Piedralaves, the cool town of the Tiétar Valley
When you name stonelaves there are two options: that they frown without knowing very well what is it talking about or let one be born nostalgic smile.
Because who knows this Tiétar Valley town you know him very well. A 95 kilometers from Madrid , and preceded by Santa Maria del Tietar -first town when crossing the border from the capital-, Sotillo de la Adrada and La Adrada… It is the most picturesque town in the area. NODE itself demonstrates this.
Airing the clothes in the streets of Piedralaves
Piedralaves has pine and palm trees, with a warm weather as if it were a mountain Marbella . In fact, the poet Juan Ramon Jimenez reminded him so much of Andalusia that he spent time here, in the now extinct Hotel Tietar.
Even Pío Baroja and the Nobel Prize, Camilo José Cela They have visited. And till Carmen Seville she has filmed here, as the newspaper already reported at that time in the film the glass ceiling . Who would have thought that this small town of Ávila was going to be the protagonist of a movie? And it is not the only one …
The throat of Nuño Cojo
Time after, Piedralaves continues to keep the presence of then , the one that amazed some of our best authors, but also painters like the Argentine Alberto Greco or the famous painter Menchu Gal among others. Its landscapes are worth it. stonelaves It was already – that hackneyed term, so millennial but accurate- cool.
But this town in Ávila is not only a small town to **disconnect from the weekend** –it is filled with madrileños every saturday and sunday -, is a place to enjoy the gastronomy of the place and its corners with art.
On the one hand, you have to delight the eyes with its monuments: the 17th century church in honor of San Antonio de Padua , the bridge and the source of the foresters – look at the photo from the bridge , overlooking the river-, The throat of Nuño Cojo -where there are those who go to meditate-, The Cross of Lovers -where the couples of the people in love were going to meet-...
The Cross of Lovers in Piedralaves
Among many other monuments. The main walk is the one that leads up the stairs to this church with a Mudejar coffered ceiling, follows the cross and continues to the town hall square. Then you have to get lost in the streets. Impossible not to fall in love.
And when you get lost in the streets, you have to have your wallet ready. Because anyone who enjoys a good piece of meat, a fruity fruit, some freshly caught eggs from the farmyard... All of this will sound great . It is common for many people from Madrid to take the car full of products from the land.
After shopping, start the route through Piedralaves . Start the appetizer The Cellar , a bar with a terrace on the banks of the river that fills up in autumn, spring, winter or summer. If Lorenzo appears slightly, it is usual to enjoy a wine with revolconas potatoes even if it's 10 degrees outside. Even its interior is charming, so there's no need to freeze your skin and act tough like the locals.
Stir-fried potatoes from La Bodeguilla in Piedralaves
If we want to go back to the time of Tell me , and fill the stomach well, you can not miss the orchard . At the entrance, grandparents from Avila play cards. Inside, true to itself for decades, people willing to eat whatever they need.
There is always a cheap menu, which varies between some stew, soup or pasta. The waiter approaches you with those extinct metal dishes and throws food at you until you say: enough! And in between, hors d'oeuvres, which can never be missed. Deviled eggs, for example . To accompany, a pitcher of local wine mixed with soda. There will be those who want to take a tupperware. The wait can be enlivened with a game of table football.
Montenebro cheese croquettes at La Trastienda
Many of those who have been in the area for a few days and are looking forward to sitting in an instagrammable place -it's what it means to be in the city-, is ** La Trastienda **, a gastrobar that delights all those who are looking for something elaborate.
**Vintage furniture and decorative touches typical of any small restaurant in Las Salesas **. The best? Your inner courtyard. Completely reminiscent of Santorini. You have to let yourself be carried away by the products of the land and be advised. Rich meat table. The tuna tartar is interesting, which, unlike those in the capital, is surprising with a touch of anchovy. Those of us from the city sometimes like to feel a bit like home.
For Sunday rice dishes, it is essential to order it at the Trastamara. If we are of soul hippy -but hippy, really - we have a gap in The cinnamon . It never fails Posada Quinta San Jose , for weddings and embers.
Do you like patio?
For breakfast with fresh bread and biscuits, Merche Tavern –two steps from La Canela and La Bodeguilla-…
A hamburger with meat from Ávila and a Basque touch? Tasca the Taxco. That there is everything here! It is easy to recognize the tavern, with the classic Basque typography in one of the many mountain architecture houses with wooden galleries that we find in the center.
But since you have to blend in with the environment, because Piedralaves embraces you and invites you to do so, you have to sit down to eat with one of the other places where you eat at home... But literally.
The Garcys, that has just opened its doors and is perfect for summer; The Congo , where they literally say If you're in a hurry, don't even go in. A lifelong marriage welcomes you in this bar full of vines that reminds you, for a moment, of a jungle in the middle of nowhere. It is necessary to turn off the mobile and notice the calm.
Tavern Merche in Piedralaves
Although if you like the fuss, practically any weekend there is atmosphere in Piedralaves. In summer, the round goes singing at night.
This season also celebrates the San Roque festivities -Patron of the town-, with great fame throughout the region. Point the August 16th.
In February, they celebrate the Carnivals in style, in April there is a tapas fair –although attention, which is sometimes repeated in other months-… In May? A Rocío Chico with salve rociera included fills the streets of the town with atmosphere around May 15.
During these dates, the Luminaria, with bonfires and flamingo around the town . And other sporting events that it is necessary to ask for dates, to be sure. Because Piedralaves is a continuous minister's agenda, with local festivals, restaurant potpourri and an atmosphere for all tastes. Beware, it has gambling dens and a disco - Cathedral -.
And how cool is he now slow-life … Let's stop fooling around and enjoy the really cool stuff, how they live slowly in the villages. Which is not the same as this trend. As Cela said: “It is not the same to be asleep as to be sleeping…”.
Fresh in Piedralaves