky canyons, passing clear blue lakes and over vast planes. The next day we had booked a tour and tasting at Bodega Portia. Their brand new building (2010) has been designed by the British architect Norman Foster (also know for 'The Gherkin' in London).

Now this was truly an impressive design, where the building has been fully integrated with process of the wine making and the rest of the corporate design. The building is a three-legged star, and in each of the wings one stage of the wine making process takes place: vinification, fermentation and aging. When the grapes have been harvested the trucks drive up the slope to the top of the building where they off load the grapes by dumping them onto a corkscrew sort of devise that transports the grapes to a lower level without them being crushed. Amazing! Inside the small windows (which are at ground level) provide a wine colored glow. There's also a restaurant with a beautiful outside seating area where you can have lunch or just a coffee.

There are many more wineries with impressive architecture in La Rioja and surrounding areas and I'd love to go back and visit some more. It's just such a tasteful combination.

Pub Carpet Crawl #3 - The Cantonville Ghost and other stories

Let me start by telling those of you who don't know yet, I am moving to London at the end of this summer! I'm obviously VERY excited about this, but it does mean that last Saturday's third edition of the Pub Carpet Crawl was probably the last one in Cardiff. *SNIF!!* I must emphasize the word probably, because on my Pub Carpet Crawls we've only been to two areas, which means I'm still very far removed from having collected all the pub carpets in Caerdydd. I've also noticed London pubs don't tend to have carpet that often, so there might just be a reunion!

For Pub Carpet Crawl #3 we returned to Canton, to finish what we started in March: the rest of the Canton Mile. We met at the Victoria Park Pub, an establishment that has - in my opinion - a great classic pub carpet. 

There is a skittle alley at The Vicky, painted in a high gloss Kermit green. We had a go at skittles, which you would think is a lot like bowling but it's actually far more difficult. 

Next up was The Clive. A bit of a nondescript pub, but they did have two different carpets. The one in the front of the pub (seen in the second picture below) was particularly hideous and even more so in combination with the various patterns on the chairs.

In The Duke of Clarence we could finally catch up on what was happening in the group A finals of the Eurocup, as they showed both matches (they love football at The Duke - it's a well known haunt for fans of the Cardiff City 'Bluebirds' football club). We were very upset not to find carpet, but we were very impressed by the reupholstering of the back of the benches that line the entire pub (which is actually a nice feature of The Duke). 

 ∧ Reupholstered in a beautiful shiny silk. The red velvet seats up next?

Now over the past few years I've gained a bit of experience when it comes to pubs and carpets and I just knew there had to be carpet somewhere in the Duke. My best guess was the loos, so I went for a wee. No carpet there, but on my way to the toilets I discovered there was a function room at the back of the pub where a massive party was going on! It was dark in there with lots of flickering disco lights and people shaking their hips to Jerry Lee Lewis. Eager to join in on the fun I quickly went in and there it was: the carpet. The carpet was on an elevated area where people were sitting and as they all turned their heads when I stormed in with my camera I soon came to realize I had just crashed a private party (the massive array of snacks and presents on the table behind me also gave me a hint). Too embarrassed to take a picture of the carpet I left...  

A good few pubs on the Canton Mile have closed in the last few years and we were sad to discover  The Insole has suffered the same fate.

∧ The Insole looking desolate.

O well, enter the Canton Liberal Club. Wow this place was happening and with its five different carpets it was truly a pub carpet heaven! It is a huge building, with a large lounge in the front with a pool table and other antique table ball games (called 'bagatelle', according to their website only found in one other place in the UK).

In the back people were playing bingo and there was another room where again there was a massive party going on with lots of disco lights and people shaking their hips, this time to more contemporary dance music. The beer was cheap as chips and they even sold ham rolls. This place is a keeper!

The big five of the Canton Liberal Working Men's Club:

We were only at our 4th stop and we were already running out of time. The size of the group (+/- 30) made it almost impossible to keep the drinking tempo in sync. Realizing with a shock that it was 22.30 already I think I ran to the Butcher's Arms! This is one of those pubs I never dared to enter, because from the outside you can't see anything through the windows except that they have fluorescent tubes for lightning. So yes this is a very traditional pub, but the atmosphere inside was very pleasant.

Then all of a sudden a pint dropped. Promptly one of the staff members came out with a mop. They told us not to worry as it happens more often that drinks are spilled without anyone touching them. Apparently this started happening after the previous landlord fell down the stairs in the pub and broke his neck. Brrrrr eerie!

∧ The haunted pint.

Maybe they got tired of all the spontaneous smashing pints soaking the carpet and therefor opted for a wooden floor in the bar? There was still carpet in the  backroom and  the toilets though (because it's far less worse when fluids are being spilled here..?!) ∨

 

Oh and what a joy, turned out The Corporation around the corner stayed open till midnight! This was the last pub we visited on Pub Carpet Crawl #1, but then I had been so distracted that I'd completely forgotten to take a picture of the carpet... So it was totally legit to go there again and have one more beer.

∧ Would you believe a pint had just been dropped here?! (Not by a ghost this time..) 

The Corporation has an extremely absorbing carpet!

An old man was DJ'ing and gramps had an impressive laser show going on! He even spoke through a mic in between songs, which I always find so endearing. He played us Dolly Parton and the B52s, which was nice.

Then the clock struck twelve and we were kicked out of The Corporation. The last Pub Carpet Crawl in Cardiff had ended. Though it not necessarily meant the end of the night... 

I'm a bit melancholic now, but the crawls have been so  much fun. I'll definitely continue doing them in London. Without wanting to sound too pretentious, there is more to them than just drinking beer and taking pictures of carpets as some weird hobby. They lead you into unknown territory, let you have a glimpse at worlds you are normally not a part of, you learn about the neighborhood and its history, you meet new people and erm.. you get to spend the whole next day in bed.

Bare Naked Beer poster

(click to enlarge)

Fresh from the press: the poster I designed for Cardiff based microbrewery Artisan Brewing to promote their monthly BAR OPEN event!

Somewhere hidden away in the leafy neighborhood of Pontcanna is a garage is filled with an impressive array of kettles, pumps, pipes and hoses. This is where Simon brews his fine beers according to traditional recipes from all over the world. He doesn't use any additives and the beers are vegan friendly (you might not know this, but some beers are filtered using fish swim bladder). To quote Simon it's "beer like nature intended".

Every first Saturday of the month the brewery invites people to come together in their courtyard and drink the Bare Naked Beers. You should come, it's always good fun.  The next BAR OPEN is on Saturday May 5th. There will be a barbecue and on tap are Helles Lager, Bavarian Wheat, Chocolate Wheat and their latest American IPA (which I sampled straight from the keg on on my last visit and I can tell you it's excellent!).  

Find the Facebook event here.

Pub Carpet Crawl #2 - Now that the mist has cleared

I wasn't sure if the second edition of the Pub Carpet Crawl could top the magical first crawl, but much to my relief this edition has really lived up to the high expectations! To be honest, it was somewhat disappointing on the carpet side, but this has been fully compensated by other unexpected finds and happenings. Now that - after three days - the mist has cleared I can tell you our story...

For crawl number two we set out for the area of Roath, a lively neighborhood where lots of students live. This means plenty of drinking establishments, among which, fortunately, still some traditional pubs. Meeting point was the Ernest Willows, a large Weatherspoons pub. It has an interesting carpet, with a bold, large scale pattern. I think they had some sort of ale festival on and they had decorated the place with some hay to create a rustic ambiance?? 

 

The whole look and feel of the pub clashes immensely with the toilets, which I think are the grandest loos in Cardiff. It's like walking into a roman bath or a palace. There's even a seating area in the front (with menu's on the tables for anyone who would like to have their food in the toilets?) and a fountain in the back. 

With empty bladders we crossed the road to The Municipal Club. We had no idea what to expect when we went in. According to the sign outside it was going to be like the Black Chicken in Benidorm...

 

I've never been to the Black Chicken in Benidorm, but I Googled it and indeed it's not too far off (look here)! But with carpet. And lots of red velvet. 

 

To everyone's extreme excitement there was a carpeted pillar! 

 ∧ Please note all that booze in front of that old lady!

I think the interior hasn't changed since its clientele was our age... At first the locals were a bit suspicious (one of my friends overheard them referring to us as "those muppets"), but in the end they didn't want us to leave and some of the musicians among us got offered a gig and free rehearsal space there. Bless 'em! They were just about to start to playing bingo when we came in, so of course we played a round. It was so much fun!!

 ∧ The bingo caller: "Four and Seven, 47" "Two little ducks, 22","Same both ways, 69".

 ∧ Our competition, fully focused. I think the man put on his lucky waist coat for the bingo!

I wish we could have stayed for their entertainment that evening - "a great vocalist", but the other 15 pubs in the Roath area were callling. So on we went to the Poets Corner. Being in this pub felt like somewhere between being in a dollhouse and Alice in Wonderland, with lots of stairs and turns and nooks and corners. There was only one tiny area with carpet, plus a bit of carpet on the stairs. But hey, carpet is carpet. We followed the stairs all the way to the top, which led us to two pool tables.

Because some people wanted to finish their game of pool we got a bit dispersed on our way to the Roath Cottage (at this point there were 25 of us). A couple of us went ahead, but when I arrived at the scene we couldn't open the door... Turned out the landlady had locked the pub!! She told my mates, who had made it inside, the pub was "full" (which it clearly wasn't). Maybe it was for the best. The pub was filled with barely legal chavs and the staff was extremely rude. I wonder if the carpet was any good.

∧ Things getting rowdy inside the cottage.

Things could only get better at The Crofts, and indeed. It had a few nice surprises in store for us.

∧ Like a parrot (gotta love pub pets)!

∧ And some profound quotes in punched pockets. 

∧ Political correctness prohibited. Twat.

∧ Interesting decorations on top of the bar.

And hurray, at last a decent carpet again, also in the ladies room.

Unlike the next dive, the 147 Club. We broke the no-carpet-no-drinks-rule and more pool was played and more half pints consumed. I must admit that at this point things started to become a bit hazy. I can't remember this carpet at all. I think it must have been at the Roath Park's. 

Eleven o'clock was approaching quickly and we hastened ourselves towards The George and Varsity. I had good hopes these more studenty pubs would stay open till midnight, but alas, they had stopped serving by the time we got there. The only place nearby that was still open was Gassy Jacks. Apparently it has the highest ceiling of any pub in Cardiff, which doesn't necessarily makes it a very cosy place. Of course not having a carpet does not help the atmosphere either. And uh oh, one of us had the "up-close-carpet-experience"! I'm not going to spill the beans on who tossed his cookies, but I can tell you it wasn't me. Fortunately it was on the laminate floor in the hall; not having carpet does have it advantages.. So well yes, the Pub Carpet Crawl #2 ended in style :-)

 Next crawl is most likely to take place on Saturday June 9, June 16 so keep your diary free that night (and the day after..).

PUB CARPET CRAWL #2

After a truly EPIC first edition, it is my pleasure to announce Pub Carpet Crawl #2!!!!

On Saturday March 31st we will set out for the area of Roath in Cardiff. The route looks promising, with pubs ranging from charming locals to 'interesting' dives... 

We'll meet up at 18.30 at the pub with the swankiest toilets in Wales (really a must-see, despite having no carpet!): The Ernest Willows on City Road. There's a bit more ground to cover this crawl, so please come early!

Find the Facebook event here.  Have a look at all the carpets I've collected so far on Flickr.

PUB CARPET CRAWL #1

The Britons love carpet in public places. I admit, it does add a homey feel to the place (pub, train, cinema, casino, TOILET!). But to most people from the continent the idea is just digusting. Think of all the dirt and filth that gets absorbed by it! Now I've come up with a theory that the Brits have the most outrageous, busy carpet designs that so any kind of stain will blend right in, whether it's red wine, blood, ale, pub gub, dog shit or puke. So actually these are very clever designs! Like, can you spot the popcorn on this one? ∨

Would you spot a squashed chip, or spilled macaroni carbonara on this one? ∨

About two years ago I started taking pictures of carpets in pubs and other public places. So far I've managed to collect about 75 different carpets. But the last few months I've been adding fewer and fewer, for the simple reason that I've photographed all the carpets that grace the floors of my regulars. So now it's time to venture into unknown territory...

That's why I'm organizing a PUB CARPET CRAWL! I'm planning to make this a bi-monthly thing, each time exploring different parts of Cardiff (or perhaps in the future other UK towns and cities) for yet undiscovered carpets. Everybody's welcome, the more people to have beers and to critique carpets with the merrier! And at the end of the year we shall vote and give out an award for the best pub carpet.  

In order to cover as much pubs/carpets as possible I've come up with a few 'rules':

• obviously, no carpet = no drinks.
• no drinks in pubs whose carpet has already been added to the collection
• only one drink in each pub
• only half pints, unless you want the up-close carpet experience!

This first crawl will cover the famous/notorious Canton Mile. There are about 15 pubs on that stretch of Cowbridge Road East, and with only the Ivor Davies' carpet already in the collection we'll have plenty to choose from!

Facebook event page here. Please come and join!

As a tease a couple of highlights from the collection; view them all here.