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Published: November 1st 2010
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I woke up in my warm bedroom (in the warm fleece pajamas provided to me by Paulina) and had to walk into the oh so cold corridor (the house is too big to heat!).
For breakfast we had the typical European breakfast of toast, but Paulina had the best marmalade I’ve had thus far! She makes it herself of course, and it is this delicious candied pear marmalade which big chunks of pear in it. It was delicious! Whenever I finished my toast, before I knew it, another piece of bread had been put on my plate—more more more! It’s like they knew that I’m a breakfast person (in Spain this is rare!)
It was very cold, but I only brought my one “big” jacket I thought would do, along with a scarf. I later realized that I don’t really know what REAL cold is…I live in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, CA…what do I expect?!
First, Paulina, Javier and I hopped in the car to go visit Ureta.
Ureta is the homestead where Matias Erro (my great, great grandfather) lived.
It was amazing just knowing that a place like this is still in the family,
not to mention that I was going to be able to visit!
They call Ureta a town, but really it is one family (three generations, though) that lives there. Ureta consists of the main house, a large barn, another large building that is now a house, and the old watermill which is also now a house. Oh, did I forget to mention the church we have?! Yes, a real, functioning church that belongs to the family.
The river of Erro runs through the property (how fitting, considering Ureta IS of the Erro family!) with a nice hand crafted bridge to cross it.
We drove up and I was in awe. It is absolutely beautiful. Francisco (somehow related to me) greeted us as the stood beneath the chapel. He gave us the best tour I could have asked for.
First, we went into the old main house where Matias Erro and family lived. There are fabulous gardens just outside the front door. It looks as if ANYTHING would grow perfectly here. It is so, so green everywhere on this property! The house is in outstanding condition—everything is. Still the original house, with original wood planks, walls and floors
but kept up and renovated very nicely. The kitchen contains the old fashioned stove right next to the modern stove which I found cute. Antique tools on the walls and very tastefully decorated it just felt like home. We walked upstairs where there was a huge table full of apples. They have more apple trees than I ever imagined! Covering the walls of upstairs were old, old family photos that Francisco explained to us. It was perfect, just perfect.
Next, we walked down the old cobble-stoned road to Rio Erro. Beautiful. Just beautiful. I can say no more. Across the bridge is a huge vegetable garden in front of the old watermill. Yes, we had a watermill. Javier pointed out to be the old part of the house and the new part. Francisco lives in the new part of the house, but the old part is still filled with the original tools used for the water/flour mill! There were two huge slabs of cement that, when turned, were used for both electricity and to grind flour. Francisco, Paulina and Javier as a team showed me exactly how each tool was used. After ground, the flour went through another machine
Photo 5
Paulina and Francisco to be sifted and cleaned in a way. This all was going on on the bottom floor of the house, and the family during the winter time, when they needed electricity, lived above. You can still see the rooms of the old house, and a door leading to them.
After the mill we headed to the Ureta church. Now, I had been told that our family Erro had a church, but I was expecting something else, I was expecting an empty room that perhaps was just used for prayer. No, no, no. This is a real church! High ceilings, pews, and a grand alter complete with statues, paintings, carvings of christ. There are old prayers in Latin, and brass candelabras. This is the real deal. Paulina informed me that she had been married IN this church to Paco 60 years ago! Francisco also was married here. No words can explain how great it was to be there…
I was in awe for quite a while…they all made fun of me because of how many pictures I was taking, but I couldn’t get over the place! This is MY family’s. These are my roots, as I like to say.
Home of Matias Erro
Paulina and I in front of the Erro home It’s unbelievable.
We then drove down the road a bit and up a hill to where the cows are! Yep, not only do we have a church but we have cows as well! An entire barn full of cows, along with an entire hill full of them. The best views were from this barn. The fall colors and little town of Mezquietes sat on the hill across from us. Stunning. This is definitely one of the most beautiful places in Europe.
...the rest of the day TO BE CONTINUED...
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Gail and Tom
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Dear Emily, Tom and I have such fond memories of our trip to Spain. We too were in awe of Paco and Paulina and spent several days in the north. Visiting the family and driving around the Basque country was magical. I'd love to compare photos when you get back. You have prompted us to think about returning to Spain. We'd love to see the family again and meet Maria and Leticia. I was in Spain last year with a friend but missed connecting with anyone. I am so glad that you are having such a wonderful time-it truly is an extraordinary country. Fondly, Gail