Artesanía en la Rioja: las mantas de Ezcaray

Quien haya pasado un rato envuelto en una manta de mohair de Ezcaray sabrá de lo que hablamos: una gozada. Hechas a mano en telares del siglo XVIII -época en la que en los valles de la Rioja había cientos de talleres en los que se trabajaba la lana-, las mantas de Ezcaray son tal vez el mejor regalo que un visitante de la Rioja puede hacerse a sí mismo. Ligeras, cálidas y... simplemente eternas.
Hace unas temporadas, Loewe encargó una colección de mantas en colores lisos al taller de Cecilio Valgañón. La colección voló de las tiendas en días.
El tiempo, la artesanía y el amor por el oficio son el verdadero lujo.


Time to snuggle, cuddle and nuzzle under a mohair Ezcaray blanket... Manufactured with care and love in 18th century looms in the village of Ezcaray (chosen by King Charles III as his only official purveyor for wool goodies), these blankets are heaven. Light, puffy, warm...and eternal. Several seasons ago, Loewe comissioned Cecilio Valgañón a collection of blankets and complements, which sold in days. No wonder. So chose your color, wrap yourself up and find a sofa...Chances are we will not see much of you till next spring!

Aprovecha tu tiempo en Ezcaray para descubrir sus maravillosos bosques de hayas.

When in Ezcaray, stroll throgh its wonderful woods.

Las fotografías de paisajes de Ezcaray son de Carlos Briones

Prensa 2010: VIVERE COUNTRY. Italia

La revista de decoración italiana "Vivere Country", un clásico del interiorismo campestre, dedica en su número de febrero un reportaje de veinte (!) páginas a Casa Josephine. Muchas gracias, o, mejor dicho,

Grazie, Italia!

February issue of Italian magazine Vivere Country shows a 20-page story on Casa Josephine! We are truly grateful, as Vivere Country is a leading magazine in the field of decoration. Country-chic!
Grazie, Italia!

Copa Davis en Logroño: dónde alojarse.

Los días 5, 6 y 7 del próximo marzo Logroño acogerá la eliminatoria entre España y Suiza de la Copa Davis 2010.
La situación de Casa Josephine, a diez minutos de Logroño, y la comodidad y la tranquilidad que ofrece, convierten a nuestro alojamiento en la opción ideal durante los días de la Copa Davis.

www.casajosephine.com

The first round tie of Davis Cup 2010 is to be held in Logrono next March (5th to 7th).
Casa Josephine's location, just ten minutes away from the city, make it the perfect accommodation for your stay in Logroño during Davis Cup.

Don't wait too long to book!
English, French, Italian spoken.
www.casajosephine.com

Casa Josephine room by room (3)

Una habitación doble en Casa Josephine. Con un balcón al sureste, la luz de la mañana baña este dormitorio decorado con mapas antiguos y muebles de los años sesenta.

Double room at Casa Josephine. Ancient maps on the walls and furniture from the sixties in this sunny room that faces Southeast.

Planea ya tus vacaciones para el verano de 2010.

Don't wait any longer. Plan your 2010 summer holidays now!

* * * * * Feliz Navidad - Happy Christmas * * * * *

Amigos y visitantes: Casa Josephine os desea una Feliz Navidad a todos.

Merry Christmas to you all, dear friends and visitors!

Visitando vecinos: Lola.

Un paseo por las colinas en torno a Sorzano siempre es mejor cuando termina con una visita a nuestra querida Lola Barasoain en su antiguo molino. Lola vive entre bosques y arroyuelos dedicada a su pasión: las almazuelas.

As the poet once put it, "the woods are lovely, dark and deep", but the woods around Sorzano are even lovelier since Lola Barasoain (one of the world's specialists in patchwork, and beloved friend) lives there. It is always charming to end a walk in the countryside paying a visit to Lola in her 18th mill.

Upkeeping

A little bit of consant upkeeping....Since the very first day, we decided to take a hands-on approach. So here we are, keeping Casa Josephine beautiful and fit!

View from our window: summer...

...seems to be lingering, and we are enjoying the lovely weather, wishing that the leaves took just a little bit longer to turn their color!

Bakery "Las Cien Doncellas"

The bakers in Sorzano have been awarded "Artesanos de La Rioja", a title that certifies that all the procedures used to make their bread and delicious pastries follow the tradition and respect the highest standards.
Theirs is the only bakery in Rioja to hold the title.

In the bakery (one minute away from Casa Josephine) you will also find organic olive oil, chocolate, honey, ice-creams...
Check their web for a visual sample of their excellent production.
In the meantime, we will dip a piece of crusty fresh bread in olive oil from Sorzano and think: isn't life nice?

Algunos blogs sobre vino

Mientras esperamos a que el vino de este año esté listo, navegamos por la web para encontrar algunos blogs que os recomendamos:

-Los emprendedores Arranz-Argote, dueños de la interesantísima bodega ARAR, en Navarrete (a pocos kilómetros de nuestra casa) han hecho El Blog de una cepa. Información detallada y precisa sobre el proceso del vino....casi minuto a minuto.

-El Rioja de Blog en Blog es una iniciativa del Gobierno de la Rioja, que entra así en la blogosfera.

-Y, Devinis, el blog de Joan Gómez Pallarès, con una impresionante selección de blog sobre vino.

Fiesta!

To celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of harvest, Sorzano got ready for its Fiesta!

Besides the religious parade, we had a theater première (congratulations!), local food tastings, wine, cheese and beer tasting lessons, a huge paella (for 500 people), costume parties and, of course, all-night dancing.
We had a ball. Indeed.

Casa Josephine room by room (2)

This is Casa Josephine's living room on the first floor. As the house has a capacity for up to 10 people, we wanted to create spacious areas where our guests can relax, have a chat, read or simply do nothing, which seems to be ultimate luxury these days...

The drawing on the wall (the turtle and the rabbit) is a piece by our dearest friend Silja Goetz.

Presents for Pablo

A lovely birthday at Casa Josephine. Pablo turned 35.

Raquel brought this.

Óscar brought this.

Lola cut these hydrangeas from her garden and came down from her mountain retreat for a cup of chocolate.

Josué thought Pablo needed to unwind.

José picked the kindly fruits of the earth from his orchard...

...and Iñigo converted them into a fritada: sun-riped tomato from our orchard, green peppers, olive oil and garlic.

Heaven.

Casa Josephine room by room (1)

What a pleasure is to wake up in this sun-bathed room at Casa Josephine!

With a window that faces south and a balcony that faces east, the first rays of the morning sun light up this room, its entrance hall and its en-suite bathroom.


We chose light pale colours...

...some coral, fossils, mirrors, a crazy lamp...


...and a wild chessboard for the floor!

Our neighbor Lola: The Queen of Patchwork

Sorzano is proud to have Lola Barasoain as its most distinguished neighbor. Former coutourier -and model- for the Givenchy atelier in Paris, she chose Rioja as her place to live in the early seventies.

Way back then, she started collecting patchwork samples, quilts and ornaments from the old ladies in the villages, saving this art form from disappearing in Rioja.
Lola is considered to be the world's specialist in Spanish Patchwork (called "almazuelas").

Her house in the woods near Sorzano, "El molino", is a former mill, refurbished to hold an impressive collection of textiles and old patchwork patterns.
El molino was featured recently in Casa & Campo magazine .

There she conducts her patchwork classes and lectures,
summer camps and activities for children.

And here's the material we dealt with when we gave patchwork a try...

And here's the results. Casa Josephine's patchwork!

How about a stay in Casa Josephine perfecting your patchwork technique?

Let yourself be pampered at our cozy Casa and enjoy private daily patchwork lessons with expert Lola Barasoain.
Contact us at info@casajosephine.com for a patchwork holiday.