Day 14: Logroño & Viana

Day Fourteen! We bid farewell to beautiful Bilbao so that we could connect with Brooklyn's lovely mission friends in Logroño & Viana. Here we are doing Annika's hair super fast before meeting up. The hair tie in my mouth kind of makes it look like a grew a speedy mustache.

Logroño was quiet on a weekday morning, but still pretty.

Okay, so this is totally off-topic, but Jason is always asserting how roads are more picturesque when the buildings are closer together. Look at this side by side of Logroño (above) & Viana (below). Both are lovely and very similar, but the Viana photo feels more intimate, largely beause of the physical connectedness of the buildings. And then, there's Salt Lake.  Thanks to Brigham Young, many of our streets are wide enough for a team of oxen to turn around. Functional for car traffic, but I wish our streetscapes had more character.

But I digress.  Back to Logroño, even the trees looked colorful! It was fun hearing about all of the experiences Brooklyn had while serving here.

Apparently Logroño is right on the Camino de Santiago. If you speak, Spanish this sign is hilarious. El Camino de Santiago se hace por Etapas. (The Pilgrimage of St. James is completed by stages tapas. Speaking of el camino, Brooklyn and I are already planning a future adventure.

Here is Brooklyn and her lovely friend Marcela from .

Marcela invited us into her home where we met her son Cristián and their fantastic pet bird, Mango.

Much to Annika's chagrin, Talia was Mango's favorite.

Before long we continued on our way to the small town of Viana where we were lucky enough to meet the sweetest family: Estela, Oscar, Ana & Esteban. Even though we were meeting for the first time, it felt like we'd known each other for years and would be best friends if only we lived closer. The food was extraordinary--my only regret is that I was so busy eating that I forgot to take more pictures. 

We are so grateful to this family for taking such great care of our missionary daughter, feeding her on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's! They never knew that back at home Brooklyn's little sister was getting a heart transplant at the same time, but I feel such peace knowing that Brooklyn was being cared for too. (Hermana Talia, we pray you've found some special people too!)

The family took us on a lovely walking tour of their beautiful little town. 

Their cathedral was destroyed during WWII and  intentionally left without a roof after in remembrance.

Inspired by our own goofy photo, Oscar called himslef a "mono" in this pic.

These two would have gladly chatted for days.

By the way, in case you wanted to know where all the oreos in Spain are made, Viana is the place! Apparently the factory is right next to the elementary school so the kids smell cookies all day long.

As much fun as Viana was, we needed to continue on to Soria, our final AirBnb for two days. The apartment was clean, modern, spacious, and a block away from the town square. True, the view out the back balcony was just construction, but Jason and Eli were fascinated.

Here's another family selfie, taken just as we headed out to explore the town. Soria had a delightfully vibrant vibe, with locals out on the streets everywhere chatting and dining. It really was enchanting. Jason decided that if we ever moved to Spain, this would be the perfect place.

Just as long as he doesn't take off with another woman...

Modern art? Perhaps, but we suspect the chair simply collapsed.

Apparently storks can be a bit of a nuisance in the area as their giant nests clog gutters. The belfry doesn't seem to mind.

You're never too old for a playground.

Since we planned to splurge on dinner out the next day, here's our smorgasbord from cleaning out the fridge. We were all out of baguette (tragedy!), so I made homemade tortillas with our remaining flour, oil and salt.  The kids were pretty impressed--apparently I've been hiding my tortilla making skills from them all these years.

Stay tuned for our very final post about Spain!