A Breath of Bilbao: Basque-ing in the Culture Part 2

Saturday, June 16th

Today was the USAC-led excursion to other hotspots in the Basque Country. The Basque Country comprises of a small segment of Northeastern Spain and Southwestern France and maintains a unique culture and language of its own. The Basque Country has three historic regions (Biscay, Gipuzkoa, and Alava) and I have found that each one has its own variations of the way they spell things in Basque. Bilbao is the capital of the Biscay Province, easily recognizable by the word "Bizkaian" that can be found all over the city.

The USAC administrators decided to take the students (at least those who showed up to their respective bus stop this morning) to San Sebastian, which is the capital of the Gipuzkoa Province. San Sebastian is another option offered by USAC to study abroad and the city maintains a sort of rivalry with Bilbao. Along the way, we stopped in Saint Jean de Luz, which is a small harbor town on the French side of the Basque Country.

I may not be able to read it, but I sure can take a picture of it

Different style of architecture in this part of the Basque Country

They showed us around the town before letting us loose to explore on our own. Some of the stops we toured were the market, the main shopping street, and the beach.

Basque/French Market

Would you like some cheese with your cheese?

Main shopping street of the town

Smooth sand and clean water = perfect beach

Live portrait painting by a local artist

The wharf at the heart of the town

The French detour was a nice change to the usual Spanish perception I get of the Basque Country. About a thirty minute ride back south, we finally arrived in San Sebastian. The overall feeling of the city was much different than Bilbao. People walked slower, the streets were larger, and it accommodations to tourists were much more evident.

My first view of San Sebastian

Several street performers catering to tourists

Same narrow walkways; not-so-same high-fiving sheep

The USAC admins walked us to this restaurant, where we would be exposed to a nice three course meal, consisting of a fresh paella appetizer, a chicken and fries entree, and a delicate orange creme desert. Needless to say, it has been some of the best food I've had yet in my stay.

Our Resident Director Ibon taking pictures of the USAC group

Probably the best dish I've had yet (paella)

Because of the rainfall that afternoon, we couldn't go hiking like Ibon had planned. Instead, we visited an aquarium and had coffee at a small street-side cafe.The aquarium was focused a lot on Spain's history of whale-hunting. It showcased several miniature exhibits as well as a variety of live sea creatures, some of which were the largest I have ever seen.