‘I drove by today very spontaneously,

I always feel that a hill gives a town a certain style which merely being flat lacks.  Take Colchester.  Many people would and others would leave it but the hilliness of it makes it stand out.  Briones lacks the Norman Castle and Firstsite it is true.  Colchester had an earthquake and I can not find such in Briones but the Ebro, I think, can claim more prominence than the Colne.







Briones was under Islamic rule till King Ordono II turned up in the 10th century,   Fernando III named Don Diego López III de Haro , his nephew, first Lord of Briones . In 1240 Don Diego López rebelled against Fernando III and found shelter in Briones. The king besieged the town and made Diego a prisoner. Since then, Briones belonged to the crown. On 18th January 1256, Alfonso X of Castile gave Briones the regional laws from Vitoria, as a guarantee of the Castillian repopulation. In 1293 Sancho IV gave Briones royal privileges. During the Basquisation in 1536 there were thirty Basque surnames in Briones.



Like so many regional towns, Briones peaked in the 19th century, being about 3200 souls.  Today 750 people live here. The town has a Socialist mayor. It has had such since 1983 - with a gap between 2003 and 2019. If we come back in the third week of June we could take part in the 14th century festival but why would we when we can be diverted by the Ethnographic museum, which situated in ‘The Haunted House.Look, the place is brilliant. It is crowded with hermitages and small moments of historical joy.  Have a look at the website.  https://www.ayuntamientobriones.org/




We are surrounded by wineries.  Let us pop into one.  Bodega Miguel Merino https://www.miguelmerino.com/ is well thought of.  Tobias popped in.  ‘I drove by today very spontaneously, as the winery was on my way from Salamanca to Bilbao. The tastings for the day were unfortunately already fully booked and the farm store closed due to too much demand, so it's best to call or email in advance regarding appointments.



Nonetheless, Erika showed me the wine cellars and presented two wines for free tasting. Erika is a super polite, accommodating and great personality, thanks again for that! By the way, her English is excellent!The wines (Vitola Reserva and Blanco) were absolutely top notch, so I went straight to a distributor afterwards and bought a few bottles. Thanks again! You guys are great!



Let us wander on, down the road and down the Ebro.














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