Adventures in Spain: Road Trip Through Navarra

After our evening tapas crawl in Madrid, the next morning we set off on our journey to the region of Navarra.  After four hours of driving through rather quiet scenery, we arrived at the picturesque Bardenas Reales, a desert-like natural park of plateaus formed by erosion over millions of years. 

We continued on to the historic town of Olite.  It was a very charming town housing the Royal Palace of Olite, previously home to the court of the King of Navarra during the Middle Ages.

Quiet streets of Olite

 Royal Palace of Olite

That day it so happened that there was a special youth federation event – we got to witness a mini “running of the bulls” with the young boys of Olite running with small bulls through the streets of Olite. 

Adventures in Spain: Tapas Crawl in Madrid

Back in February, my string of good luck began when I won a trip to Navarra, Spain.  You can read my original post about Navarra and the dinner we attended during Navarra Gastronomic Week here. 

The time finally came last week for Piggie Hubby and me to embark on what we knew would be a spectacular, unforgettable gastronomic adventure in Spain.  As you’ll see from the photos, we kicked off our trip by spending our first two days eating all of the tapas Madrid had to offer. 

Our first food adventure was at Mercado de San Miguel, a covered market with over 30 different shops that offer fresh fruit and seafood and most importantly for us, beer and tapas!  We came here our first night in Madrid to have a sampling of tapas.  There was so much more we wanted to try, we came back for lunch the next day as well.