Logroño

Rejoin the N111 and travel around the modern city of Logroño. Between Logroño and Burgos is the rampart-encircled Santo Domingo de la Calzada , whose most impressive 12th-century cathedral has a live rooster and hen in residence—in commemoration of a miracle which supposedly occurred when a young pilgrim’s innocence was proved by the crowing of an already roasted cock. (They are replaced each year on May 12th.) On signs leading into town, you see the brief poem summing up the legend, which says, Santo Domingo de la Calzada/ cantó la gallina/ después de asada. Although the legend says a cock, the poem says a hen was his salvation. Maybe it just rhymed better. In any case, there is one of each in the cathedral. Its 18th-century belfry is famed as the prettiest in La Rioja.Wine is ubiquitous. In the large fancy restaurants, a good selection of imported wines is usually available along with the extensive wines of Spain. In smaller restaurants, the list is mostly Spanish, which is often a rich selection indeed and fun to sample. Probably the best wines come from the Rioja region around Logroño. These are followed by the wines of the Valdepeñas area of La Mancha, which are slightly more astringent. But there are many other smaller wine-producing regions, some of which we’ll point out in the itineraries. If you have no particular favorite, you’ll rarely go wrong by requesting the vino de la casa, often a wine bottled especially for the restaurant, or else a vino regional (regional wine), either tinto (red), blanco (white), or rosado (rose), according to your preference.