The Basque Country

Steve and I spent last weekend in Bilbao, which is in northern Spain, in the Basque country. We were excited to see this part of the country, which is known for its exceptional food and impossible language (Euskera).

The bus ride up was the first surprise: about 30 miles outside of Madrid, mountains start to appear in the distance. By the time we got to our mid-point stop, we were in the mountains and it was snowing! Unexpected, but gorgeous and so quiet. Bilbao is on the far side of the mountains from Madrid, but is still quite hilly right until you reach the city center. It rains a lot there (including during all of our visit), so the hills are really green and covered with sheep. Very pretty! It looks like what I imagine Ireland to look like, and I can compare for myself on our trip next weekend.

We saw the Guggenheim on Saturday. Frank Gehry's building is amazing!



It really was incredible to see. The museum itself had a few cool installation pieces (its permanent piece, The Matter of Time, was very cool), but we were most impressed by the building itself. It really is a must-see for anyone with a few weeks in Spain.





We had a great dinner on Saturday night at Restaurant Extanoble. Steve ordered the best first course (his tempura vegetables with shrimp, compared to my sopa de pescado), and I ordered the best second course (roasted scallops with leek sauce, to his bacalao pil-pil, a regional specialty that was way over-sauced). The best part of the meal was my cheese course. The chef came out to tell me about the cheeses, and seemed quite embrrassed to admit that one of my six cheeses wasn't from the area. It was from Santander, some 60 miles away. Ha! 60 miles away sounds like "local" to me, but apparently not to those in the Basque region.

It was a really fun dinner, but unfortunately Steve and I were both sick by this point. Now (on Wednesday), Steve is on the mend and I am starting to improve. I think we'll be in good shape by Friday, but the sickness put a damper on the rest of the weekend. On Sunday, we slept verrrry late, and walked to the old city for lunch. We explored a bit, had a great meal, and eventually wandering back to the hotel.


The city of Bilbao was great: an awesome museum, great food, and a very easy, walkable city. We didn't have any trouble with the local language- everyone spoke Castillian, so that was no problem. I wonder if Euskera is only spoken in the more rural communities? Anyway, despite being sick, I am so glad we made it to this part of the country. I'd love to explore more: San Sebastian and Santander are closer to the coast, and rumored to be amazing. So much to see in Spain, that it appears 5-months is not enough to see it all!

Next weekend, we're off to Dublin. We arrive on Saturday evening and leave on Tuesday. I'm so excited to see Ireland, and hope to be fully cured and ready for some Guinness and Jameson by Saturday. And fish and chips: this is Steve's big request for Dublin so far. I think we can make it happen!