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Day 9 – Truly “Something Different”

Day 9 – By Reagan Barnhill and Evan Morris

Today, May 21, 2019, started with a healthy buffet breakfast of pastries and fresh fruit at the hotel. The next leg of our journey was a short trip to the Bodega Otazu Vineyard and Winery. The overarching theme of this trip, “Something Different”, could not have prepared us for the beautiful landscapes in the Navarre region. The Bodega Otazu Winery was nestled neatly into a valley between two mountain ranges, providing ideal agriculture and truly breathtaking sights. We met our tour guide of the facility and were given some history of the property, which had been abandoned and refurbished several times throughout its history, finally becoming what it is today in 1989. Upon entering the main building, we were further pleasantly surprised that the winery doubled as a contemporary art gallery.

We never could have expected to be touring an art gallery on an engineering school trip, but there we were. Appreciating pieces such as a perspective and color illusion of a stack of bricks, an homage to labor workers’ pay around the world, a collection of students’ pencils from every habitable continent, and the beginnings of an artistic collaboration with the winery that will span 30 years. While we did not necessarily have the background to fully appreciate the art, we were still inspired by it nonetheless.

The next leg of our tour was of the so-called “Wine Cathedral” which was built by a man who was inspired by a local cathedral, hence the name. The Cathedral is used primarily for storage of hundreds of barrels of wine. We were then shown to the place where we could really appreciate the process- the fermentation room. Towers of stainless steel made us Chemical Engineers giddy with excitement. The tour ended with a wine tasting, which was really the “cherry on top” to an overall excellent experience.

After touring the Bodega Otazu Winery, the group had a short bus ride over to the city of Pamplona. We quickly learned that Pamplona was not just a city with beautiful architecture and delicious pintxos. Each year in July, the city host the legendary Running of the Bulls.

Once reaching the downtown area, everyone divided into smaller rambling groups and ventured around the city. The first stop for many students were the multiple religious buildings around Pamplona, which included the Pamplona Cathedral, San Lorenzo Church, San Saturnino Church, and San Nicolas Church. The PSE group was then in for a big surprise when we stumbled across the Pamplona town hall façade, which is the central government building for the community. A massive rally was being held for the Osasuna football club, for they became the first ever Navarrese soccer team to play in the Spanish top division. Students got to cheer for the team with the locals as the football squad appeared at the town hall with local government officials. After participating in the festivities, students wandered up and down Estafeta Street to see the route taken for the Running of the Bulls.

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