¡Toro, Toro!

Day 6:  Taking a quick break from wine country on a day when most wineries are closed, we take a day trip into the Bullfighting region of Pamplona.
Pamplona (Spanish) or Iruña (Basque) is the historical capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former Kingdom of Navarre.
The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the Running of the Bulls is the main attractions.
Pamplona, just an hour and half drive from the cute little town of Tarragona, where we are staying for our 3 day visit to the region of Rioja, is a nice day trip for those looking to head off on short excursions from the area.
Much of Pamplona, as we come to find, is known for its ancient architectural sites with its historical centre lying on the left bank of the Arga, a tributary of the Ebro River (which flows through the winemaking region of Rioja).
Not really knowing what to expect when we come into town, we park on a side street near the quaint village center and head off walking along the river.  With a gorgeous view of old cathedral buildings and the river, the town seems to be quite peaceful.  At one point, we stop for a beer and understand from a couple of locals that today (Sunday) is the best day to visit the city as it is a day for relaxing, snacking and cocktail-ing amongst the old village quarter.  With their advice, we quickly find ourselves on the very famous streets that host the ‘Running of the Bulls’ run, and the main street for the festivities, Calle Estafeta.
The narrow, village-like streets, lined with handfulls of tiny bars almost five feet from one another, is populated with locals ‘bar hopping’ from establishment to establishment snacking on a variety of small plate foods, the Basque people of THIS Spanish region call, Pinchos (another word for Tapas). 
While wines like Txacolina and Rueda are quite easy to find on almost menu, the locals favor Sweet Vermouth on the rocks or Beer to enjoy with their Pinchos.  In a short period, we understand that it’s better to enjoy just one or two pinchos per restaurant with a cocktail, and then move on to the next, as to be able to cover more places.
With that said, we imbibe.  And, we spend the day, snacking…just as the locals do – wandering from Pinchos Bar to Pinchos Bar.  Eating until we can’t anymore, we find ourselves to the main square of the city (just as the locals do).  Here, we find a busy restaurant patio with outdoor seating and bask in the sun, sipping on beers and espressos (just as the locals do).
Turns out that the age old saying, ‘When in Rome…’ is great advice when traveling to any new region for the first time.  In the end, our trip to Pamplona was a nice little break from the wine regions for day and great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon!