A Quick Escape to Goierri aka the Basque Highlands

 

While we’ve lived in the Basque region for more than 7 years, there’s still a lot of exploring to be done. And little by little, as opportunities present themselves, we attempt to get to know the area better.

We spent October 19 and 20, discovering Goierri, one of the 18 districts of Gipuzkoa (the province where we live). We stayed at the Petit Hotel Goierri, located in Ormaiztegi (pop. 1226), about an hour away from San Sebastian via the Cercanias train. The train winds its way through the beautiful green hills and numerous small towns, many of which are filled with factories where buses and train cars are made, among other things.

We spent the afternoon at the Museo Zumalakarregi, Don’t you love Basque names?!? The museum, the former home of the Zumalakarregi family, focuses on the history of the region and the remarkable changes that took place during the 19th century, including the Carlist Wars and the industrial revolution. Tomas Zumalakarregi became a famous Carlist general, known as a clever military strategist, while his brother Miguel’s legal education led him to choose the liberal side of the conflict. Not only can the locals pronounce the family name perfectly, but they also learn about them in school. We left feeling a bit overwhelmed but certainly more educated.

We had a fabulous traditional Basque dinner in Beasain (pop. 13,908), the next town over and the administrative center of the district. We enjoyed seeing the townspeople out on a lovely Saturday evening – the bars and restaurants were full.

The hotel’s homemade pastries hit the spot at breakfast and were the perfect impetus to go for a long morning hike in the local hills before returning home. We followed the Via Verde Ormaiztegi-Mutiloa, which tracks the old mining rail lines that were used to ship iron ore out from the mines to the towns below.

The uphill path was steep – and a lot easier for the horses that passed us – but the views were worth it.

It was a fun, mini escape from our “city” life. Perhaps our next short local escape will be to a place that’s easier to pronounce.

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff

Maine and New Hampshire

After our brief stop in Salem, we drove to Maine, where we stayed in a rural house on a lovely lake. Nearby was an amazing self-serve cheesecake shop called Momo's. You literally go in and take what you want from the refrigerators and pay on the honor system (yes, there were cameras, but still...). The cheesecake was delicious, and the assortment of flavors was astounding. Choosing was not easy.

From the house, we drove to Acadia National Park by way of Bar Harbour, which is a lovely little town that has perhaps been a bit overrun by tourists. We had lunch in there, and since we were in Maine, I had to eat lobster at least once.

Acadia National Park is beautiful, and although Cadillac Mountain is not very high, the views are fantastic. 

What elevated our visit to another level, was the people who had brought their four (!) Samoyeds up to the top, including Teddy, who had an amputed foot and only one eye, but is still a very happy dog (not as happy as Shana was, of course).

Another quintessential Maine thing we did was stop in at the LL Bean flagship store, which is huge, and is really part of a large and growing campus. 

After Maine, we stayed in a hotel just outside of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On our way, we stopped for coffee in Belfast, ME a cute little town. Not only were the coffee and pastries really good, it allowed us to get this great shot in a giant Adirondack chair.

Not sure what it is about Maine and oversized items, but they do make for great photos.

In Portsmuth, we took a cruise around the city's harbor and into the Piscataqua River. The area is really interesting. Portsmouth Harbor was a major site for the construction of US submarines, and is still used for their maintenance. In the photo below is the USS Texas, a Virginia Class nuclear submarine (note that the submarine is mostly submerged, look for the black tower just out of the water on the left).

This area was also important in the run-up to the Revolutionary War, and there are many old building and lighthouses from that era.

On our final day in New England, we returned to Maine (a short drive from Portsmouth) to visit Kennebunkport, which was made famous by George HW Bush who had a summer home there. The town is another cute Maine town that has become overrun by tourists.

We learned that the decorations on the house in the top left picture are lobster traps (not popscicles, which is what Shana thought they resembled). These can be seen everywhere in Maine, from keychains to all forms of decorations. And finally, because it was fall, many towns had displays of gourds (and not just pumpkins). But, none was more impressive than the one in front of a hotel in Kennebunkport.

Although we did not hit the peak for fall colors, the scenery was spectacular as we drove from place to place. 

And that was our time on the US east coast. We were particularly impressed with Maine, which was beautiful and seemed like a place you could spend time enjoying lots of outdoor activities. Who knows, maybe we will go back.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana

Fall Classics: Boston & Salem

After our DC stay, we took the train to Boston. Before we boarded, we had an unexpected breakfast guest at Union Station – it was a terrific surprise to see David H., who was in DC on DOJ business. Kudos to him for asking if we were still in DC and for coming to meet up before our early train after his late arrival the night before!

The Amtrak ACELA from DC to Boston is not the quickest way to get there, but as we enjoy train travel and its simplicity, it was nice to have some quiet time to catch up on reading. The trains are comfortable enough, although there was a lot of sway, making it seem like the train needed better shock absorbers. It was more like a Spanish train than the French TGV trains, which are faster and smoother. There was a better menu though. Arriving with the option to hop right on a T to the hotel was also efficient.

The highlight of Boston was seeing our dear longtime friend Heidi, her husband Jeff and meeting her kids for the first time. We couldn’t recall the last time we saw Heidi and Jeff, but we knew it was close to 20 years ago. There was so much to catch up on! We enjoyed a terrific Japanese dinner with the entire family and then Heidi took the next day off to meet us in the city. She was also kind enough to bring me clothing, which was super helpful.

Our day together revolved around talking and eating while walking through the city. She introduced us to Tatte Bakery & Cafe, where we enjoyed halva and pistachio lattes with pastry. We walked through Boston Common, Government Center, Faneuil Hall, enjoying a crisp autumn day.

We moseyed our way over to the North End to enjoy the food options there. Pizza for lunch was an easy choice. Then we found a bakery that filled their cannoli when ordered – allowing you to pick your shell, filling and garnish. Of course, that’s the only way to do it and this was the real deal. It made our day, even though we were already stuffed.

We loved this public art piece across from South Station, where we left Heidi.

We returned to the North End for a traditional Italian dinner with Jeff’s parents, who met us in Boston for the next part of the trip – Salem, Maine, and New Hampshire.

Stopping in Salem after departing Boston was easy. We were there on September 27, so we missed most of the craziness that descends on the town in October. We enjoyed the Peabody Essex Museum, especially Anila Quayyum Agha’s “All the Flowers Are for Me,” a sculptural chamber of light and shadow. Then we headed to Maine, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way.

The Red Sox weren’t in town, so we couldn’t enjoy a game at Fenway, but we made the most of our limited time in Massachusetts.

More to come soon,

Shana & Jeff

Tourist Stops in DC

In addition to spending time with friends, we spent some of our time in Washington DC doing tourist activities: visiting historcal sites, seeing a one-man play about Abraham Lincoln, and going to a fantastic museum that only opened in 2015, the African American History and Culture Museum.

Shana, Andrew and I spent basically an entire day at the African American Museum (exterior above with the Washington Monument in the background). You begin your visit in the basement of the museum, which contains extensive exhibits about slavery in the US, and then "rise out" of slavery as you go upward through exhibits that trace the history of African Americans in the US during the Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, the Civil Rights movement, and more. That part of the museum alone could take an entire day, but two upper floors contain displays about African Americans' contributions to sports and culture in America. We also took time to eat lunch at the museum's restaurant, which offers traditional southern foods like fried chicken, fried catfish, grits, macaroni & cheese, sweet potato pie, etc., etc. It was fantastic and we were stuffed!

Our viewing of Mister Lincoln starring Scott Bakula (of Quantum Leap fame) as the titular President at the Ford's Theater was quite entertaining and very meta. We even learned some things we hadn't previously known about Lincoln's life. Unforttunately, we did not have a good angle to get a picture of the box where Lincoln was actually shot, so no photo.

Finally, Shana, Andrew and I spent a day in Virginia visiting Mount Vernon (George Washington's home) and Arlington National Cemetery, both places I visited when I was about 5 years old, but could not really remember at all. Shana had never been to either.

Mount Vernon is impressive, and it is obvious why Washington chose it as his home. In fact, both the house itself, and the view from the house look a lot like they did over 200 years ago:

Much of what is preserved at Mount Vernon relates to the slaves owned and leased by the Washingtons. There are many buildings relating to where the slaves lived and worked on the plantation, as well as a monument to those who were buried there (without individual graves of course). Interestingly, Washington did free all the slaves he owned in his will, but he could not free those he had leased, many of whom were leased from his wife's family.

Arlington National Cemetery is huge. We went to John F. Kennedy's grave, along with monuments to the astronauts killed in the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters. What I did not realize was that many famous people are buried in Arlington, not just soldiers. For example, we went to see the graves of a number of Supreme Court Justices.

And, of course, we went to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is a truly impressive and solemn ceremony. Although it is a little distracting to watch the planes flying into Reagan airport in the background if you are an aviation enthusiast.

Washington DC and its environs offer a virtually endless opportunity to see famous places and things related to US history, along with a large number of spectacular museums. We highly recommend it. 

More soon.

Jeff and Shana

Seeing Friends in DC

After leaving Dena, Jay and her parents, we traveled from Bilbao through Madrid to Washington, DC. Unfortunately, Shana's bag (the only one we checked) did not make the same trip we did, and disappeared at some point. We assume that it did not make the transfer in Madrid, but despite putting a barcode on your bag, Iberia Airlines apparently has no ability to actually track it. Fortunately, we were staying with our friends Andrew and Karen in DC, and Shana was able to borrow some clothes while we went shopping for more.

Over the years, many of our "LA" friends ended up in DC, and we had lots of people to see. Fortunately, Andrew and Karen were nice enough not only to put us up in their house and lend Shana clothes, but also to host a Shabbat dinner for us all.

It was wonderful to spend time with our friends, who we had not seen in years (in some cases since before we moved to Spain), see how grown up their children are, and enjoy a very good home-cooked meal.

The next day, we went to visit our law school friend Howard, and his new wife Annie. We had not met Annie before (despite them being together for years), but it was great to get to know her and enjoy a home-cooked Shabbat lunch (sensing a theme?).

We also had dinner with one of Shana's former DOJ colleagues, Natalie, and her husband Adam, at their home in VA. Getting to meet their son Eli and dog Peanut was terrific. We were so engaged we forgot to get a photo! Shana also met up with briefly with another former DOJ colleague, Jenelle.

Our final outing with friends was to a Washington Nationals baseball game. We very much miss going to baseball games, as this was only the second one we attended in the seven years since we moved. This one was particularly special because our friend Matt is related to the owners of the team, and we got to watch it from the owner's box. Yes, this is absolutely as cool as it sounds. The box has food avaiable along with bathrooms inside (no need to mix with the hoi polloi). Despite the Nationals being out of playoff contention, and the sparse crowd,, we enjoyed a pitchers' duel that ended with a KC Royals victory (the game meant more to them than the Nats), but not before the Nats almost hit a winning homerun in the bottom of the 10th. Exciting.

It is always nice to confirm that living so far away does not diminish long-time friendships. While we attempt to stay in touch through modern technology, it is always phenomenal to see and hug dear friends in person. 

We will have more to come on DC soon, but we do not want to keep you in suspense on the luggage. It took the airline five days to find the bag, but they would not send it to DC before we left. Then, they did not have the flexibility to send it directly to our next stop in Boston, so it did not arrive there before we left either. In the end, we recovered our bag from the hotel in Boston on our way to the airport to fly home. A two-week trip with no luggage for Shana. Frustrating to say the least.

More from our East Coast swing soon.

Jeff and Shana

A Whirlwind Visit

The past three weeks have been a bit crazy. Right before we left for a trip to the US east coast, we welcomed beloved friends, Dena & Jay, and her parents, Murray & Gail, to the Basque Country. They came on a pre-cruise tour to Bilbao and San Sebastian, to be followed by a river cruise in the Bordeaux region of France. Their visit went by too quickly and was almost a blur. Good food, wine, and conversation always speed things along. We worked ourselves into their tour itinerary as best we could to take full advantage of their limited time here.

We met up in Bilbao, where we had a fabulous traditional Basque dinner.

Of course, we joined them at the Guggenheim and enjoyed the museum’s highlights.

The museum is always changing. There was a piece newly on display since our last visit in July. This large sculpture by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui is made entirely of thousands of discarded aluminum lids from alcohol bottles that have been reshaped and woven together. It is a commentary on the remnants and influences of colonialism on African society that continue to this day.

We’re still disappointed that the Jeff Koons' Tulips have been moved inside, as they don’t have the same impact. Thankfully his Puppy is too big to be moved anywhere.

Sharing our favorite places in San Sebastian was a pleasure, especially since most of them are food related. We were so busy eating, drinking, and catching up we barely took any pictures!

Visitors are always welcome. Who’s next?

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff

Embracing the Basqueness

It’s been a relatively quiet summer. Since we returned from Scotland, we’ve been home for 3 months straight (except for our 2-night escape to Bilbao for the Blues Festival). That’s unusual for us. And it certainly hasn’t happened in quite some time considering our two extra-long trips in 2022/23 and 2023/24. In fact, we realized that we haven’t been in San Sebastian for two winters now! We haven’t had a stream of visitors to entertain this year, so we’ve enjoyed the routine, including paddle boarding when the weather cooperated, and now September has brought opportunities for basking in the Basqueness of late summer.

San Sebastian hosts the premier rowing regatta (since 1879) and each year we learn more about the teams and event history. The boats used in these competitions are based on whaling and fishing boats – a pillar of the maritime focused economy of the recent past. These are not the thin, sleek sculls used in collegiate or Olympic rowing; they are built for the ocean. There are 13 rowers and a coxswain. This year I watched the men’s qualification round where more than 20 boats raced the 3 nautical miles for the 8 spots in the weekends’ regattas. It was amazing to see them all starting and finishing in La Concha Bay.

We watched the races on television, where you can see better the work involved and the entire route. The defending champions in both the men’s and women’s races easily won again.

A friend organized an American-style potluck luncheon at another friend’s Basque “sociedad” (a membership based gastronomic club). This particular group is an association of engineers. Sociedads offer large kitchens and dining rooms to host communal meals. Few people have the space here to host such events at home, plus these locations have professional level kitchens. We met several new people, mostly locals, and enjoyed a great feast. The oldest sociedad in the city dates to 1870 (even before the regattas began!).

This week we hiked with friends from Zarautz to Getaria, but this time rather than taking the coastal path along the water, we hiked over and through the hills separating the cities. We started on the beach while the skies were still grey from the morning rain.

The route goes through txaikoli vineyards (the local white wine varietal) and is incredibly scenic.

Getaria, a small fishing village (pop.2870), is known for its fabulous fish restaurants. We tried a new one that was right on the beach. The fish truly is fresh and goes well with a bottle of txaikoli!

We returned via the coastal route. Although we usually don’t walk both ways, having eaten and drank too much, since the sun had come out, we decided we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy it.

Basque traditions and the beautiful landscape and culinary opportunities never get old.

This year we are missing the San Sebastian International Film Festival for the first time in 7 years. A small part of us is sorry to break the streak, but mostly we’re happy to skip the amount of time we invest each year and the frustrations that the ticket purchase process inevitably involves. I’m sure we’ll return to the festival next year refreshed from the year off.

We are looking forward to welcoming dear friends this week and to eating, drinking and being merry with them in our favorite places. Then we’re off to DC, Boston, Maine and New Hampshire.

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff