by Wendy
Follow me on twitter @wendylooksleaps

Jack and I were in Pamplona for one night – probably less than 24 hours total. We usually try to avoid those kind of short stays, but it was a road trip with a full itinerary and we wanted to visit this famous capital of Spain’s Navarre region. Here are a few photos of our time in this elegant city. 

As we drove into Pamplona, we discovered our hotel was outside of the historic downtown. At first we were a little bummed about the location, until we realized the AlmaPamplona – Mugo de Beloso Hotel is AWESOME.

The modern room was spacious and well-designed with a comfortable bed, deep tub and separate walk-in shower, large counter space and assortment of toiletries, complimentary minibar of nonalcoholic drinks, and huge built-in closet. The view from our balcony was unexpectedly verdant and tranquil. Did I also mention the hotel was very reasonably priced? I guess visiting during the off-season worked in our favor.

The gentlemen who greeted us at the hotel were friendly and professional. They offered us drinks at check-in (yay, cava) and were happy to chat and answer questions.

The walk to town was only about 20 minutes. It took us past some pretty scenes, including a farm and horses, river, and sports complex with pools and what looked like a baseball diamond.

It was a rainy, overcast day. One of the concierges remarked that he preferred this climate – because the rain resulted in a green landscape uncommon to other parts of Spain.

The San Fermin Festival in Pamplona is very well-known, especially the running of the bulls. We traced part of the route through the city, that ends in the La Plaza de Toros – the bullring.

I couldn’t imagine running down these narrow streets trying to dodge powerful bulls. However, I could imagine hanging out of one of those balcony windows watching the spectacle with a bottle of wine.

I admit that I do not really understand bullfighting and have never been to an event. Ernest Hemingway, on the other hand, apparently enjoyed it quite a bit. He was inspired by Pamplona and you can see traces of the city in his work, and traces of him in the city. His image graces souvenir stores, and various bars boast that he drank there (he probably did).

You can sense that there are many stories to discover in Pamplona but alas, we were only in town one day. We walked along the rainy streets and admired the architecture. We bought t-shirts for our nieces and nephews. We noticed a fair number of pilgrims stopping for drinks and food while hiking the Camino de Santiago.

My handsome husband looked for a store to buy a bottle of wine to drink on our cool hotel balcony (Hemingway would have surely approved).