Monday, November 12, 2007

Some Excursions in Spain

We have had the opportunity to do a lot of different things living here in Logrono so far and it has only been 2 months! Here are a few things that I have enjoyed doing since the middle of October.

Ben's high school invited him and I to go along to a tour of a new museum that has opened up just outside of Logrono on October 18th. It is called Museo Wurth. It is a German/Spanish museum made with many different art pieces from all over the world that one German man had collected and now put in a museum. There was a book opening the night that we went to the Museum. We were even given the book as a free gift for going to listen to the speeches. We got to explore the museum for about an hour and then were able to feast on many different types of tapas (appetizers) and wine for free before heading back to Logrono. I enjoyed the museum a lot! Here are some photos from the museum.

On October 20th Ben and I enjoyed traditional food from Spain. We indulged in churros and also another thing I can't remember the name of. It is like fried mini potato chips and then you either put spicy ketchup, guacamole or garlic mayonnaise on them. They both were very good! We bought them at a local place called "La Perla". It is a small shop set up right on a corner of the street and they open every night.

On October 27th, we went on a tour of a local winery, Franco-Espanolas, that is just across the river from our apartment. We met up with Juan, our friend, who was confused about just being able to go there on our own. We ended up talking with one of the tour guides and getting a personal tour for just the three of us! It was my favorite wine tour. We even received diplomas from the place after the tour was finished!


Here is a photo of some beautiful leaves in Logrono during the fall. It is weird. I think that since they grow a lot of grapes here for wine that the soil must make the leaves in the fall turn especially darker red colors. I have never seen such brilliant colors in the fall.

On October 28th, Ben and I received free tickets to go watch a local basketball game in Logrono. It was fun to go watch a sports event live. Our team here is called Caja Rioja. Caja Rioja is the name of a large bank company in Logrono.

On Halloween night Ben and I carved a pumpkin. We had all of our friends that are doing the same as us here over for good pizza and then went out to an Irish Pub afterwards. It was lots of fun! At the bar they had scary people dressed up with chainsaws and would turn off all the lights in the bar and run around. I was scared!


This photo of the cathedral by our apartment was taken very late on Halloween night. It is one of my favorites here so far!

One important holiday in Spain is celebrated on November 1st. It is called All Saints Day in the United States. They celebrate All Saints Day a lot more than they do Halloween. The week before All Saints Day the flower shops sell huge amounts of flowers and then people visit the cemetery on that day. They also have no school on that day. They have two types of pastries that are very popular for that day as well. They are called Huesos de Santos (Bones of the Saints) and Bunuelos. Ben and I tried one of every flavor. They were great! The bunuelos are on the left and the Huesos de Santos are in the middle next to our favorite bread here to buy!

This is just a quick tour of what we have been up to lately in Spain from October until now. There will surely be a lot more on its way. I can't wait to celebrate the Christmas holiday season here! I am also very excited that my parents, Tony, Rob and April are coming to visit us from December 20th - December 31st. If anybody wants to come visit us here just let us know! We would love to have visitors any time and have seen some great roundtrip prices for the spring months. Have a great rest of your Monday. Also, make sure you read the next blog below this one. I was so ambitious today I wrote two blog entries and don't want you to miss out on either one! Bye and until next time.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Abby:

Nice pics. I wonder what a "barrel" of wine would cost? Halloween in an irish pub. That also boggles the mind. I hope you have some of those nice flowers in the apartment to celebrate all saints day. It's appropriate. Take care. Keep the blogs coming.

Anonymous said...

It's always interesting to read your blog and then Ben's - what different perspectives you two have. Your pictures are really beautiful. I'm hoping your mom and dad are enjoying New York too
Take care, Gail

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