Eusktxaolzikera, whaaaat?

On the beach in San Sebastian

We're not in Kansas any more folks, well at least not in Madrid anymore! After my family and I spent the week touring around Madrid, they left me to go to France while I had to tough it out at school for the week with a few tests. Luckily, I managed to survive and hopped on a flight Thursday evening to meet them in San Sebastian (a Basque town along the northern coast of Spain). I was a little nervous, not only to fly by myself, but mostly because I had not heard from my family since they had left Madrid...in a rental car...to drive across Spain and into France...three days earlier...so needless to say I was a bit antsy--I obviously didn't know that they would not have wifi access prior to leaving. 

My new friend, who after he insulted my map,
helped us find our way back to the hotel!

Everything with my flight and their trip worked out fine, and I met my parents at the San Sebastian airport. Upon my arrival, I learned that my parents had survived the past few days traveling from city to city and country to country without a GPS! It was painfully apparent how frazzled they were, especially since we discovered that all of the street signs were written in Euskara (and sometimes Spanish...) in all the cities and highways. For some of my less than cultured readers, hehe, Euskara is the name of the Basque language which, as you can see per the title of this blog is impossible to read and has a lot of strange letters all jumbled up in it. Unlike Spanish, French, Italian, and even English, it has absolutely no roots in Latin and is completely different. 

The site of the running of
the bulls in Pamplona!

We finally found the hotel and I was reunited with the whole family, just as sick as when they left (poor Nana, she was quite the trooper, let me tell you), but happy to all be together again! We ventured out to the old town of San Sebastian, which was much different than I expected for some wine (a very very VERY common theme for the rest of the weekend). The city was huge and the area of our hotel right on the beach at the Bay of Biscay reminded me a bit of a boardwalk town on the beach in Florida or California...we could only imagine how crazy it must be during high season in the summer. The next morning, we feasted on the breakfast buffet at the hotel while serenaded by the Americanized radio station in the background playing nothing else but the song "Beep" by the Pussycat Dolls--circa 2006 and very reminiscent of my junior high dances. Then we headed off to Pamplona to go visit the town that is the site of the annual running of the bulls festival in July. We got a little lost along the way (who are we kidding...we got lost everywhere along the way), but luckily we always found our way to our destination...I think the trick was mixing a little bit of luck, Rick Steves' infamous book, our less than helpful tourist maps, and some friendly construction workers along the side of the road.

Silly Momma...

Pamplona was a lovely little city! We visited the fort, walked the same path as the running of the bulls,  visited yet another cathedral, and saw the famous bullring--the third largest in the world. The town is surprisingly small for it's worldwide reputation, but many of the locals told us that it's a pretty quaint and quiet place to visit throughout the rest of the year with exception of the running of the bulls festival. The pictures look insane--though I have conquered a major fear jumping out of a plane and all, I don't think I'm quite ready to run from an angry bull...I'm more of a distance girl than a sprinter.

Matador & Bull...some things never change (;

We stayed in Pamplona until early afternoon on Friday when we returned to San Sebastian for a traditional Basque lunch at about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. The bread was hot and soft, the wine was dark and dry, and the cheese was hard and flavorful--a dangerously delicious combination. (My mom and I quickly decided that we could get used to this diet...but I don't think I could afford the new wardrobe I'd have to purchase to accommodate my all-carb regimen). For lunch, we all tried something new: brown crab, quail, lamb chops, even a baby pig...hoof and all! The food was awesome, and I don't think I've ever been so full! We spent the rest of the day just enjoying each other and watching the sunset on the beach.

Outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao

Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Bilbao, Spain (pronunciation is still under debate) for the last full day of our tour around the Basque country. When we got there we found our hotel, and headed over to the Guggenheim, the very famous contemporary art museum in Bilbao, not only for it's famous works inside the museum, but almost for it's architecture alone. This building was amazing in and out...possibly my favorite part of the entire weekend. In general, Bilbao was very different than any city I have seen in Spain thus far, it was so interesting to see the balance between the traditional buildings and the very unique contemporary architecture. I loved it!

The Guggenheim--so artsy...literally!

After the Guggenheim, we headed back to the hotel. Some napped, some read, and others (well, Mom and me) drank wine. We walked around to a couple bars/restaurants sampling lots of different wines and having some much needed catch-up time...for those of you that don't know, I'm a pretty big momma's girl and missed our hang out time dearly! Then, Sarah and my Dad found us in route to another pub and joined us to make it a family affair. We had so much fun ordering drinks and watching the rowdy Spaniards at 6 in the evening...they were loud and drunk and having a great time! It was too funny. I think Sarah also enjoyed the fact that nobody asked how old she was whenever she got something to drink--lucky for her, she passes the "tall enough to see over the bar" age requirement.

Sunday morning we woke up very early for the 4 hour drive back to Madrid (allowing us at least an hour or two for "wandering" time...I found it necessary to remind my family in their stress that not all who wander are lost! even if we were...) The ride was "cozy" in our tiny little car with all five of us and suitcases, but we made the best of it with some catchphrase and me breaking out into random show tunes--I was going for the traditional road trip feel, even if it was under appreciated. 

Me and two of my favorite ladies in Retiro

When we finally made it back to Madrid, the weather was so nice, so I insisted that we go visit el Parque Retiro, one of the most famous sights to see in Madrid. We walked around the park, watched the street performers, got some lunch and yet another bottle of wine, and visited the glass palace and the peacock garden. When it started to get chilly we went back to the hotel for a siesta before mass at the Cathedral next to El Palacio Real.

After mass, we went out for dinner one last time, and finished up a movie on my tiny little computer screen in the hotel before bed. I woke up early on Monday morning to go say goodbye to the family, who had a flight out early that afternoon. I miss them already, and I hope they had as great of a time as I did! Though it is so different traveling with family compared to traveling with friends, I am so blessed that they were able to come and see me during this trip of a lifetime. I can't wait to see them all again in May!

Love, Rachel

My happy little visitors waving goodbye!