Logroño

     This morning Katie and I left Madrid. The school year is over, the contract for the apartment is up, and we are staying in Spain until late July, so we have decided to get to know the north of Spain. First stop, Logroño—the capital of the region of La Rioja. The region is famous for its wines, and Logroño is a big stop for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James). We arrived today at noon, ate lunch, and walked around the park and old part of town.

(Camino de Santiago markers)

(Calle Portales)

     We visited a few churches and enjoyed the narrow streets in the afternoon...

Katie on domino blocks in front of Iglesia de Santiago El Real

     But what we were looking forward to most was eating pinchos, which are tapas, which are small portions of food you usually eat with a drink. There is a famous street here called Calle Laurel where the bars serve delicious pinchos, and we went there for dinner. We had some fantastic food. 

(This mural says: El Camino de Santiago se hace por etapas. The e in etapas (stops, stages) is crossed out so that is reads tapas. So instead of meaning "One does the Camino de Santiago in stages," it says "One does the Camino de Santiago for tapas.")

(Calle Laurel)

Fried crepe with sirloin, mushrooms, green peppers, and caramelized onions

Spinach croqueta with pine nuts. Chicken skewer with green chile.

Mushrooms with garlic sauce and shrimp on French bread. 

Patatas bravas—'hot' sauce and alioli sauce. 

     So, the food was fantastic and it alone was worth the stop in Logroño. Tomorrow we head to Pamplona. I'm going to try to make a blog post after every city, but let's face it, I'll probably get behind. But stay tuned if you want to keep up with our two and a half week trip around The North.