It had always been the case that either the children were too young, or the car was too old for me and my family to embark on the 1,221 mile road trip, which would take us from our home in southern Portugal to our wooden chalet in France’s Jura mountains.
We had long wanted to do it, so that our yellow labrador, Baloo, could come on holiday with us, but sadly at the grand old age of 17, she left us for greener pastures. Perhaps that was what pushed us, now empty nesters, to bundle Bellini, our 3 year old yellow labrador into our (newer) car and take to the road.
The route was carefully planned to include stops in places that involved good food (the carrot to drive us on during long hours behind the wheel), were culturally interesting and, of course, accepted dogs. European hotels, in general, have always been less dog-friendly than in the UK, but with glorious ease our journey came together. It was in spite of setting off on day two in the pouring rain before dawn, guided by Google, and taking my husband into an incredibly narrow street which became impassable. As we, inch by painful inch, reversed our way up and out of the winding medieval alley, I did think of Hemmingway’s words ‘Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.’ But our marriage survived and road trips might just become ‘our thing’ for the feeling of freedom they engender.
First stop was Cáceres, in Spain’s Extremadura region. One of the best-preserved historic centres, it is an extraordinarily beautiful town, encircled by 12th century Moorish walls, with over 30 towers. A mix of Gothic and Renaissance architecture flank cobbled medieval streets, in one of which was Atrio, our home for the night.
Hotel Atrio Cáceres (rooms from £333, atriocaceres.com) skilfully inserts 21st century comforts into ancient walls. It has 14 rooms in the main building and across the road the newly opened Atrio Paredes Saavedra Palace has a further 11 rooms, which hang heavy with history.
We were in the main building, in a room with a terrace and an elegant, marble-clad bathroom. On the ground floor was the 3* Michelin Restaurant run by owners José Polo and Toño Péres. It was beyond dazzling. Dogs can accompany you, but wanting to concentrate on the 22 courses undisturbed, we left Bellini upstairs, having tired her out in the plaza and alleyways of Cáceres.
Don’t miss the home-baked biscuits and cakes from the convent opposite Atrio, where the nuns still operate the turnstile system of yesteryear.
Before we began our dinner, we were given a glimpse of Atrio’s wine cellar, famous as the scene of a daring robbery some years ago. Security has tightened, with no photographs allowed, but it was one of the most memorable cellars I have seen. In contrast to the standard aesthetic of dusty dim shelves where you need to sweep away cobwebs to see what is there, this one was an essay in pale wood, the 42,000 wine bottles illuminated by soft lighting. It has a large collection of Chateau d ’Yquem, ranging from 1891 to 2016, the back-lighting of the bottles making it easy to see how the colour of the wine darkens as it matures.
The menu is an exploration of Iberian pork — think ink brioche with squid and pork’s ear stew, pork jowl pudding with caviar, and glazed lobster with pork sauce, green curry, and lemongrass. The courses were tiny but oh, so good. And they just kept on coming, while José and Toño circulated in the packed restaurant, chatting to newcomers and returnees alike.
Sated and somewhat nervous to see how Bellini had spent the evening we staggered upstairs. We had not needed to worry. Bellini had abandoned her basket to lie, legs in the air, across our bed. You would have thought she had had the 22 courses.
Rain followed us most of the way on our nine-hour journey to our next stop in Bordeaux. But as we drove in under the stone gateway to Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey (rooms from £273, lafauriepeyragueylalique.com), the sun cast its evening light onto the ancient mellow stone. Parts of the Château date back to the 13th century, and vines have been grown there since 1618. They had a cameo role in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, when Sebastian Flyte arrives to the Oxford college rooms of Charles Ryder saying, “I’ve got a motor car and a basket of strawberries and a bottle of Château Peyraguey….It’s heaven with strawberries.”
It is still “heaven with strawberries” and a variety of other things such as duck with morello cherries and chestnuts at the 2* Michelin restaurant presided over by Chef Jérôme Schilling. The menu here is also an excuse to showcase the château’s glorious sauternes, whose surrounding vines you can admire through the restaurant’s glass walls. The 400-year-old Lafaurie-Peyraguey was the first premier cru wine estate in France to become a hotel under Lalique when they took it on with an aim to combine the worlds of wine, crystal, gastronomy, and hospitality. Something they have also successfully achieved in Scotland with Glenturret.
We also stopped in Bordeaux on our return, but this time just outside the charming town of St. Émillion. Medieval houses line the narrow streets and parts of the 12th century ramparts remain, the rest is given over to wine merchants, wine bars and restaurants. Saving ourselves for our dinner, we walked down the steep streets rather than settling in for a meal, but I have already earmarked Logis de la Cadène, tucked away in a narrow street, for the next time.
Château Troplong Mondot (rooms from £184, troplong-mondot.com) was our home for the night. A perfect base from which to explore the wines of the region with the glinting spires of St. Émilion visible from its vineyards. A Premier Grand Cru Classé wine estate it has recently opened its doors to guests, with a handful of rooms in its 18th century Château and a beautifully designed two bed cottage in which we were installed. Think flagstone floors, a large fireplace, wooden shutters and bath tubs on claw feet alongside crisp linen sheets, lamps and soft blue walls. Cosiness personified.
Exercising for our dinner continued there as we were shown around the estate of 43 hectares, a pioneer in sustainable wine making. But Bellini was far more interested in the kitchen garden, especially its Indian Runner Ducks and its rather noisy pigs. Neither of which we found on our dinner plate that night at the Chateau’s restaurant, Les Belles Perdrix, recipient of both a red and a green Michelin star. But bounty from the garden there was, in the form of celeriac, stuffed and candied with mushrooms and lovage jus and a light peated cream. ll served by a roaring fire.
The sandstone wonder of Salamanca was our final stop. It was harder to find a nice hotel here that accommodated dogs but we settled for the Palacio de Castellanos (rooms from £120, nh-hotels.com), and a room with views onto the beautiful 15th century Convento de las Dueñas.
We only had an evening to explore, but the golden city shimmered under the rain and the soft light of the lamps. A few minutes’ walk to the Plaza Mayor, the humming heart of the city, was enough to convince us that next time this should be our first stop. Bellini, however, pulled through the rain rather than, as before, left to enjoy the luxury of her abode, might well have other views.
