basque country adventure

It´s the last week of April and I think it´s safe to say (or at least I hope..) that summer has finally arrived. They say there are only two seasons in Madrid; that the shifting cycle among four works bi-seasonally. That is to say, there is no spring or fall.

And I believe it´s true. I am at school now, sweating profusely in the classrooms (clearly--there is no AC in public schools...) while just last week I was wearing my wool coat and reluctantly carrying an umbrella.

Other than the sweating, I can´t complain.

Nor can I complain about life in general. Perhaps its the glorious springtime weather that´s doing it (...as it always does), but these days I feel extra-happy, extra-affectionate, for my Euro-experience.

The weekend in Pais Vasco was incredible. I now understand why it is so-called Basque Country, because I truly felt like I had left Spain and entered a new and completely different land. It was a strange feeling as we roamed around the lush hills of the north-east coast of the peninsula, as nothing was reminiscent of what I have seen thus far in my travels. From the Euskera road signs, to the houses and farms that sprinkled the rolling green hills...even the people in their over-all modest elegance...everything was different. It certainly lent even more excitement to this unexplored territory.

And what better way to explore than on a road-trip with a scenic-route expert? My Zaragozan pal was the one who came up with the idea, and when I bought a bus ticket in that direction (we met up in Logroño, La Rioja, aka wine country), I had no idea what I was in for. Between Bilbao and San Sebastian, we visited several untouched towns and lively sea ports, at night stopping to camp alongside the van (which I would consider living in if it were mine...). The agrestic landscape of the Basque Country could possibly be compared with that of Ireland...green green green. What was also really cool was following the route on the map...a rarity since the GPS has graced our existence.

Favorite part? It´s hard to say. I was really impressed by the pintxos--which are more or less tapas except FAR better (which is saying a lot because I really like tapas...). It seems as though the Vascos only eat pintxos, and they take much pride in fine cuisine. Thus, each and every one is creative, original, and incredibly tasty. On top of all this, they are presented in the elegant Basque fashion (even though there is no cutlery involved). I also really loved the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, a sprawling chaos of a structure housing some seriously cool exhibits, such as works of Anish Kapoor (...the sculptor who designed the Chicago "Bean") as well a series of massive steel structures that somehow defy the laws of gravity (Richard Serra). And this is just to name a few.

Then there was San Sebastian, the empyrean of a city. We actually spent little time there (it took us a REALLY long time to arrive on Saturday...), but it was of good quality. We stayed with some friends (Loinaz and Inaki, great examples of Basque names that I really struggled with remembering..) who took us out and about in the historic district of the city, which was a really fun time, and the culprit of a massive hangover on Sunday morning. But how can a hangover ruin your day, when your day consists of riding a bicycle along the coast of the one and only, unexpectedly sunny San Sebastian? I now understand why it is so expensive to live there...the city is a luxury in and of itself.

Pictures to come soon my friends!