June Happenings

While May was filled with daytrips, June has been relaxed and easygoing. The weather has improved, although we’ve still had a good amount of rain. Considering 40% of Spain is experiencing drought conditions, we won’t complain about the big storms that have come through recently. We’ll have more to report in July as we head out on our first trip since returning, but in the meantime, we thought we’d catch you up on June happenings.

In between all the typical stuff like cooking, seeing friends, gym and yoga classes, watching baseball, trip planning, and walks through the city, we went to see Bob Dylan (June 20). When I saw Dylan was giving two concerts here, I figured we ought to go. After all, the man is a legend and Nobel prize winner. While neither of us is a fan, we thought we should check it out. Since he is 82, it’s not like we’ll get another opportunity. Plus, big names like Dylan don’t make it to San Sebastian very often. (Although over the decades he’s played here twice before.)

The concert was probably the most unusual concert we’ve ever been to. And not just because you were obligated to place any electronic devices in secured pouches. (We just left ours at home. Besides this was a positive – no interruptions to your vision or enjoyment.) Dylan is not the most social person. He is notorious for being elusive, reclusive, and quiet. He said “thank you” twice and introduced his band – who were amazing musicians – and that was it. He still has a strong voice. Honestly, we could understand only about 50% of what he sang. He was either perfectly clear, garbled by mumbling or whining, or sounded like he’s had a stroke. Sometimes the music overwhelmed the lyrics. I’m not sure how the Spaniards understood much. As native English speakers we struggled. Still, his recent bluesy-style music was enjoyable, and we’re glad we had the experience.

The concert was a great birthday “appetizer.” We continued the celebration the next day with a mini-spa afternoon and dinner at one of our favorite Basque restaurants.

The summer season is getting busy here. We were invaded by more than 50,000 French rugby fans when the city hosted the semi-finals of the French rugby league. It was a very noisy weekend.

Next week the region will host the first three legs of the Tour de France, with the second leg finishing right here in San Sebastian. There are yellow and bike-themed decorations being put up already. We’ll be out of town for this chaos.

While out on a walk this weekend I came across a foot volley tournament taking place on Zurriola beach.

We’re looking forward to more fun summer events – Jazzaldia, Bilbao’s Blues Festival, and Semana Grande.

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff

Day Trip to Bayonne

Last week we took a day trip to a city we have never visited before: Bayonne, France. Bayonne is considered the capital of the French Basque Country, and one of the things we did was visit the city's well-regarded Basque Museum. 

Bayonne sits at the confluence of two rivers: the Ardour and the Nive. We crossed both to get from the train station to the museum. The museum itself is in an old building on the edge of the Nive River. We watched a movie that showed the growth (and decline) of various governments in what is now Spain and France from pre-Roman times through the present day. It was a very interesting way to see the numerous politcal forces that have impacted the Basque people over the last 2500 years. Much of the rest of the museum was about the lives of the Basque people, most of which we knew. There was also a small exhibit about the Jews of Bayonne, where some settled after being driven out of Spain and Portugal in the late-15th century (and brought the art of chocolate-making to the city). The museum's displays were in French, Basque, and Spanish -- English was not an option.

After the museum we walked around a bit before heading to lunch. We stepped into Saint Andrew's Church, a neo-Gothic style church built in the 19th century along the way:

We also saw this fantastic whale mural, referencing the history of whaling in the area, which we learned later (thanks, Google) was done by a couple of Barcelona-based artists. 

Our lunch was really fantastic, and very sophisticated. Of course, we drank French wine, and enjoyed two fish dishes, both of which were delicious. We had a lively debate about whether French food might be better than Italian. 

After lunch, we did a bit more walking around the city, including a visit to Bayonne's cathedral, Sainte-Marie, which is visible from most points in the city:

The inside of the cathedral was actually quite impressive, but even better was the adjacent cloister:

In our wandering through Bayonne, we also came accross the city's war memorial:

Note that the huge number of names in the center of the memorial are  those lost in WWI, while the smaller number of names on the two sides are  those lost in WWII, which is something we tend to see in France, given its relatively-limited participation in the battles of WWII. Also, note the representation of the Basque person on the left with his buey (ox), a traditional method of transportation in the Basque region.

We had a very nice day in Bayonne, but don't think we like it as much as San Jean de Luz or Biarritz, the other cities we have visited in the French Basque region.

More soon.

Jeff and Shana