Monday October 21, 2024

Arriving in Madrid, we cleared immigration and retrieved our luggage. We had a taxi arranged to take us to our pension (hotel). Checking in after arriving, we were disappointed to find out how small the room was and even more disappointed to see the size of the bed. It was certainly not a double. False advertising on the web page….grrrrrr.

Leaving our bags in our room, we set out to explore and found neat things here and there. Spain is all about Tapas and Sangria. We wasted no time in finding a bar that served them. Although Madrid is touristy, the area we stayed in was not really a tourist area. There were a lot of locals and we ordered three dishes which turned out to be way too much (Spanish lesson #1 – “raciones” are not tapas size!). Of course there was wine to help it down. 

Wandering around the town, we marvelled at the night life and how it seemed to be a party. 

Tuesday October 22, 2024

Our pension (hotel) did not provide breakfast, so we headed out to find a local eatery. The coffee everywhere is excellent and the pastries were on par with France. We took a walking tour and learned a lot about the history and people of both Spain and Madrid. 

For lunch, we found a new snack, pinchos. These are similar to tapas, but smaller. A tray of eight delicious snacks, with vino tinto, seated outside in an open square, was a delightful lunch.

Wednesday October 23, 2024

Our tour guide from the previous day suggested the nearby city of Toledo as a place to visit for a day trip. There are coaches running as often as every 15 minutes depending on the time of day. You just buy a ticket and get in line. When there’s room, you get on.

The drive is about an hour and once in town, we took a taxi to the centro. It was about a 30-minute walk, but it was all uphill, so a taxi made sense to us. Once there, we found a “jamon” place. There were only about 75 of them to choose from. 

Jamon, of course, is ham in English. It is an art form here in Spain. The various jamon places will finely shave the jamon and put it on a very fresh baguette or bun. You can request cheese as well. Interestingly, I never saw any mustard offered. That’s fine for me as I have a minor intolerance to mustard, but I’m sure many folks would have wanted it. The jamon was wonderful and did not need any accompaniments, other than cheese. 

Touring Toledo

Another walking tour followed, where we learned about the history of Toledo. There were battles, attacks and history. Toledo became the capital at one time, only to lose that title a few years later to Madrid.

When the tour was over, we doubled back to the Jesuit church where we were able to climb up the bell tower. It was a long climb but we were rewarded with stunning views of the city and countryside. Knowing there would be a queue for the bus back to Madrid, we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner in a traditional restaurant. The owner was gracious and our three-course meal was accompanied with local Rioja wine. 

With our late lunch finished, we wandered the town and marveled at the similarities to Sienna Italy. In Sienna, tourists, mostly from Florence, flock to town for the day. Inside the city walls, it becomes almost too crowded. Toledo was not really different and the non-stop buses from Madrid validated that. We certainly enjoyed the town more once most day-trippers had fled. If we were to come back, we would likely spend a few nights in Toledo, and perhaps day-trip into Madrid.  

Interestingly, most of the tourists were Spanish. Our walking tour was the only one, of about 25, that was in English. The rest were in Spanish.

Retuning to Madrid, we wandered around the congested city and reaffirmed our preference for smaller, quainter cities.

Thursday October 24, 2024

Today was a lighter day, in preparation for our big evening Flamenco show. There are a number of places putting on Flamenco shows. Each claims to be the most authentic. We chose the one we went to on reviews and ratings.

We were given a choice of drink at the show. Being in Spain, Sangria seemed like a natural choice. We were then led downstairs to a three-row theater with about 50 chairs. As it was open seating, we sat in the front row. Our guide gave us a 15-minute lecture on the history of Flamenco, the migration of people and instruments. Then the show.

I did not know what to expect. In the end, I was blown away. I might describe it as a cross between figure skating and tap dancing. By the end of the show, the dancers were sweating from their hard work. Their feet moved so fast you could not keep track, and all in time. It was certainly a great show. We then found a nice restaurant and had a relaxing dinner. 

Friday October 25, 2024

Leaving Madrid, we took a four-hour bus ride to Logroño, our next Spanish stop. The buses in Spain are highly efficient and very cost friendly. I’m not sure why I picked Logroño as a place to visit, but I’m really glad I did. When we arrived at our apartment, we were blown away by the size, especially after Madrid. The building was close to 200 years old. There were exposed wooden beams and brickwork. We had a small balcony, which overlooked both the Cathedral and the main piazza. That night for dinner, we cooked in the apartment and ate on the balcony, watching the comings and goings and a bit of tomfoolery. 

Saturday October 26^th, 2024

We were not able to find an English walking tour in Logroño, so we improvised. Reading multiple blogs, we crafted a plan and then went to the Tourist Information (TI) centre for further ideas. The TI was most helpful and offered a number of places to visit.  The host highlighted the history of wine and suggested a number of wine related places to visit. 

We started with the history of wine in Logroño. How the city had so many wineries and did a booming trade in wine was fascinating. As you might expect, a lot of the wine was sold “out the back door” to locals. People have been lining their pockets forever. Exploring more, we saw parks, rivers and parts of the Camino trail. There are a number of hostels in town that cater to pilgrims who do the walk. We were fortunate to be able to walk a portion of the trail.

A Pincho walking tour

As evening came, we prepared for our pincho tour. Normally we try to do an organized tour, but in this case, the tours were all starting at €150 and going up from there – and usually in Spanish. We looked at what you got and decided we would do a “self-tour”. There were a number of suggestions and we simply followed our noses. For just over $60 CAD, we were able to have some amazing pinchos’ accompanied by various wines. This also included a stop at a wine bar where we were able to try a local wine along with some local queso (cheese). 

We could not have been happier with our evening. We looked like locals as we bellied up to the bar, pointed to our selection and then added “dos vino tinto”. The host would gather our items as I pulled out my credit card. I then tapped and we munched. The food was so good. Each place had a speciality as well as other choices. You don’t go to one place, but to a few bars. The locals, when they go out, toss money to one person. That is the “orderer” and that person goes and deals with the hostess. 

We did our tour on a Saturday night and it was PACKED. We knew it would be busy and we did start early. The picture of the street shows absolute chaos, but in a good way. 

Sunday October 27, 2024

After a long pincho night, we wanted to know more about the wine they were serving us. A tour of a winery made sense. Over the years, we have likely toured more than 30 wineries. When I saw there was a winery in the centre of Logroño, I was intrigued. Arizcuren Bodega & Viñedos is a small winery producing 25,000 bottles/year. However, they do it the “old way”. Grapes are brought down from the mountain and processed in the city. This is what they did 100’s of years ago and Arizcuren is trying to bring this back. 

A city wine tour – unique but so worth while.

Having been in some of France’s most exclusive wineries, Arizcuren really struck a chord with me. The winery consists of:

Four staff (not a type-o). 

True passion. 

100% commitment. 

From crushing grapes, to aging in oak casks, to hand corking each bottle. Yup, hand corking 25,000 bottles/year. In Canada, their wines are only sold in Ontario and Quebec. If you are able to sample them, I don’t think you would be disappointed. 

The tour provided generous samples. Due to the popularity, we could only get in for the 10:30 tour. As they say, you can’t drink all day if you don’t start early. Here is their website if you are ever in Logrono. https://www.arizcurenvinos.com/en/ Feeling the effects of the wine after our tour, we walked around and exploring some local parks and monuments.

Later in the evening, we saw a huge bonfire. It is the end of the harvest and a few weeks ago there was competition of floats. The best float is selected and it gets to be burned. I’m not sure what happens to the others. Before the fire, there are fireworks and then, under the supervision of firefighters, the float is torched. To me, it is a bit counter-intuitive to win and have your float burned, but who am I to question local customs?

Monday October 28, 2024

As it was our last day, we took it easy today and decided to visit some of the sites we enjoyed. In the evening, we did a modified pincho run, stopping at only two places, but we were richly rewarded.

Monday October 14^th, 2024

After buying Cam’s Aran Island sweater, we took a roundabout route to Donegal. We lunched in the town of Westport and were very glad we did. It had been cloudy all morning. Our weather luck continued to hold as the clouds broke and sun came out as we pulled into town. Finding a park bench by the canal, we ate our picnic in the sunshine and then met a very famous Bear. 

Westport had been chosen as one of 23 towns to get a Paddington Bear bench with a statue of Paddington on it. Other towns included Paddington Station in London, Dublin and other centres. The bench, with Paddington sitting on it, had been installed that day. We were among the first to get our picture with him, complete with his marmalade sandwich!

It was then off to our hotel for the night, Locke Eske Castle. This was truly a castle that had been restored and was now a five-star hotel. Pulling up, we were greeted by staff who took our bags, parked our car and showed us to our 500 square foot room. The building, the facilities, the bed, the bathroom were all first rate. We were offered a chance to dine in the main dining room, but we thought the €150/pp price tag was a bit much.

Hoping on a bike, I headed down to the lake and toured the local area. We popped into town for dinner and a pint before coming back. The bed was comfortable and we managed to sleep in to 8:00 AM.

Tuesday October 15^th, 2024

Today was our anniversary. We are both so proud of ourselves for making it to 36 years, which was part of the splurge for the castle. Breakfast was a feast to behold. There was a menu with the usual suspects including eggs benedict, made different ways such as traditional, salmon, vegan, etc. To the side was a buffet with a full ham and omelets made to order. As much fresh fruit, cheese and cold cuts as you could imagine were also there. It was a wonderful brunch for our anniversary. 

Heading into town, we visited Donegal castle and did a tour. Fascinating history of building, raiding, burning and rebuilding. The town is not really a tourist town and the shops did not sell the typical magnets and t-shirts. We did manage to see a weaver using a 150-year-old loom to make fabric. That store had some of the nicest sweaters I had seen and I was sorry I had already bought one.

When we arrived back at our castle, we did a hike around the grounds and then celebrated our anniversary with a bottle of prosecco, which was followed by another bottle that the hotel provided us for our special day. One of the nicest things about prosecco, at least for us, is that we do not get hangovers! We had a light dinner and then lounged in the “great room” in front of a roaring fire that Cam tended.

Wednesday October 16^th, 2024

Departing the castle after another huge breakfast, we headed into Northern Ireland and the town of Derry or Londonderry. After checking into our BnB, we went to the heart of town and did a walking tour. Learning of the “Troubles”, the medieval walls and the role Derry played in WWII. It was a really well done tour. 

Although it seem a bit sacrilegious while in Ireland, we had dinner at the Spaghetti Junction. A highly rated local Italian place that was recommended by our B&B. It did not disappoint. Then we entered a pub where we ended up being kidnapped.

A True Irish Pub

Pedar O’Donnells is a pub that is written up in many books and was recommended by our host. They play live music nightly and tonight it was traditional or “Trad” music. We were lucky enough to find a table for two and after a bit started talking to the couple next to us. They were Scottish and she was there on business. Then, without warning, she got up and left, returning a few minutes later with a beer for everyone and four shots of tequila. Ummmm….what?

We thought it would be rude to say no, so we snapped it back and drank the beer. As we were chatting, the couple on the other side heard our new friends talking. It turns out they were also Scottish. Here’s where we were kidnapped. The new lady did a disappearing act and came back with beers for everyone. Being by far the oldest of the group, we wondered how this would end. The music was louder and everyone was drinking and laughing. A while later, Meg managed to pull a disappearing act and returned with drinks for everyone. 

At midnight, we said our goodbyes and managed to escape from our good-natured capturers, all of whom now have a great opinion of Canada. I mentioned earlier that prosecco does not give hangovers. Tequila and beer is a different story…especially at our age. 

Thursday October 17^th, 2024

After a slow start, we wandered into town, capturing a picture of the Derry Girls mural. Even though we had never seen the show, it seemed the right thing to do. Touring the Tower Museum, we learned more about the Derry Girls as well as the city. There is a fascinating past. 

A quiet dinner in the B&B and then back to a pub. Although we looked into some other pubs, the only one with music was O’Donnells. As our Scottish friends had all headed back to Scotland, we knew they could not kidnap us again . The music was more of the rebel song variety and the crowd was not as ‘into it’ as the night before.

Friday October 18^th, 2024

Heading down to Athlone, we encountered our first real rain. That did not stop us from visiting two historical sites. The Beltway circle is a Henge, similar to Stonehenge, but with smaller stones. The signs estimate it was built about 2,000 – 1,500 years ago. Somehow, these ancient people knew how to line things up as the winter solstice rises through two particular stones. I find it amazing that, without computers or written records, they could know where the sun would rise. Even more amazing, how often could they see the sun actually rise, versus being blocked by clouds? Ireland is green for a reason: it rains a lot!

Arriving at Athlone, we checked into a nice B&B and then wandered the town, walking along the Shannon River. We found a brewpub for dinner which, unfortunately, was likely the worst brewpub we have ever visited. A completely uninspiring beer menu and limited food. You can’t win them all.

Saturday October 19^th, 2024

Rising early, we left our B&B, where breakfast was not provided unless you paid an additional €15/pp, and we visited Clonmacnoise. This was probably the best ruins we visited. It is managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and there were videos, signs and handouts to guide you. The original site was dated from 556 AD and rests on the Shannon River. Over the years it was continually raided by Vikings, Irish and English. It was abandoned in the 1500’s by decree of King Henry VIII when he did away with all the monasteries. 

It is in good condition and was well worth seeing, the brilliant sunshine was an added bonus. This was followed by lunch and a hike. Our evening had us dine in a local pub and then call it an early night. 

Sunday October 20, 2024

We headed into Dublin and after checking into our B&B, we set out for our tour of the Guinness Storehouse, or brewery. It was a self-guided tour and a bit pricy for what you got. Us being us, took way longer than suggested. The tour ended up on the 7^th floor where there were sweeping views of the city. A pint of Guinness was part of the package. 

Dinner was next at a revered restaurant in the Temple Bar area. I had made reservations and we were able to pass a number of folks who were waiting for a table. As it was our last night in Ireland, we both had Guinness stew, which filled us up. We were glad for the 30-minute walk back to let dinner settle. 

Monday October 21, 2024

We returned our rental car and almost ran into a problem. There was a slight nick in the passenger tire and the first clerk said it would require a damage report. I balked and she got her supervisor who told her no, it was not reportable. 

Checking in for our flight on Iberia Express, a budget airline, we departed a bit late for Madrid and started our Spanish adventure.

I’ll post more about Spain at a later date.

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave any comments or contact us through the contact form below.

Cam and Meg