Where the Rich Live or Visit - Donostia & Biarritz - Basque Country

 The best teachers are those who show you where to look,

but don’t tell you what to see.

Alexandra K. Trenfor

Donostia or San Sebastián 
Started as a military stronghold in 1180
Now a place for the rich and famous

Although a beautiful place, I never seem to connect with locations that are very touristic or catering to the rich and famous.  Donostia was no different.  Great food, nice place but without soul or anything that pulled at my heartstrings.  I only spent half a day here and that was sufficient.

Hanging Bridge, Farmstead, Pottery - Getxo, Arratia, Elosu - Basque Country

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.

Jimi Hendrix

Ethnographic heritage of the Antzasti Farmstead
Antzasti = place of blackthorns and apple trees
Providing insight into traditional Basque rural life

The Basque House

The Basque house is perhaps better thought of in terms of a family seat, rather than a simple dwelling of bricks and mortar and for many Basques the mere thought of selling their home, or even a piece of their land, is shameful. In the old laws (fueros), the Basque etxea (home) had the same properties as an embassy or a church; it was out of the reach of the law and, if a family member was wanted for some serious crime, the police had no right to enter the house, having to sit out the long wait until the suspect deigned to appear.

The Guggenheim, Pintxos, Stunning Stainglass - Bilbao - Basque Country

 Fall in love with someone who is both

your safe place and your biggest adventure.

Bianca Sparacino

Amazing stainglass in the Abando Indalecio Prieto Train Station
A great introduction to the Basque Culture
Made with 301 pieces of glass, 30'x48' (10m x 15m), in 1948

My guide brought me here to see this massive stainglass wonder at the beginning of my tour of Bilbao, to get a visual of the story of Bilbao and the Basque culture, an overall better understanding of this place before walking its narrow streets.  So well preserved - it is an impressive piece of art.  

Rolls-Royce of Salts - Salinas de Añana - Álava - Basque Country

 The creative adult is the child who has survived.

Ursula Le Guin

Channeling salt water at the Añana Salt Pans
Salty water coming from underground springs, not from ocean or sea 

From our current perspective, it is almost incomprehensible that salt, such an abundant and inexpensive product, could have the importance that has historically been attributed to it.

Dolmen, Necropolis, Wine - Rioja Region - Basque Country

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dolmen de la Chabola de la Hechicera (Witch's Shack)
I love the juxtaposition of a dolmen with a church in the background
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, Elvillar, Spain

In the Langunilla area of the famous Rioja Valley wine region, I visited a dolmen and a necropolis, both indicators of a long human history in this part of the world.  What amazed me most, however, was that these places were in the middle of fields or orchards as if simply part of the agricultural landscape.  They weren’t protected in any ways, yet remained seemingly untouched.