That means "Welcome to Basque Country" in Euskera, if we're inclined to trust Google Translate. I translated it from both English and Spanish just to be sure, but I've maintained a healthy dose of skepticism ever since I used it to proofread a French skit about a bakery and somehow the word 'lightning' showed up more than once.
Finlandesa, Alemana and I took a weekend jaunt to Bilbao, a major city in the País Vasco (Basque Country) in the province of Biscay. It was a last hurrah for us before Finlandesa returns home. The Basque language, Euskera, predates the arrival of the Romance languages and therefore has no roots in Spanish. It was cool to see all the signs in Euskera and Spanish, albeit more than a little confusing at times.
We knew it was going to be a good weekend when we were greeted at our Air BnB apartment by a bottle of Rioja, a loaf of bread and a package of Iberian ham. Having our own piso in Casco Viejo, the old part of the city, would have been worth the trip even if we hadn't been completely enchanted by Bilbao anyway. Au pair vacations apparently involve getting excited about things like cooking your own dinner and waking up without having stuffed animals lobbed into your room overnight.
We spent the majority of Saturday wandering the city, soaking in our surroundings. We made our way from Casco Viejo down the main road, through the parks and along the river to the Guggenheim museum.
It's hard to explain exactly why we loved Bilbao so much. We didn't do very much, per se; it was more of the feeling it gave us. For one thing we had unbelievably perfect weather: 60 degrees, the smell of rain in the air and the parks were full of blooming flowers and singing birds (aka my ideal version of January). The architecture was gorgeous. I'm not much of a city person, but with few exceptions Spanish cities don't have the bustle and stress of most American cities. The streets and parks were full of people, but it didn't feel crowded. There's a charm to them I hadn't experienced before.
We had a fantastic three-course lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the Guggenheim. My one complaint about Europe is the unfortunate lack of drinking fountains. Other museum-goers may or may not have caught Findlandesa and I drinking from the bathroom sinks...
We attempted to go out on Saturday night, but the part of Casco Viejo our host had recommended was a little on the...uh, viejo side. If nothing else, going out with girls five years younger than me really opened my eyes to how much changes in just a few short years. When my friends were groaning about everyone in the bar being too old - and granted there were a lot of people that looked like they could be our parents - imagine my surprise when I realized they were also talking about the mid- to upper-twentysomethings.
Oh... Awk-ward......
Sunday morning took us on a short stroll past the gorgeous cathedral (but I mean, what town in Spain is complete without a stunning cathedral?) to the Museo Vasco, all about Basque culture and history. We took a cue from the Spanish after our museum visit and seated ourselves on a staircase in the Plaza de Unamuno to enjoy the sun and ambiance. One thing the Spanish do extremely well is leisure. The whole plaza was full of couples walking hand-in-hand, wine glasses clinking in the cafes, and kids chasing soccer balls over the cobblestones. Everyone out and about, but no one hurrying anywhere.
Bilbao is famed for its pintxos (pinchos). I'm not really sure what the supposed difference is between pintxos and tapas, but it seems like - to a non-Spaniard in any case - there isn't one. We headed to the Plaza Nuevo and picked out a variety of appetizer-esque dishes to share. It was my second time eating octopus. The extent to which my diet has changed since coming here still regularly astounds me. You'd think living in Africa would've been the experience that broadened my pallet, but I've lost count of the new foods I've started eating over the last four months.
My time here is starting to slip away faster and faster, and I'm working hard to shorten my Spanish bucket list proportionally. I may still have a lot of places left to go, but I think Bilbao just became my favorite city in Spain - present location excluded. There's no place one's current home, Toto.
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