Black Friday and everything inbetween

After the excitement of our arrival died down and it started getting cold, the festivals in the nearby towns also started to dwindle. This does not keep people off the streets in Logroño though! Old and young alike are out at all hours of the day and night, walking, shopping and going to cafes or bars.

Cafe in the park below our apartment - just the other day,
in December! Brrr.

Also in the park

Not during siesta of course - that´s when it feels like a ghost town.

Between traveling by bus to and from school, going to Spanish class, attending my private lessons and seeing friends, I always feel out and about. Going out to eat is no different. It's a very social and outdoor experience. Typically when we go out to eat, it's not a sit down meal - not here. It's much more cost effective to buy wine and order tapas. Every bar is different and you must choose carefully if you want good food. Some are more meant for a coffee or wine, a quick snack (usually bleh) or talking with friends in a low key setting, and some are meant to be more social and offer delicious varieties of house specialties or tapas with local ingredients where it´s standing room only. That´s where you know the food is good. Ooh, and some places offer free tapas, or price them with the wine. 2€ for wine and a tapa and it feels free. Those bars can be great as well, but if you go to Calle Laurel, you can't go wrong!

Calle Laurel is one of the main cobblestone streets in the old town
for great night life, wine and tapas. These are not the cheap tapas,
but they are oh, so good!

Here are a couple photos of mushroom tapas that I promised.

This tapa is very popular and the main, if not only, food item on the menu
 at Bar Soriano off Calle Laurel (the famous tapa street in Logroño). 

Watch how they're made!

This is a media racion (appetizer size) of mushrooms at El Cid,
also off Calle Laurel.

This is what we do Thursday through Saturday if we are in town. We eat.

Riñones are kidneys. Por que no?

Cheers!

Here's one of our favorite foods we learned how to make. So easy and a staple around here.

Making tortilla, or Spanish omelette - a very popular food
for any time of day or night!

Fry onions and potatoes. In a separate bowl, mix with eggs.
Fry, flip, voila!

With the second one in the making!

Eating and making friends...

Spanish friends...

and American, Irish and Welsh friends.

For Thanksgiving, there were about 20 of us that got together for a traditional meal. Some Irish, Welsh, English, Italian and Spanish friends joined together. Of course most of us had to work that day, so we had dinner Spanish-style at 10pm!

To top off Thanksgiving and the holidays I found out that the mall nearby was having sales for Black Friday! I hadn't expected that custom in Spain! I was ecstatic! I hadn´t bought a single thing for myself since I´d been here. Black Friday was a week and a day after Thanksgiving, but I found out just in time. The center of Logroño was also having sales so my friend and I dedicated the day to walking around town and looking for Black Friday signs in storefronts. Once in awhile it feels great to take part of commercial American traditions just for the sake of feeling American!

So that's what I've been up to here. Among the weekend trips to villages for grape stomping and exploring the natural, historic wonders of the area we do normal day-to-day stuff too. We still get up early, go grocery shopping, Skype our families and try to keep in touch with what we know. Everything is a bit different here with new obstacles constantly keeping us on our toes, but we find a balance and eventually we find versions of the little things that work for us.

Medieval markets, Basque Country and Valencia in the next posts!

Happy Holidays!