JulieVikmanis

Calling Spain experts. I'm heavily into planning for our June trip to Northern Spain which includes a 3 day stint in Rioja area. The tapas circuit in Logrono sounds particularly fun. Can it be done as a substitute for lunch on a Sunday or will I need to devote a Saturday evening to it (and then drive back to hotel which puts something of a damper on the fun)? Thanks for your help.

Maribel

Hi Julie,
First, in case you haven't looked lately, I've revised my Rioja guide, added some photos, up-to-date (as much as humanly possible) opening hrs. for the wineries, etc., all reflecting the changes we experienced in April.

Now, about the tapas hopping on Calle Laurel, Travesís del Laurel, San Agustín in Logroño....

We almost always do it (and recently did it) at night, around 8:30-9. But it does put somewhat of a damper on the fun, particularly negotiating confusing downtown Logroño at night to get back to Laguardia. BTW, we always, always, always park in the underground garage on the Plaza del Espolón, which is just a short walk from the tapas bars of the Old Quarter. Just look for the P Espolón signs.

However, I just checked callelaurel.net for you for opening hrs. and YES, most bars on open on Sunday. The famous famous "hole-in-the-wall" there, Bar Soriano at Travesía del Laurel 2, opens at 10 am. This is the bar that serves ONE product-grilled mushrooms, or "champis". Others open at 11:30 and noon. I would try to hit these bars between 1 and 1:30.

And for that delectable Iberian ham, I'd go to Pata Negra on Laurel 24.
Then cross the street to Laurel 21 to Simpatía for their signature "cojonudo"-a tiny combo of fried quail egg, red piquillo pepper, chorizo atop a little slice of bread.

My description of tapas hopping on Laurel, "la senda de los elefantes", starts on p.67 in my guide.

And I didn't include our new favorite, but I will here, just for you-
La Bodeguita de Los Rotos, on Calle Agustín 8, which is found at the end of Travesía del Laurel. You'll notice it and the one next door because they will have nice outdoor terraces where one can tapas sample sitting down. And the inside is cutely decorated with antique telephones and radios. The specialty here are their "huevos rotos" (hence the name, literally "broken eggs", a little bread roll with the center carved out and filled with different varieties of scrambled eggs mixed with mushrooms, or chistorra (a type of chorizo), or zucchini, etc. Also they serve really nice platters of shrimp. Unlike the other bars on Laurel, this and its neighbor are tidy places where one doesn't throw the paper napkins and shrimp shells to the floor, Spanish style. By each place at the bar there are little buckets for the detritus of tapas sampling.

And when you do your tapas crawl, if you'd like a better red wine than the customary young wine, "vino del año" that is customarily served, just ask for a "crianza".

Maribel

And forgot to say, Have FUN!

Maribel

Forgot this too,

The Rioja tourist board has a really nice office right on the Plaza del Espolón which is open on Sundays from 10-2, then 5-7.

JulieVikmanis

Thanks. This is just what I was hoping for. It will make our 3 day plan much easier.

And thanks for the tip on your revised guides. The older version I've been using has been invaluable, but if there's an updated one, that's even better. This has been so very helpful. I can't thank you enough.

laneharlan

Hi Julie and Maribel,
I've been reading some of your Spain posts. Thank you for posting such wonderful information. I have recently posted inquiring about a trip through Basque country and possibly some Rjoja- if you have any suggestions to my post, please assist. Thank you