Logrono, Spain (August 2025)

Our last destination in this trip to Northern Spain was Logroño, the capital city of an autonomous region called La Rioja. La Rioja is famous for its vineyards. As we drove, we found the vineyards all over the region. In Logorno, the most famous experience is walking around at Calle de Laurel for Tapeo or eating tapas. 

Logorno is not a big city, but it has a statue and a plaza at the city center, quite prominently. 

Logorno has a river flowing through the city, called the Rio Ebro. As I was doing the morning walk along and over the river, the scenery was beautiful.

The narrow streets and alleys blocked the view to various buildings and structures. So it was a pleasant discovery to spot them here and there.

Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Redonda

We stopped by a city market. It was quite small, but it is always fun to see the fruits and vegetables the farmers sell.

We saw a sign for Iglesia de San Esteban or Saint Stephen's Church. Stephen has a special meaning for me since it was he who led me to be born again through his story in Acts 6 and 7 in the bible. It was a small church, but I praised and thanked the Lord for His grace for me. 

We drove to Haro, a municipality of La Rioja, where the Haro Wine Festival takes place annually. There were many vineyards and wine tasting places, but we decided to skip the experience here.

Although short, we could sense the vibe of the city during the day and the night. We felt satisfied with our experiences here. - Jeffrey

Llanes, Spain (August 2025)

 

After we left Oviedo, we had to change our plan to go through a city called Leon, because there was still a wildfire in the surrounding area. So we took the same route to Bilbao to go south to Logorno. Before we reached Bilbao, we made a stop at Llanes, a seaside town famous for its rugged cliffs. 

We walked on the Paseo San Pedro, where we could see the city view as well as the cliffs in the distance. 

We did not have enough time to explore the town well, but it would have been a pleasant experience had we had more time. It was a long drive day, and we had to keep driving to Logorno. - Jeffrey

Oviedo, Spain (August 2025)

Our next destination was Oviedo, the capital city of the Asturias Province. It is located between the Biscay Bay and the Cantabria Mountains. 

Our hotel was located right in the middle of downtown, allowing us to access many landmarks of the city, including the Cathedral of San Salvador. Its tall building stood out from a distance. 

In another direction, we found the Calle de Gascona, where many apple cider bars were situated. These cider bars were called Sidrerias, a famous tradition in Oviedo. 

Sidrerias are famous for the waiting staff's skill of pouring the cider from a high position into the glass. Well... I thought our waiter was probably new. He was not that accurate in the pouring skill.

 

The cider's taste was not quite impressive, either. It was only an experience.

AS we walked around, several street musicians were performing various music. This particular group was quite good. 

Ovideo is also known for the open-air sculptures located all over the city. One particular statue, which I believe was a traveler, was appealing to me because I felt I could have looked like him if I had been traveling centuries ago.

 

There were many other statues and sculptures all over the city downtown, particularly around the Campo de San Francisco, the city's signature park. I walked around the park while we stayed in the city.

I found a garden-looking sign that showed the date with the city name. They were updating the date every day.

We did some grocery shopping and found a bottle of wine on sale for one euro. Yes, one euro! We bought one bottle, and the taste was not that bad at all. What a bargain!

Oviedo has a U.N. Heritage Site located in the old town, called Santa Maria del Narancho, a pre-Romanesque Asturian building dating back to 842 A.D.  Also nearby was Iglesia de San Miguel de Lillo, a Roman Catholic church built around the same time.  

Santa Maria del Narancho

We drove for an hour to a city with a beach, called Gijon. The beach was as usual as other beaches, but we found a restaurant where we had the Menu del Día, which was delicious at an affordable price. 

One thing I learned in this trip was that Oviedo was the origin of the Camino de Santiago. The route from Ovideo to Compostela remains the Primitive Route for the Camino de Santiago. 

Overall, our stay in Ovideo was pleasant and memorable. - Jeffrey