Life

I feel incredibly blessed. (From what I hear, that’s ​a good thing. 🙂)

​So what am I so happy about? I recently returned from a trip to Euskal Herria, which is the name of the Basque Country.

A little ​information…

The Basque Country is located in the western Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain, along the Atlantic Coast.

​Though​ you won’t see the “Basque Country” listed on any map, it’s home to the ancient, indigenous culture of the Basque people. The Basque language, ​Euskera, ​is the oldest living language ​spoken in Europe today. 

Back to the trip…

​Part of my ​ethnicity is Basque, so when a group of my relatives wanted to visit the country, my partner and I ​​were happy to join them.​ 

​​This was always a trip I had wanted to make. Growing up, I wasn’t as exposed to the culture as some of my cousins were, but I was always taught to be proud of this heritage. ​

There is so much to this beautiful land and people (more than I ​can possibly describe in this post), ​so I hope you’ll still enjoy this brief​ visit with me…​

​(And, if you’d like to learn more about the Basques in general, please see the links I’ve included at the bottom.)

​Our trip began when we landed in Bilbao — the largest city in the Basque Country. ​I didn’t get many pictures here, but I did get a shot of Jeff Koons’ “Puppy” sculpture outside the famous Guggenheim Museum.

​We centered our ​stay in San Sebastián (“Donostia” in Basque), which is on the Spanish side of the Basque Country. We ​slept in a small, hotel-like accommodation known as a “Pensión” in the city’s beautiful “Parte Vieja” or “Old Town​.”

Here’s one of the views from the Pensión:

​​This gorgeous scene was just a few steps away from our accommodation:

​​We also took a day trip to the French side of the Basque Country:

​​The buildings of the French Basque side ​typically have a striking white/red color palette:

​My partner and I LOVE good food, and we let it be known ​that we were going to eat our way through the country. ​​:)

Fortunately, delicious food is a huge part of t​he Basque culture…

​The picture above shows the first meal we ate called “Txuleta” or “Txuleton” steak. These large rib steaks come from aged cows, which can be anywhere between the ages of 8 and 18 years old. ​The idea is that the flavor intensifies as the animal ages.

​In one word: DELICIOUS!

​Food is serious business in the Basque Country. In fact, San Sebasti​án has 16 Michelin stars alone!

I didn’t make reservations in time to try one of those restaurants out​. ​Luckily, you don’t need to eat in a 5-star restaurant to enjoy amazing food. 

​We enjoyed many sorts of foods from “Pintxos” bars. Pintxos, are the Basque version of “tapas” or small, shareable plates. These foods can be anything from skewered ​guindilla peppers with olives to “Pulpo a la Plancha” (grilled octopus​).

(I’d love to say I took the pintxos pictures, but I just ate before I even thought to snap some photos. Believe me, th​e food is that good and I just dug in. Ha ha!)

​And, something touched me very deeply ​during my travels…

The Basque people, by default, eat seasonally and their food is always locally sourced. ​I loved walking by countless small shops featuring beautiful produce right by the front door.​ ​​

We even picked a random restaurant to eat at one night, and the waiter told me about the fish they ​had pulled out of the ocean that day. What a privilege to have access to food like that!

​Personally, I’ve ​seen incredible changes in my health and mind as a result of more mindful eating. ​

​But, it’s not always easy to feed your body that way​. (Especially, if you live in an area like I do where eating fresh is really difficult!) 

​That’s why I get such a pleasure out of showing people how to grow peppers, which effectively teaches you how to grow other foods too​. You’ll be seeing more information on becoming self sufficient in this way in the next couple of weeks. (In case, that’s of interest to you too!) 🙂

Thank you for taking this journey with me. If you’d like to learn more about the Basque culture, here are some links:

• Basque Cuisine – San Sebasti​án Tourism
• Different Basque Peppers
• Discover the Basque Country
• Hella Basque
• History of the Basque Country and Euskara: Bibliography
• North American Basque Organizations (NABO)
• The History of the World According To the Basques

And, if you’d like to experience the Basque Country authentically, GoBasque.com is an outstanding​ boutique travel agency! They are wonderful people who make sure you have a great time. 🙂

Have you traveled to this magical land? ​I’d love to read your comments below!