Rioja
Here are some photos of Arnedo, the group tour of the cliffs. This was a group activity for those in Arnedo with families, 12 of the students.
We also visited the ¨huerta¨, or garden-country house just
outside of Arnedo of the English teacher.The huerta is where many people maintain old family homes that are just a few minutes drive outside of the main town where most people live in ¨pisos¨. Pisos are flats, what we might 
call apartments, but aren´t really apartments as we know them.We have had quite an opportunity here to spend time with some of the host families and it has been an invaluable experience.
Pictured here is a special ¨tapa¨ with olives, hard boiled egg (not a chicken egg, not sure what kind of bird, sorry) and anchovy. John, you would be proud of me as I at the WHOLE thing, including the anchovy. This little ¨tapa¨ we had in Arnedillo, a cute little town known for their thermal baths.
Of course being in the middle of wine country we have had a chance to try some of the ¨Rioja¨Vino tinto, or red wine. The bodegas, or wineries, aren´t really set up for tours, but rather there are shops and restaurants that serve the local wine. For example, at our hotel yesterday we had the ¨menu del dia´, which is the set lunch for the day. It included local wine, three courses, dessert and then a coffee. We were told
we HAD to eat at the hotel as it is THE place to try all of the delicacies of the region. So, because the owner of the hotel is a friend of the English teacher who helped place many of the students with host families, they are giving us special treatment. For example, after that three course meal with a glass of wine (keep in mind that this was at 3 in the afternoon) they gave us a special herb licor after the meal. Then, we had to waddle off for a tour of one of the shoe factories in the town. Arnedo is known for their shoes, it´s the town of the ¨calzado¨ Well, the tour of the shoe factory was very interesting. 
We got to see how they make hiking boots here! The brand ¨Chiruca¨is well known throughout Europe and Spain but not the U.S. as with the dollar so low, it´s too expensive to export to the U.S. See below the cute blue hiking boot I picked out of the 25 types of shoes to choose from! John, let´s see if we can get REI to carry these!Many of the machines now do the jobs that the workers used to do. It was quite interesting to see the computer take inventory of the fabric of the sole of the shoe and make the most of it and then cut the necessary parts. As the shoes carry the gore-tex brand, they have all these special water-proof tests that each shoe undergoes. It´s quite a process and at the end, you get a pretty hiking boot.
This video is of the Naira, singing a special teapot song that she wrote. She is the 7 year old daughter of the English teacher and is quite something. She is the one that wrote the special chants for the soccer team and is just such a cutie. This is the song I´ll teach my students to help them remember all of the words for a table setting!
Another amazing excursion we´ve had included a visit to Enciso, where there are many dinosaur footprints.
We went with Julia Herce and her family to visit all of the sites as well as have a 
paella lunch on Sunday with her family in Las Ruedas de Enciso. Las Ruedas is a town that will soon be covered with water as they are building a dam up river. They´ve been talking about this dam for 80 years and it´s probably going to be built any year now. In the meantime, Fernando and Lola, Julí´s in-laws still go up to the abandoned town, only three families still go, to get away from it all. It´s very peaceful right next to a river of course.
