Discover traditional paellas, rice dishes and avant-garde cuisines in Valencia, Alicante, Toledo and Madrid. Some of Spain’s most innovative cuisine is happening in the Mediterranean region of Spain. It’s a cuisine born of the area’s vibrant rice-growing and fishing traditions near the coast, and the affinity for game and wild foods inland. The wines have evolved from village cooperative winemaking to estate wines with personality. You will travel to Valencia for two days of modern cuisine, traditional Albufera paellas and tapas based on carefully sourced ingredients. Next comes Denia and a cooking demonstration with two-star chef Quique Dacosta at El Poblet Restaurant. In Alicante you will visit two wineries, learn about saffron with a saffron producer and have a cooking demonstration with chef and saffron expert María José San Román. You will then travel to Chinchón, a historic town near Madrid where you will taste the local liquor–Anís–and Toledo for a stellar lunch. Then it’s on to Madrid for two days. Tour Itinerary: Day 1: Valencia. Arrive Valencia and check into your hotel in the historic city center of Valencia. Dinner at one of the greatest restaurants in Spain. You will meet the chef, a personal friend. Day 2: Valencia. You will start the day with a tour of Valencia’s superb Mercat Central, visiting a spice stand, a horchata stand and a colorful stand that sells paellas (the pans), ceramic cacerolas and other kitchen goods. You will then stroll on to other emblematic Valencia sights such as La Lonja (Valencia’s 15th century Silk Exchange and a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Cathedral and Valencia’s extensive old quarter. Afterwards you will have a tour of the spectacular City of Arts and Sciences, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, followed by lunch at Submarino, a spectacular underwater restaurant in the L’Oceanografic, the largest aquarium complex in Europe and part of the City of Arts and Sciences. In the evening, we will have a superb tapas dinner and a tasting of wines from Comunitat Valenciana regions (Valencia, Utiel-Requena & Alicante D.O.s) at the ambience-filled Casa Montaña, whose owner Emiliano is a long-time friend. Day 3: Valencia/ Denia (Alicante). This morning you will drive to the southern shore of the Albufera lagoon and visit a village that has some 20 paella restaurants. Depending on the weather, we will take a small shallow-draft boat, whose owner will pole us for a short ride out on the Albufera lagoon where the eels and other fish for some of the local restaurants come from. After your boat ride you will see how paella is made and sample different types of paellas at lunch at one of the great rice restaurants around the Albufera lagoon. You will also sample a typical dish made with eels (depending on availability) fished from the lagoon, accompanied by regional specialties. After lunch, you will drive along the Mediterranean to Denia, a coastal town in Alicante province. You will stroll on the beach and visit the fish auction. Lodging is a beautifully renovated hotel in the Port area of Denia. That evening, you will have dinner and a cooking demonstration with two-star chef Quique Dacosta at El Poblet Restaurant in Denia. Quique is widely regarded as one of the hottest young chefs in Spain. Day 4: Denia/ Alicante. In the early morning, after a walk through the shopping streets of Denia, you stop for breakfast in a lively market bar. Afterwards it’s a visit to Felipe Gutierrez de la Vega, an unusual winemaker who plays opera in the background as he works in his award-winning winery where he produces the luscious sweet wine, Casta Diva. You will have a chance to taste the dessert wine served at the wedding of Prince Felipe and doña Leticia of Spain. After the winery visit, you will stop off in Monóver, west of Alicante, and meet a very talented local chef who is a friend of ours. In nearby Xinorlet, lunch at Casa Elias–an unusual restaurant whose thin-layer paellas are made with local rabbit and snails. You will be joined by a local winemaker for lunch. After lunch, the winemaker will show you his bodega and you will taste his historic wine, Fondillón--mentions of which can be found in Alexandre Dumas’s Count of Montecristo. Fondillón, a vino rancio made from Monastrell grapes, is typically aged in barrels for 6 to 10 years. On the way back to Alicante, you will visit a saffron producer and have the opportunity to buy some of the world’s most expensive spice at wholesale prices. By dinner time, you will be in downtown Alicante just a block from the yacht basin and beach. After you check into your hotel and relax a bit, you can explore the port area and stroll along the palm-tree lined, pedestrian street, La Explanada, facing the port. At Taberna del Gourmet, near our hotel, you will meet Gerry’s friend, Chef María José San Román (and her colorful husband, once the goalie for Spain’s national handball team). At her next door restaurant, Monastrell, María José will demonstrate some modern cuisine dishes using saffron. María José is writing a book on saffron with American author Peter Kaminsky. Dinner will be at the Taberna del Gourmet, one of the great casual restaurants in Spain, home to authentic traditional valenciana food. After dinner, you go back to the Explanada (the walking street by the port), try horchata–a popular regional beverage made from chufa or chufa nuts– from the horchata stand, and then settle in at an outdoor cafe or a local night club with your hosts, Chef María José San Román and her husband, the owners of Monastrell and Taberna del Gourmet. Day 5: Denia/ Alicante/ Jumilla/ La Mancha/ Chinchón. On the way to Chinchón you will visit a winery in Jumilla Wine Region, followed by lunch in the greatest restaurant in La Mancha. After lunch, you will stop in a town prominent in Don Quixote, then drive to the magical village of Chinchón, where you will check into a charming hotel just a block from Chinchón’s legendary Plaza Mayor, one of the best preserved and loveliest plazas in Spain. In the evening, you will have the option of strolling around Chinchón and having a quiet dinner or tapas. You will have a chance to try some Madrid D.O. wines in one of the lovely traditional restaurants around the enchanting Plaza Mayor. After dinner, linger in this romantic spot and sample the local liquor, Anís de Chinchón Seco o Dulce (dry or sweet anís). Day 6: Chinchón/ Toledo/ Madrid. In the morning, you will drive to Toledo stopping first to sample wines at a spectacular vineyard site overlooking Toledo. You will then visit El Greco’s monumental city and have a traditional manchego lunch. After lunch, you will leave for Madrid and check into a city center hotel. You will have the rest of the afternoon free. In the evening, the group will have dinner in one of Madrid’s most elegant restaurants. Day 7: Madrid. Guided tour of the Prado Museum or of the Hapsburg quarter of Madrid in the morning. After a tapas stop in the old quarter of Madrid, you will be free to explore Madrid’s restaurants for lunch. Afternoon free to stroll, visit one of Madrid’s many renowned museums, tour the Royal Palace or just have a siesta. Farewell tapas dinner in a legendary Madrid restaurant, where the King of Spain, Bill Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker and any number of famous bullfighters, nobility and celebrities have dined. You will be joined by some local madrileños for dinner. Day 8: Madrid. Departure after breakfast. Notes: Prices are per person, double occupancy 
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