Stage Two - La Rioja - Part 3

Poppies are for Encarnita. She wanted one captured up close, so her paintings would be true to life.

San Millán de Cogolla is recognized as the birthplace of the castillian language. The very first written evidence of the romance language that was evolving from Latin through the Visigoths is to be found in the margins of books written in Latin located in this monastery. Latin text with marginal notes written in the language spoken in the middle ages.



While there remains a cadre of monks in the monastery, a major section has been converted into a high quality hotel, with décor drawn from centuries back and offering an excellent dining room. Encarnita requested a plate of “Iberian ham”. It was almost more than she could handle.