Bilbao & Sanse

Bilbao, the magnificent metropolitan capital of Biscay in the Basque Country, city of monuments of great modern architecture like Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum, pictured below.


My mom, sister, and flatmate Juan are standing on a bridge in front of the Nervion River in the old center of Bilbao.

The Campo Volantin Footbridge along the Nervion, designed by famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

Hilltop view of the Greater Bilbao, an urban area of around a million inhabitants. Bilbao is one of the most important seaports and industrial areas of Spain, and much of its growth was due to the industrial revolution.

Besides the factories, Bilbao is a city sprawling with commerical and cultural life. There are many parks, monuments, beautiful modern buildings, luxury shops, restaurants, hotels, museums, concert halls, and more. It's definitely one of the more interesting places to visit in Spain.

Now we change cities to San Sebastian, or Donostia in the Basque language of Euskeda. San Sebastian is the capital of the Basque province of Guipuscoa, and it's a popular tourist destination for all of Europe. Gail and Rachel are looking out over La Concha Bay from Mount Igeldo.


San Sebastian's old center is filled with wonderful restaurants dedicated to some of Spain's most elaborate and delicious pinchos.

Here Mom and I are standing in front of the river Urumea and one of the many bridges that cross it. You can see the cathedral in the background.

One of the most famous sites in the city is the lookout over the rocky coast near the base of Mount Igeldo where the Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida has several of his famous 'wind combs'. Interesting side note: I just learned that before he became a sculptor he was a professional goalkeeper for Real Sociedad, San Sebastian's football team.

La Concha Bay has a wonderful large beach shaped like a conch shell. The boardwalk that surrounds the beach is filled with restaurants, spas, cafes, clubs, parks, and more. It's a wonderful place to spend a nice morning, afternoon, or evening strolling around or just lying and relaxing.

Food you don't generally eat in the USA: salads with gulas (aka young eel). If the gulas (or regular eel would be 'angulas') are authentic they are a delicacy, and a very expensive one at that. Most times if you catch these slimy suckers in a typical restaurant or supermarket what you're getting is the imitation stuff, which is much cheaper. It tastes a little like crab... me thinks. Very good.

San Sebastian & a Sidreria experience in Astigarraga

I was invited with some Spanish friends to go to San Sebastian for the weekend. Our plan was to go out for dinner in a 'sidreria', or cider house, in a small town nearby. Cider houses are typical in that region of Spain (and also Asturias).

Here's a picture of a few of us standing on a pier in beautiful San Sebastian.

Here's the majority of us standing on a little mountain top overlooking the bay of San Sebastian at nightfall.


The small town, or village, we visited was called Astigarraga. It's a place that's famous for its cider houses; and it has many. We visited a traditional one where the food is served to you on big plates and we all share. It's also custom to eat standing up, something that might be annoying to some people, but not to me. I'll explain why.

The first plates served were that of 'chorizo a la sidra', which is Spanish sausage cooked in cider, and then 'tortilla de bacalao', which is a Spanish omelette made with cod. Both of those plates were fantastic.

The third plate you see above is another serving of cod with fried green peppers, or 'bacalao con pimientos verdes'. We ate everything with bread.

Do you drink anything else besides cider in a cider house? I think you can, but I wouldn't recommend it. You get all the cider you can drink. In the restaurant we went to there were giant casks or kegs or containers of cider, and there were waiters or assistants who would open up these containers and let cider squirk out in long smooth sprays. The idea then is to catch the cider in your glass, but just a little. This fresh super tasty type of cider is best drank immediately after served, which means you just fill your glass up a little bit and either drink it immediately and get another one, or bring it back to your table and drink it very soon after.

That's why I didn't mind standing up all the time, because I was always going back for more cider. Ha! Check out the video below showing you how it works. It's so much fun! I'd recommend this to anyone!



The next plate was a very tender meat called 'chuleton', or ... big meat slab. I don't really know how to translate this one. It's a really tender cut of meat that looks a little like a tenderloin. It's served quite rare, which makes it chewy, juicy, and extremely flavorful!


Last we were served dessert. There are a couple things here. In front, and in my hand, are two typical desserts made from almond, which is typical of the north of Spain. The flat brown cookie-looking dessert is called a 'teja', which is literally a roof tile, which I suppose it resembles. On the flat and in the basket in the background is a combination dessert that you put together. Those are walnuts that you must crack and then put over the combo of a really good Basque cheese and 'membrillo', which is quince jelly.

One of the best meals I've had in Spain. Definitely check out these 'sidrerias' if you make it to the north of Spain. The best ones are in Asturias and Pais Vasco.