My Weekend with a Spanish Family

Yesterday afternoon, I met my friend from Michigan and we drove to her house in Pasaia (about 15 km outside of San Sebastián).  Specifically, we went to Pasai Donibane, which is a small village of ~2000 people on the east side of a harbor.  On our way there, we picked up her husband at the track (he is a big runner, who I think used to do a lot of international competitions).  Her husband was very nice, but speaks no English, so our communication was a bit limited.

We parked in their town and walked through to their house.  The village, as I said, is very small in terms of population.  It is also physically quite small.  It basically consists of one street that has a traffic light at either end.  The traffic light is on a 10 minute timer, because the street is only large enough for one (small) car at a time.  At points it's impossible for people and cars to both be on the street, which is tricky because it is also the main pedestrian route - and the only one in town that I found that didn't resemble or hiking trail, or exist far above the roofs of the houses.  The street opens into a square near the harbor, and then closes back to one lane until the end of town.  The houses are all very close.  In fact, many of the houses actually have a common wall between them.

They live in a beautiful house across the street from where my friend's husband was born.  His sister and brother-in-law currently live in that house and his brother and sister-in-law live next door to that house.  Their house is an old Basque fishing house - it's very long and very skinny with stone walls and wooden beams in the ceiling.  The house is 3 floors.  The floor you enter on is where their son is currently living. The next floor has a small living room, a bedroom, a full bath and an office with a bed in it.  The top floor is where they spend most of their time, with the kitchen/dining room, living room/office, and master bedroom and bathroom.  This floor has a ton of natural light from skylights as well as from the windows on the sides of the building.  In the back of the kitchen is a pantry and a ladder up to the terrace, where they have a small vegetable garden.

After we got to their house, we had lunch with their son, who I saw 2 other times during my stay, and who said a total of 4 words.  His mom told me that he is "very quiet."  After lunch, my friend's husband took a quick siesta, while she and I knitted and crocheted (yes, I'm officially 80 years old)!  It was nice to chat for a while and relax.

In the late afternoon, we went for a drive with our final goal being Hondarribia, a town on the French/Spanish border.  We went there via the mountain route which climbs up Jaizkibel, which is around 1800 feet in elevation.    We stopped several times along the way at various points.  First, we stopped at a small fort.  A lot of families were having picnics there, and we went for a short 20 minute hike around the park by the fort to see some of the views it had to offer.  The views were quite beautiful, although it was starting to get cloudy.  After we got back in the car, we continued climbing in elevation, which meant driving into the clouds.  We stopped twice more, but the views were stunted by the weather.  We also stopped at a very beautiful old church, that has relics from a couple Spanish martyrs (blood, apparently, in very fancy vials with recreations of the martyrs' bodies on display - gruesome stuff).  We went into Hondarribia, which is another lovely, old Basque village.  It's actually a walled city - so you have to cross a bridge to get into it.  We walked to the square there, where we stopped in a shop owned by some friends of my hosts.  She has some beautiful hand-painted ceramic pieces done in the traditional Basque style.

We headed back to Pasaia by a route that doesn't go into the mountains, so that we could stop at a large garden shop.  They needed some things for their vegetable garden, and I was lamenting the lack of herbs (fresh or dried) available for cooking.  So, I bought a few plants (basil, rosemary, and chives).  My friend said she would give me some potting soil and some extra terra cotta pots she had, as well as some coriander to plant.  I am notoriously bad at keeping plants alive, but I am hopeful that I can do it with the mix of shade and sun I get on my terrace!

We got back to Pasaia and stopped by their church, which is incredibly ornate, before their Easter vigil service.  My friend wanted to watch the commencement ceremony at her alma mater (Alma College in Michigan), and while she was setting up the live feed, there was a knock at the door downstairs.  It was a cousin of one of their neighbors who is visiting for several months from Santa Barbara, California.  He stayed for a while to chat and we all had some tea. It was really nice to talk to another American about life in the Basque Country.  He loves to surf, mountain bike, and climb mountains so this is a really great environment for him.

After he left, we ate dinner - the first time I've had fish since I got to San Sebastián!  During dinner we watched the fútbol game between Real Sociedad (San Sebastián's team) and Athletic Bilbao.  These two teams are huge rivals, so the game was very exciting.  The final score was 2-1.  It's interesting because the games often start very late here, around 9 pm local time.  I spent a lot of time giggling at how incredibly dramatic the players are.  Soccer in Europe is a very dramatic sport, and I think this is especially true in Spain, where the players milk the cameras for attention, beg the referees for calls, and have wild celebrations after goals.

I went to bed in the downstairs bedroom which was a bit cold, but sort of nice and cozy.  I read for a while, and then slept for 7.5 hours straight.  I'm sort of loving the fact that every few nights I'm able to do that.  I still have several nights a week where I wake up after three or four hours, and then go back to sleep.  This was my typical pattern at home (due in part to a certain cat waking me up several times a night).  But I always feel great after a longer stretch of sleep - waking up is much easier!

I went upstairs around 9 to eat some breakfast.  I knitted and read for a while.  Then we decided to go for a walk/hike.  We walked down to the port and around the bay.  We hiked up part of the mountain and then took the path that goes above all the roofs of the houses in town.  It's great to have a birds' eye view of the town.  It's very charming from every angle.

We headed back to the house for lunch.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned this already , but lunch in Spain typically takes place ~ 2 or 2:30 with dinner happening no earlier than 9.  I think this is in part due to the later bedtimes most Spaniards have.  It suits my eating style, since Pete and I often eat dinner quite late in Chicago, but I am often very ready for lunch at 2.  Lunch was a big affair today with my friend's son, daughter and her daughter's boyfriend all joining us.  We had some tapas before the meal, and then had a Middle Eastern style feast with lamb, rice and bread.  It was quite good, and I was happy to have food that wasn't totally bland (or Spanish).  It can be quite hard to find good ethnic food here, which is something Chicago had no shortage of!

After lunch, I came back home, transplanted my herbs into pots and did some wash.  Unfortunately, the machines downstairs only take cent coins.  I had enough for one load of washing and drying or two loads of washing.  I decided to do two loads of washing and bring all of my stuff up here to dry on my terrace and around my apartment.  I'm hoping I can find a drying rack or a portable clothesline somewhere.  I can't hook a permanent or retractable clothesline anywhere as I can't drill holes or screw anything in anywhere.  If anyone knows of retractable clotheslines that work on suction cups or some other non-permanent fixture, please let me know!

I'm planning a trip to a home goods store this week to buy another set of sheets, possibly some more towels, and some cushions.  I'd just really like something that's not white, beige or silver in my place.  I do have some tables that are brown, as is the headboard to my bed, but I need something a bit more colorful!  I'm also going to stop by a local yarn shop.  I'm hoping to get some yarn to make a very colorful blanket for myself.  I'm hoping I can work on it and finish it before it gets too hot so I have an option instead of just a duvet.  I'm debating between this blanket and this one.  I might not do quite so many colors, but I like the idea of having something bright, soft and fun in my apartment!

It's been fairly grey the past two days, but I can't complain too much since it's been spectacularly sunny the rest of my time here.  The sun has come out a few times over the past couple of days, but it did rain like crazy last night.  The nice thing is that, so far at least, even when it's cloudy it is sort of bright out.  You don't need to have lights on, and it's not too hot.  Actually, the temperatures here today and yesterday are apparently much more typical of the area this time of year.  I'm a little worried about my coat options if it gets much colder right now.  I may have to order something for myself.  ;)

I am medium sad that I missed out on the sideria today, but I'll get an opportunity later (if not this season, then next).  I'm hoping I might be able to make some plans either tonight or tomorrow, but we'll have to see.  I do have some work to do, and even though the shops are all closed tomorrow, I can definitely do some exploring!