San Mateo

The first week that we spent in Logroño happened to fall during the festival celebrating Saint Matthew and the wine harvest, so we got an extra week of vacation before school started. On the first day of San Mateo, we woke up early and headed to the kickoff point at noon. Everyone was wearing maroon scarves around their necks as part of the celebration, and since they were only a euro each, everyone in our group bought one. We headed over to the town hall, where there was a concert and a wine stomping, which was very fun to see. I was surprised by how many children were out celebrating San Mateo, because people everywhere were drinking in the street. However, if I've learned one thing about Spain so far, it's that everyone is invited to celebrate in whatever way they want to, and since San Mateo I haven't been as surprised to see children out with their parents at all hours of the day and night.

We had paella for lunch at an outdoor market, which was absolutely delicious, and then spent the rest of the day wandering around checking out all of the different events. That night, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant then went to a karaoke bar, which ended up being a blast. Because dinner doesn't start until 10 p.m., people stay out here a lot later here, and the first night we were shocked that the night didn't wind down until 5 a.m.

The rest of the week was filled with cheap wine, parades, and more street bands than I have ever seen in my life. All of the events blended together, but in between the celebration we did errands such as setting up a bank account, applying for Spanish residency, and searching for apartments. Because most of us didn't have apartments before arriving in Spain, six of us stayed in an Airbnb for the first week, which was nice because we got to know each other and it gave us people to hang out with during the first week.

I'm glad we were here for San Mateo, because it is a big part of Logroño's culture and history, and it was very cool to experience it firsthand. The first week was very fun, but also a little stressful, and we are all glad to finally be settled!