Experiencing the Spanish culture

We woke up at 9am and I had breakfast with my exchange student. We had a traditional Spanish breakfast of white bread with olive oil and tomato sauce. 

After that we got ready and drove 30 minutes to a small village called Badarán. We went there to visit one of the many traditional wineries in the Logroño region. The winery is a family business and we were given a private tour of their production facilities and saw the place where their wine matures. They told us a lot about the traditional methods of production and how they differ from the new technologies used in other wineries, as well as how they produce different wines to create different flavours. Afterwards, my host parents took part in a short wine tasting session and my exchange student and I got to taste different grape juices. 

After this very cultural experience we went to a monastery called San Millan de la Cogolla, again with a guided tour. Although the guide spoke Spanish, I was able to understand the basic information. The monastery was really beautiful, as almost every room and part of the church was decorated with gold elements and statues. Because of the sunshine that day, the golden decorations were even more expressive. 

Before going home, we went to a small restaurant owned by a friend of my host mum to have something to eat and drink. We had some traditional Spanish food, like potatoes with a spicy sauce and cuttlefish with a garlic dip. Of course, being in Spain, we also had white bread with olive oil. 

Later we went home to relax and get some rest. At the end of the day we went to some friends‘ house to play board games. We had so much fun and for dinner we had traditional food again. We had tortilla (Spanish omelette) and empanada (dough filled with tuna and peppers).

The day was great and I think I got some of the best things from Spain’s cultural heritage. 

Lenja