La Tamborrada - San Sebastian's Biggest Day of the Year

Drum roll please! Every year on January 20, in honor of Saint Sebastian (the city’s patron saint), San Sebastian celebrates La Tamborrada, a traditional drum playing festival. We were very excited to witness this special event because the entire city comes out to participate and enjoy the festivities.

Starting at midnight and continuing for 24 hours, there is nearly non-stop drumming by various groups from the city’s numerous gastronomic societies. The groups play on stages located in central locations and march through the city to bring the party to everyone. The bands are dressed up either as military drummers from the Napoleonic period, cooks, or in traditional Basque feminine period dress. The soldiers play snare drums and the cooks/women play barrel/bucket style drums. There’s a horns section as well. The songs are marches and anthems celebrating the city’s history. The city is also decorated in blue and white, San Sebastian’s colors, which made it feel like a giant Hanukkah party to us.

We headed to Constitution Plaza, the city’s main square to see the city flag raised at midnight and to hear the inaugural playing of the San Sebastian March. Everyone in the plaza is packed in really tight – this is San Sebastian’s version of Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Many people have their own mini-drums to play along with the bands. And of course, most everyone is drinking. The music continues until midnight the following night when the flag is lowered.

Thankfully we live a bit outside the center of the city and we were able to go to sleep, and stay asleep, when we got back around 2 a.m. Those who live in the city center do not get much sleep.

During the day, the music continues and at noon, the children’s Tamborrada march begins. More than 5,000 kids from every school march through the city wearing the same types of costumes and playing their drums. It is adorable.

It truly is not an exaggeration to say the whole city gets really into it. Many store windows were decorated in clever ways in honor of the celebration, including the pastelerias (bakeries) who sell specially decorated pastries.

So, how and why did it all start? When the city was occupied by French forces during the Napoleonic wars, city residents started mocking the soldiers’ daily march through the town by banging on their water buckets in response to the military drums. This show of defiance grew and is now emblematic of the city’s pride in overcoming tragedy. Those dressed as cooks and wearing traditional dress represent the city’s citizens, and the culinary clubs that form the bands. It is not lost on us that hundreds of chefs marching through the streets is highly appropriate for the city that is considered the gastronomic capital of the world.

All in all, it was a very fun day and one of our favorites so far.

Shana & Jeff

Dinner at Amelia

We have talked a lot about all of the great food here in San Sebastian. In addition to all of the wonderful pinxtos bars and regular restaurants, San Sebastian is home to more Michelin stars (17) per capita than any city in the world. When we traveled here in 2011, we ate at three-star Arzak, which was a truly amazing experience. For Jeff's birthday, we went to the city's newest one-star restaurant, Amelia on January 13.

Amelia is where our friend Asuto is working, and it was fun to see him there in the kitchen. A visit to the kitchen and a brief talk with the chef is part of the dining experience. The chef is from Argentina originally and named the restaurant after his daughter.

The food was fantastic. We elected the short menu de gustacion (tasting menu), which was only (!) 11 courses, compared to the full 14-course tasting menu. We also got the wine pairings. The menu was heavy on meat with dishes including venison tartar, which Shana surprisingly ate and liked:

Risotto al nero di sepia (squid ink risotto), which is a famous Venetian dish -- Shana got an alternative to this dish, but tried it and liked it:

A really simple chicken wing dish, was one of our favorites:

But, Jeff's favorite was sweetbreads with black garlic sauce - no picture since the presentation did not really do the dish justice. Again, Shana ate something that she usually would not and actually enjoyed it. She's getting so adventurous!

Also, the bread course was fantastic because not only was the bread really good, but it came with three accompaniments - homemade butter, amazing olive oil that was congealed so it was easy to spread, and chicken liver pate that Jeff thought was one of the best he had ever had.

The first dessert (of three) was called "The cheese", but it really looked more like an egg. It is actually cheese ice cream with a bit of sweet potato that had an amazing smokey flavor:

Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner, but given the price, especially compared to the generally very inexpensive cost of really good food in San Sebastian, this will definitely be a fairly rare treat.

Hasta luego,

Jeff and Shana

The Rain in Spain Does NOT Fall Mainly on the Plain

In fact, much of the rain in Spain falls here in San Sebastian. You would think that we would have looked into the average rainfall total before moving here, but we knew that the climate was fairly similar to Seattle, only a few degrees warmer on average. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that San Sebastian’s average yearly rain totals exceed Seattle’s totals by A LOT! Seattle typically gets about 37.5 inches of rain each year. However, for the past four years in a row, Seattle recorded more than 44 inches of rain per year. That was the wettest four-year stretch in Seattle’s recorded history. Sounds remarkable right? Well, San Sebastian averages 68 inches per year! That’s 55% more rain than Seattle.

We experienced one of the coldest and wettest winters ever in Seattle (2016-2017) but found it to be manageable because of the way the rain falls in Seattle – it is generally steady but not truly heavy. It does seem constant, especially with the accompanying grey skies. Yet many people in Seattle don’t carry or use umbrellas. When we moved to Seattle, my sister Shira told me I’d look like a tourist using an umbrella. Generally, a hooded rain jacket is sufficient. Leaving your umbrella at home is not a risky blunder. In contrast, here in San Sebastian, when it rains it pours. None of that weak Seattle-style mist. You do NOT want to get caught without an umbrella far from home. Not only do you need an umbrella, but the small foldable travel type is woefully inadequate. The foldable umbrella is your “just in case it rains” umbrella. What you need here is a big golf-style umbrella – just for yourself. Otherwise you’ll find your pants getting quite wet when out and about.

Last week we joined our fellow San Sebastian residents as proud owners of two giant umbrellas. We are now well-equipped to handle all the rain that comes our way.

Let it rain,

Shana & Jeff

Our First Interaction with the Spanish Medical System

One of the questions we repeatedly got when we told people we were moving to Spain is "What are you doing about health insurance?" The simple answer is that we purchased private insurance, which is incredibly reasonably priced, although we are getting an 8.8% increase in our premium this year. (Sounds familiar, right?)

Last week, Jeff thought he was going to have to put this insurance to its first test as he woke up with what he knew was a sinus infection. The last time he had one, in Canada, the doctor at the clinic there said that anyone who has had one immediately recognizes the next. So, he figured he would go to the doctor get a prescription for antibiotics and be fine in a few days.

In the US, with insurance, this might cost about $35 ($25 co-pay for the doctor, $10 co-pay for the medication). In Canada (for a foreigner) it cost about $100 ($75 for the doctor and $25 for the medication), although both of those were partially reimbursed by our US health insurance. (We have no idea how much this would cost without insurance in the US, but probably a lot).

In Spain, the total bill was $7 - and we didn't use our insurance. In Spain, a lot of medications that require a prescription in the US/Canada, are sold by pharmacists over the counter. This includes antibiotics. So, Jeff just went to the pharmacy that is literally steps from our apartment, explained that he had sinusitus, that the last time he had been given azithromycin (a Z-Pack in the US and Canada), and . . . voila, he had his medication. No doctor, no prescription, no insurance forms. Simple.

Just another thing to love about Spain.

Hasta luego,

Jeff and Shana

One of Many Spectacular Bridges in Spain – The Vizcaya Bridge

During our recent visit to Bilbao we visited an amazing bridge that is a quick Metro ride outside the city. The bridge connects the two sides of the Nervion River as it approaches its end in the Bay of Biscay. The Nervion is a defining feature of Bilbao with many bridges crossing it throughout the city. But this bridge is something special. It was built in 1893 and is the world’s oldest transporter bridge. A transporter bridge, also known as a ferry bridge or aerial transporter bridge, is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across the river, which allows ship traffic to be able to pass. There are only 12 such bridges in use today. The locals call it the Puente Colgante, or “hanging bridge”.

You can cross the bridge two ways – (1) via the gondola that crosses at the level of the river, with room for 6 cars and dozens of passengers, or (2) by foot nearly 50 meters above the river. Unfortunately, due to the weather we could not take the “high road” and settled for a ride in the gondola. It was the best 40 centimos each ($0.50) we’ve spent in Spain. Although the ride only lasts 90 seconds, it is such a cool feat of engineering and architecture that you feel like a part of history. (It is a lot more expensive to walk across.) Since 2006 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We hope to return soon on a sunny day and take the "high" road across!

Shana & Jeff

We Venture Into The Museo Guggenheim Bilbao

Ok, so we have fallen down a bit on the blogging, but there is plenty going on here in Spain, so expect a number of posts over the next ten days or so.

We returned to Bilbao the first weekend of the new year to visit two temporary exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum. It is easy to just enjoy the architecture and sculptures outside the museum as we did in September with Jeff’s parents, but it was time to venture inside and purchase a membership.

The piece of art behind me here is The Tulips by Jeff Koons (for our LA readers, there is currently another version of Tulips on display at the Broad Museum). The fog behind that is also actually an art installation, while the bridge over the river is kind of built into the museum. The Guggenheim building/architecture is really art in itself.

The first temporary exhibit we enjoyed was “David Hockney, 82 Portraits & 1 Still-life,” which featured portraits Hockney recently painted while staying in his Los Angeles area home. He painted each portrait over a 3-day period with each subject sitting in the same chair. Sounds boring right? Not at all. Jeff noted he liked it so much more than he expected. The colors and individualistic presentation of each subject were compelling and interesting. And being able to look at all of the portraits in one room also made the contrasts between each notable.

The second temporary exhibit titled “Art & Space” provided perspectives on the different ways a work of art “takes over the space” and the space “traverses the work of art.” It is difficult to describe the various sculptures and other pieces in this exhibit. One “sculpture” was an old Volkswagen Beetle that had been completely disassembled and each part suspended, as if the car was in the process of simply expanding outward (as opposed to violently exploding). It was quite mind-boggling to contemplate a car this way. Another piece was in a small room that appeared to be divided in half by a glass panel, only there was no glass there at all! The artist, using light and painted walls, made it appear as if the glass was there even though it wasn’t. Even after confirming that there was no glass present (by putting our hands through the space where the glass appeared to be and even stepping through it), our eyes and minds still said it was there. Truly a mind-bending experience!

Finally, we visited the large permanent sculpture exhibit “The Matter of Time,” which is a group of sculptures you can walk through and be part of the art. These concave, convex, and spiraling pieces make you feel small and as you move through them you encounter different sensations. You don’t just see them, you actively experience them. This exhibit is so impressive that we know we will walk through it every time we return to the museum.

Looking forward to the Chagall exhibit that arrives in June!

Shana & Jeff

How can I miss you if I didn't know you were gone?

We’re back! Pardon the blog-interruption but we spent most of December in California and Mexico. Now we’re back home in San Sebastian and “ready” to start another 20 weeks of school. We thought we’d share a few photos and observations from our trip, including a few “Only in CA” moments.

Our first stop was Northern California for our nephews’ b’nai mitzvah. It was terrific spending time with family and friends, especially for a happy occasion. Jeremy & Ethan did an amazing job and Karyn & Jim showed they know how to throw a party. Also, a special shout-out for cousin Neil's amazing selfie-taking skills:

One thing we definitely noticed upon returning to the US is how everyone is in such a hurry. When we arrived in Walnut Creek by BART everyone other than us practically ran off the train – at 2:30 p.m. on a Monday. We were left to wonder where the fire was. This told us that we now are accustomed to the more moderate pace of life in Spain.

Jeff had the opportunity to drive both in Nor Cal and So Cal, which further confirmed our pace of life observations. He also confirmed that he doesn’t miss driving much, even though we didn’t encounter that much traffic due to the holidays. While driving in the San Jose area we encountered this guy and his dog in our first “only in CA” moment:

After a week in Nor Cal, we relaxed in Cabo San Lucas enjoying the sunshine and watching the pelicans dive bomb into the Sea of Cortez. We thought we’d practice our Spanish there more than we did – it is such a touristy area that most everyone speaks English. We did notice, however, that the Mexicans speak much slower and more clearly than the Spaniards. Perhaps being “raised on” Mexican Spanish helped a little as well. Our visit did confirm how much we love and miss Mexican food. We probably ate our weight in tortillas and chips.

Finally, we spent a week in LA seeing as many friends as we could. We enjoyed reminiscing as we visited so many familiar faces and places. It was great to eat some Bigg Chill, see a few movies, and catch up on life in LA. We took in the new Star Wars movie and in our second "only in CA" moment saw Obi-Shawn in his X-Wing something:

Truly, only in LA!

It was good to be back in Spain for New Year’s Eve where we ate the traditional 12 grapes at midnight with friends in San Sebastian’s Constitution Plaza.

Wishing you all a healthy and joyous 2018, and looking forward to sharing many adventures with you in the new year,

Shana & Jeff