The Wet Leg - La Torre Del Visco

The drive from Barcelona to La Torre Del Visco took about three hours and the day was so lovely we did most of it with the top down! We only stopped once, in the small town of Cretas for a glass of wine, before arriving at the isolated hotel in the late afternoon. La Torre is located at the end of a dirt road about 2km in from the paved road (our driving computer thought we were off-road!) in an isolated spot on some 220 acres of land. Our room looked out over the valley and while not immense, it was certainly more than enough for us.

The weather was still a lovely 24 degrees and bright so we went for a quick walk around the gardens, meeting the adorable dogs Clouseau and Azlan who took us for a (slow) walk to the local garden.

Dinner at the hotel restaurant was good but not great which was a bit of a disappointment as we had booked the place largely on the kitchen's reputation (not to mention it was not cheap!).






That night the weather changed as clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped.

Sometime in the night the rain began and was in full force when we awoke the next morning.


No matter!!

After a wonderful breakfast (they do bacon and eggs to order as well as a table loaded with goodies) and a slow start (including meeting the wonderful, thirteen year old, siamese cat Q) we took off for some touring in the area, visiting the town of Valderrobres, with its lovely medieval gate with adjoining bad, but oddly popular, restaurant next door (it was likely the price point which was low).


We also toured the local castle and church, both of which were worth the visit, particularly as Valderrobres was by far the largest town around.

We opted for dinner at the hotel again and it was once more good but not great. By the end of the day the rain was largely done although the clouds lingered ominously as the dark crept in.

The next day, after a wonderful breakfast once again, we took off before noon for a drive and tour of the countryside.

With the weather much more agreeable (partly cloudy with bouts of actual sunshine!), we were in high spirits and looking forward to our first real day of touring, which did not disappoint!

First we visited the small hilltop town of Fuentespalda, wandering through empty streets and visiting its medieval landmarks.

Next it was a failed visit to Penarroya (we drove up the back entrance and were nervous about the street size) but with a stop at the nearby wonderful medieval church with attached odd museum of agriculture (ie pork farming) by the Tastavins stream, a tributary of the Matarranya river.

Then it was off to Monroyo, once again the place feeling like a ghost town, for a visit to the Church and wander through the narrow old streets.


It was now time for lunch and Christos had made a reservation at "La Alqueria" in the small town of Rafales for 2PM. We arrived with twenty minutes to spare, admired the local Church and had mini (200ml) beers at the local bar next to the restaurant.

La Alqueria was small with only seating for twelve or so. On the day we were there, a local family had a table for eight and another couple had a table for two, basically a full house.

Lunch was wonderful! We accepted the proposition of the owner (that they choose the items for us) and it worked out perfectly. Appetizers of tuna tartare and soft boiled egg in ravioli were followed by mains of corvina and suckling pig (tiny leg and all). Dessert was opera cake and a local pistachio cake, both super yum.

All told we were there for almost three hours and before we left we made a reservation for dinner that night.

Next it was off to "El Salt" a waterfall near the town of "La Portellada". The drive in was longer than the walk from parking and the place was busy, perhaps six other people were there while we were. Still, a picturesque place to visit and a nice (albeit short) walk in.

We then made our way back to La Torre (it now being 6PM) with a quick stop for beer (for back at La Torre). As we left the parking area, we encountered Q coming down the path and he pranced towards us with a mouse in his mouth! He was quite proud of his accomplishment and made sure we noticed him as he went by before vanishing with his price!

That night it was a drive out for dinner at La Alqueria (it was about twenty minutes away) which was good but not as good as lunch (albeit cheaper than if we had dined at La Torre). After dinner we drove slowly back to La Torre, noting that a direct country road was only 6km while our main road route was 18km!

We did not opt for the country road as we had taken quite a few earlier that day and were not interested in the roll of the dice they represented at 11pm!