Month: September 2011

Status

Spent most of yesterday and today traveling from San Sebastián to Marseille. Yesterday I took a bus to Bilbao and visited the Guggenheim there. Really cool building with an underwhelming permanent collection. Handily they had a visiting collection of post-war modern art which was terrific.

Today I got up bright and early at 5:30am to catch my 7am flight to Marseille. Walked all around this afternoon and now am heading out to dinner in a bit. Plus, check out my view. 🙂

My view in Marseille

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“Real-world friends”

I grew up in a time when I didn’t even know what the internet was; I believe I was 14 or 15 when I first logged on. Kids who have grown up with the internet and Myspace and Facebook and all of these things their whole lives will look back and wonder what the heck we meant by “real world” friends, or “social media strategies.” They will see these things as no different than the notes we passed back and forth in class or those first phone calls from your girlfriend that you had to take in your parents’ kitchen because you didn’t have a phone in your bedroom.

Pat Dryburgh – Intrv.ws

Status

Leaving San Sebastián today and taking the bus to Bilbao. Will probably check out the Guggenheim and then catch some sleep before a 7am flight to Marseille tomorrow.

Home cooked paella with Blue Scholars playing in the background

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A great end to the day.

The biggest tomato I’ve ever seen

San Sebastián & Idiazabal – Travel Log, Days 2 & 3

My second day in Spain was spent wandering around San Sebastián and Lasarte with Cam. In the morning we took a hike through the beautiful countryside outside Lasarte.

After that we headed back into San Sebastián and wandered around the streets. The city has a terrific blend of architecture and beach scenery. The old town center is filled with bars, cafes, and anything else you can imagine.

We hung out on the beach for a few hours and then Cam and Marco, the other BasqueStage, had a live chat with prospective applicants for next year’s program. From there we hit some pintxos bars which were delicious.

Today we went out to Idiazabal to see how the Aranburu brothers make their award-winning cheese.1

The cheese was fantastic. It had a nice mild flavour that wasn’t overpowering and was wonderfully delicious.

After cheese we drove up to the mountains a bit and took a short hike around a reservoir. We then went out for lunch at Zezilionea. We split three appetizers and then had a main course plus dessert. Quite the memorable meal.

Huge thanks to Andoni for making today possible.2 He’s fantastic and was a perfect guide for today. It was truly unique.

  1. Running into random WordPress users also makes me happy too. Check the source of the site. 🙂
  2. He’s also a WordPress user. It’s a crazy small world.

San Sebastián – Travel Log, Day 1

20+ hours in airports filled yesterday but it was all worth it. I got into San Sebastián around 2:30pm and was meeting up with Cam at 7 so I had some time to kill.

I headed down to old town and then up to the top of Castillo de Santa Cruz de la Mota. From the top you got some terrific views of the harbor and beaches below.

The castle peninsula splits the two beaches in San Sebastián. Both are gorgeous beaches with surprisingly warm water for the Atlantic. The beach to the left of the castle also has some pretty decent surfing.

There are also a few sail boats and smaller motorized ones going around the harbor. It looks like an awesome place to enjoy some sailing. Will have to wait for next time.

More photos to come later but that’s a taste for now.

Mango and cheese foie gras pintxos

I’m eating so well this trip. 🙂

Hanging out with Cam and Marco as they answer #basquestage questions

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