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My father was an enthusiastic fan of the vino.  Perhaps, he was not precisely a connoisseur, but he certainly was the family pundit when it came to selecting the appropriate wine to pair with a meal or to celebrate an occasion.  He collected wines from all over the world, and frequently visited wineries and toured vineyards.  More than once he took a class to learn from an expert gourmet or sommelier – sometimes even while on a cruise!  Such was the depth of his passion and enthusiasm for the grape.  One of his very favorite wines, was Marqués de Cáceres, produced in La Rioja, Spain for over five generations.  I can recall many moments spent discussing the great virtues of the tempranillo grape and how much he appreciated the smell, feel and taste of this particular red wine.  

My father died in 2015.  It feels like yesterday and sometimes I still expect him to simply appear.  He is part of our lives even today.  You know, it’s not at all unusual for one of us to remark, “Dad would really have enjoyed this”, or to recall a memory involving him and something related to our current circumstances.  Whether we are adventuring or just living our normal routine, his spirit seems to always be with us.  So, when at last we finally found our way to Logroño, the capital of La Rioja, and the home of Dad’s favorite wine, I suppose it was only natural that memories of my father would play predominately in my mind. 

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Logroño is a small city with around 150,000 inhabitants.  Coming from Bilbao, which is easily twice that size, and Barcelona, which is almost 10 times that size, we found this city quaint and easily traversed.  It is also located right on the Ebro river so there were tons of bridges – those beautiful Spanish architectural constructs – available for us to view as we traveled and explored.  Along the route, we drove past three large, white, metal bridges that were surprisingly stunning in design.  We saw the Puenta de Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, the newest and most modern of the bridges we had seen thus far, at the Parque de la Isla (park at the riverbank) when we first arrived in town.  We saw the bridge from the distance and decided to stop for a moment to take in the view.  Then we turned around and drove back into the city center towards El Cubo de Revellín (the tower) and the great Revellín wall, which are part of the remains of the city’s original fortifications.  

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I eventually parked the car and we left Mom to relax while Allita and I trekked through the Parque del Ebro (city park) area and got a fantastic view of Casa de las Ciencias (House of the Sciences) and the absolutely gorgeous Puente de Hierro (Iron Bridge), which is also the oldest of the bridges crossing the Ebro River in Logroño.  Also, this is my favorite of the bridges we saw or visited in La Rioja. From the same area, we were able to view the Puente de Piedra, another famous bridge that is mostly remarkable because it is featured in the city shield and is the place where the Camino de Santiago enters the city.   At this point, I should note that I had ignorantly and innocently parked the car illegally, so when Allita and I returned, we were surprised to discovered Mom entertaining a Spanish police officer from her passenger-side seat.  Thankfully, he was extremely understanding and forgiving (and probably also amused).  We all agreed it was best to locate our hotel, which included a private parking garage, and continue the rest of our journey on foot.  We spent the rest of our time walking in Logroño.  Considering our main destination was La Laurel, that was probably a good decision.  

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Calle del Laurel (Laurel Street), locally and affectionately known as “La Laurel”, is the main and most famous street in the taperías quarter.  In fact, there are well over 50 different tapas or pinxto (pincho) bars/restaurants in this four-block area.  Wow! Not to mention all the bodegas offering samples at their stand-up tables. Hello! Welcome! Every establishment served a variety of tapas or media ración (half or small portions) and, of course, the famous Rioja D.O. wine.  Each place had their own particular flavors and speciality dishes, which they paired perfectly with a local wine. 

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In my humble opinion, the very best way to experience La Laurel is the way we did it – start at one end and wander slowly through the street, stopping as you like to share tapas and taste wine, until you are either too full or too inebriated to go any further.  I recommend you also have a functional GPS on your fully charged phone or a good map of the city so that it’s easier for someone in your party to locate your hotel for a post-tapas siesta.  In fact, we used this as an opportunity for Allita to practice her map-reading and navigational skills.  Ha! The locals call this little neighborhood “la senda de los elefantes” (the path of the elephants) because you exit with your trunk down and on all fours!  Clearly it’s fairly common for visitors to stumble their way along this route and, we found ourselves sharing the narrow passageways with an unexpectedly large number of locals and guests.  Thankfully it was all outdoors, the weather was perfect, and, for the most part, people were observing all the safety rules.  The food was delicious, unusual and fun and the wine was definitely worth savoring.  More than anything else I can think of, Dad really would have really enjoyed this part of our trip.  

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