Food and Wine Road Warrior Gerry Dawes in Burgos, Spain
Gerry Dawes is a writer-photographer and author of Sunset in a Glass: Adventures of a Food and Wine Road Warrior in Spain, who lived in Spain for eight years and has made more than 125 trips to Spain. He has spoken frequently on on Spanish gastronomy, wine and cultural themes and has organized and led more than twenty customized gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain.
Gerry Dawes has led multiple tours for some of the best-known American chefs, culinarians, food and wine aficionados and Spain enthusiasts, including Chefs Thomas Keller, Michael Lomonaco, Mark Miller (seven times), Mark Kiffin, James Campbell Caruso, Michael Chiarello, Norman Van Aken, Terrance Brennan, Michael Ginor, Christopher Gross and others such luminaries as Author Rozanne Gold, Restaurants Consultant Michael Whiteman, Baseball great Keith Hernandez and U. S. Senator James Abourezk, plus such groups the Commonwealth Club of California (twice), the 61st Tactical Fighter Squadron (twice), the World Trade Center Club and the Club Chefs of NY & CT.
In addition to being awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronómía He was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts retrospective piece on Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià.
$4,995 per person, without airfare; $895 single supplement.
Tours
& Conditions and Sign-up sheet available to interested parties. (e-mail me at gerrydawes@aol.com.
Itinerary (B, L, D, T = Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Tapas)
Photographs by Gerry Dawes©2024.
Day 00 Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Fly from home cities via Spanish or
European gateway cities to Bilbao, The Basque Country, Spain.
Pre-trip group arrives in Bilbao in the eveniing.
Museo Guggenheim Bilbao.
Day 01 Thursday, May 1 Bilbao
Group arrives separately at Bilbao airport and take taxis or airport bus to our centrally located hotel in Bilbao.
We will meet in the lobby of our hotel at 14:00 (2 p. m.) and depart for lunch at an excellent tapas restaurant near Museo Guggenheim Bilbao.
After lunch, I will offer the option of exploring Bilbao on foot. We will visit la Plaza Nueva in the old quarter and walk around the magnificent Frank Gehry-designed Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, which I have been photographing periodically since before it officially opened in October 1997. For those interested, there will be the option to visit the interior of the museum.
After our walking visit in Bilbao, we will be free to relax, take a siesta, do more exploring or shop in this vibrant city.
At 20:00 (8 p. m.), we will meet in the lobby, have an optional cocktail or refreshment, then walk just a block from our hotel to a wonderful seafood-centric restaurant. In July, 2024 (and on previous visits) I ate at this restaurant and its sister restaurant several times, once with a dozen presenters from The Hemingway Society Conference. I look forward to sharing this restaurant with you.
Since many of you will have recently arrived from trans-ocean flights, we will make an early night of it to be fresh for tomorrow’s adventures.
Hotel Ercilla, Bilbao.
Day 02 Friday, May 3 Bilbao– San Sebastián B, L, D
In the morning, there will be the option of visiting the colorful Mercado de la Ribera, alongside the Nervión River. We make a short stop for a second breakfast, then return to our hotel and depart for San Sebastián, an hour to the east.
We will check into our hotel near the old quarter and the magnificent La Concha beach, then I will lead our travellers on an orientation tour of the old quarter with its multitude a of pintxos (Basque for tapas) bars and quaint and original shops of full of treasures available only in the Basque Country. You will be free to wander, explore or even walk the spectacular La Concha beach. Around two p.m., we will gather at a central meeting point in the old quarter, and I will lead us to a traditional restaurant for lunch on typical Basque dishes.
The afternoon will be free to enjoy San Sebastián. Once you experience this place, you will be grateful for having the free time to enjoy the city on your own.
In the evening, we will meet and take a short bus ride to Monte Igueldo, which overlooks San Sebastián and the splendid Bahía de la Concha. We will stop at a hotel overlooking the city and weather permitting, we will have an optional drink on the terrace, then have dinner in a Michelin-starred restaurant serving cocina de vanguardia, the Spanish avant-garde creative cuisine that made San Sebastián one of the most famous restaurant cities in the world.