Inaki, Paco and I went to Santander this weekend. It was fantastic and we have no pictures, so this little tid-bit will have to do.
We rode with Paco and stopped just past Bilbao to grab a snack and stretch our legs. I got a cafe con leche and a garrote (pastry) and Paco and Inaki split a russian salad, a sandwich and then a pastry, followed by coffee. They were making fun of me saying, "geez Darby, you ate so much, we'll have to get more now." Unfortunately, this is usually the case, but these were obviously sarcastic comments.
So, I responded by translating literally and saying, "yeah, I'm a pig." Inaki started to chuckle and said, "don't say that." I asked him 3 or 4 times why and he wouldn't properly explain to me why I shouldn't say it. Paco didn't seem phased and said, "no, Inaki, it's ok to say I ate like a pig." But, that's not what I said.
Inaki finally explained to me, "cerda is something that we call a woman who does things with men and then doesn't get paid for it. Like, a lot of things and a lot of men. But worse than that really."
Although he couldn't fully explain the meaning, this is what our conversation would have sounded like in English if you had been a fly on the wall:
Inaki and Paco: "Geez Darby, you ate so much, we'll have to get more now"
Me: "Yeah, I'm a dirty whore."
Monday, March 04, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Sidra season!
As I sit in my living room watching a bit of snow fall outside, I'm reminded of my first sidra experience of the season from about 3 weeks ago. What's sidra you ask? It's magic in a bottle, that's all. More than in the bottle, the magic in sidra is going to a sidreria, sipping it all afternoon, meeting new people, eating delicious food and partaking in a centuries old Basque tradition while layin' round the shanty and puttin' a good buzz on. The sidra, or cider, itself isn't anything like the syrupy stuff you might risk having a pint of around Portland from time to time. It's briny, sour and must be drunk in quick little shots so the sediment doesn't create a murky riverbed at the bottom of your pint glass. Hence, the buzz.
Inaki and I have been talking about being here for the sidra season since we left Portland in July. When Esteban and Mirentxu suggested we go a few weeks ago we immediately became giddy with excitement. Esteban knew a great place in Beruete, which is a village in the hills of Navarra. We heard there might be some bad weather and planned to have to hike 2 km in the snow to get to the cider house, but we were lucky and the snowplow had come through that morning, so we parked right next to the house. And when I say house, I literally mean house. This sidreria was run from the animal level of an old farm home. The family that owns it lives upstairs on the house level and dad cooks the meet, mom taps the kegs and son does whatever else needs to be done.
We got there early and the family was finishing shoveling snow from the driveway. Esteban's buddy Ignacio immediately yelled out of our car window, "hey kid," addressing the son, "you need to make sure you have a contract in place, there are child labor laws you know!" A smile broke across each family member's face as they knew Ignacio and were pleased he'd returned. We hopped out of the car, pulled on our hiking boots and headed into the cider house. Mom tapped a keg for us and let us have a few pulls before sending us out into the snow for a hike with the family dog.
Here's a shot of the tap room. I love how the beams and wood look greasy and covered in the years of cooking and steam filled conversations that have gone on beneath them.
Here's a snap of me getting my first "txot" as it's called here. The cider has to be shot out of the barrel to break up the sediment and then thrown back so it doesn't get warm or start to settle.
The barrel in the next picture was barrel #3 I think. During the day, one barrel was left with a perma-tap in it, but the others were opened by mom. She'd find the hole in the side of each barrel, shove a metal pipe in and let the sidra flow as we filled our cups and stepped back for the next person to aim their glass at the tap and try not to spill any. When we were done with that barrel, she'd take a big ball of animal fat, tear off a piece and cover the hole until the next time they tapped it. You can see the fat ball on the front and the hole, covered, to the upper right.
So out we went, into the snow and the hills of Beruete. The family dog seemed to know where to go and we just followed him. When the road forked and he went right, so did we. At the end of the line, he simply stopped, turned around and walked us back to the sidreria. Too cool. And, so filthy! When he rolled in the snow, it left a little muddy stain where he had lain.
Here's a shot on the hike and one looking back at the sidreria. It's white, so it's hard to see, but when you find it, you'll say wow.
When we trudged back up to the house at about 2, other customers had begun to arrive. As it usually goes, people start out shy and stand around in their own little groups, but by the end of the day, we're just one big group chatting and rosey, new best friends. This time we bumped into some folks Inaki knew from Pamplona and a group from Catalunia. Mom came into the taproom at about 2:30 and told us to settle into the dining room. We grabbed a picnic table and waited for the first course. Here's what the atmosphere was like.
View of the apple orchard from the table with lacy little curtains. Too sweet.
The typical sidreria menu is all family style. They bring out one huge plate at a time and you serve yourself. There's always a huge loaf of bread at the table as well. Some places don't even give you extra plates, but this one did. First course is usually a tortilla bacalao, which is a cod omelet. Mmm.
No funny business with salad or soup or anything that wastes space in your stomach. Next course is chuleton, or t-bone steak. You finish one and they ask you if you want another and it's basically bottomless. The meat is such high-quality, most likely from a cow they raised at the farm we were eating at, that they can cook it rare as rare can be. It's like steak sushi. They grilled it in this hut to the left, outside the taproom and would rush it into the dining room still sizzling. Yep, lace curtains there too.
Open grill over burning coals, oh yeah! They had just taken a rack off and were about to transfer this one to the heat.
The final product.
We ate until we couldn't eat anymore, all the while jumping up to taste sidra from freshly tapped barrels, "txots!" When we were stuffed, they brought out the dessert, which is another staple and fixed menu item: walnuts, cured cheese and a fruit compote kind of a thing (membrillo). All three flavors in your mouth at once are to die for. Nutty, earthy, creamy, sweet and salty. At this particular sidreria, they offered a digestive of apple brandy that they made there and coffee, of course.
Inaki is the kind of guy that likes to get a lot of value for his money. His motto is, "if it's free, give me 2." So, when we go to sidrerias and the sidra is all you can drink, he's not shy about filling that glass. When he arrives to an inevitable state of euphoria, he likes to start using his head for things it doesn't typically get used for. One of those things is cracking walnuts by placing them on the table and crushing them with his forehead. Observe:
Yep, he did it. But he's always a little sore the next day.
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I don't think I can find a better place to end this blog as this is a pretty good grand finale. We all headed home in a steamy car (DD driven!) to long afternoon naps after a bit of bowling.
The sidra season starts in January and goes until mid-April. So, if you want to go to a really cool sidreria, now is the time to be here. There are some good ones that are open year-round, I've heard, and I'll be testing them out and letting you know for sure. Regardless, it's a one of a kind experience and I think I'll buy an orchard in HRV when we are back in Oregon and try to get the sidra ball rolling state-side!
Inaki and I have been talking about being here for the sidra season since we left Portland in July. When Esteban and Mirentxu suggested we go a few weeks ago we immediately became giddy with excitement. Esteban knew a great place in Beruete, which is a village in the hills of Navarra. We heard there might be some bad weather and planned to have to hike 2 km in the snow to get to the cider house, but we were lucky and the snowplow had come through that morning, so we parked right next to the house. And when I say house, I literally mean house. This sidreria was run from the animal level of an old farm home. The family that owns it lives upstairs on the house level and dad cooks the meet, mom taps the kegs and son does whatever else needs to be done.
We got there early and the family was finishing shoveling snow from the driveway. Esteban's buddy Ignacio immediately yelled out of our car window, "hey kid," addressing the son, "you need to make sure you have a contract in place, there are child labor laws you know!" A smile broke across each family member's face as they knew Ignacio and were pleased he'd returned. We hopped out of the car, pulled on our hiking boots and headed into the cider house. Mom tapped a keg for us and let us have a few pulls before sending us out into the snow for a hike with the family dog.
Here's a shot of the tap room. I love how the beams and wood look greasy and covered in the years of cooking and steam filled conversations that have gone on beneath them.
Here's a snap of me getting my first "txot" as it's called here. The cider has to be shot out of the barrel to break up the sediment and then thrown back so it doesn't get warm or start to settle.
The barrel in the next picture was barrel #3 I think. During the day, one barrel was left with a perma-tap in it, but the others were opened by mom. She'd find the hole in the side of each barrel, shove a metal pipe in and let the sidra flow as we filled our cups and stepped back for the next person to aim their glass at the tap and try not to spill any. When we were done with that barrel, she'd take a big ball of animal fat, tear off a piece and cover the hole until the next time they tapped it. You can see the fat ball on the front and the hole, covered, to the upper right.
So out we went, into the snow and the hills of Beruete. The family dog seemed to know where to go and we just followed him. When the road forked and he went right, so did we. At the end of the line, he simply stopped, turned around and walked us back to the sidreria. Too cool. And, so filthy! When he rolled in the snow, it left a little muddy stain where he had lain.
Here's a shot on the hike and one looking back at the sidreria. It's white, so it's hard to see, but when you find it, you'll say wow.
When we trudged back up to the house at about 2, other customers had begun to arrive. As it usually goes, people start out shy and stand around in their own little groups, but by the end of the day, we're just one big group chatting and rosey, new best friends. This time we bumped into some folks Inaki knew from Pamplona and a group from Catalunia. Mom came into the taproom at about 2:30 and told us to settle into the dining room. We grabbed a picnic table and waited for the first course. Here's what the atmosphere was like.
View of the apple orchard from the table with lacy little curtains. Too sweet.
No funny business with salad or soup or anything that wastes space in your stomach. Next course is chuleton, or t-bone steak. You finish one and they ask you if you want another and it's basically bottomless. The meat is such high-quality, most likely from a cow they raised at the farm we were eating at, that they can cook it rare as rare can be. It's like steak sushi. They grilled it in this hut to the left, outside the taproom and would rush it into the dining room still sizzling. Yep, lace curtains there too.
Open grill over burning coals, oh yeah! They had just taken a rack off and were about to transfer this one to the heat.
The final product.
We ate until we couldn't eat anymore, all the while jumping up to taste sidra from freshly tapped barrels, "txots!" When we were stuffed, they brought out the dessert, which is another staple and fixed menu item: walnuts, cured cheese and a fruit compote kind of a thing (membrillo). All three flavors in your mouth at once are to die for. Nutty, earthy, creamy, sweet and salty. At this particular sidreria, they offered a digestive of apple brandy that they made there and coffee, of course.
Yep, he did it. But he's always a little sore the next day.
.jpg)
I don't think I can find a better place to end this blog as this is a pretty good grand finale. We all headed home in a steamy car (DD driven!) to long afternoon naps after a bit of bowling.
The sidra season starts in January and goes until mid-April. So, if you want to go to a really cool sidreria, now is the time to be here. There are some good ones that are open year-round, I've heard, and I'll be testing them out and letting you know for sure. Regardless, it's a one of a kind experience and I think I'll buy an orchard in HRV when we are back in Oregon and try to get the sidra ball rolling state-side!
Sunday, February 03, 2013
Santander!
I mopped today. Like, the whole house. I have never done that before unless someone was coming to visit. I just needed things clean to start the week... who am I!?! Ahhhhhh! Domestication!!!!!
So, I've decided to blog about a wonderful trip we took this summer in hopes that it will get me back to my gritty traveler, adventure's my middle name, roots. We visited Inaki's aunt Pilar way back in July and had a great time tooting around Santander. I mentioned her in the Peaks of Europe post, because we stayed with her then too, as Santander isn't too far from the peaks. BUT, Santander is a not-to-miss city in my opinion. Lots of beautiful beaches, hikes, fish and the convenience of the buzzing metropolis right nearby.
The day we arrived we headed out to the beach to catch some rays. Santander's beach weather is closer to Oregon Coast than San Diego, so we figured we better get some sun while we could. I can't remember the name of this beach, but it was just a 10 minute drive from Pilar's. She also has a few within walking distance and then you can hike on the bluffs in between good spots.
On day two we hiked from one beach to another, which you can see above. I can't remember where we started, but the last picture you see is a really tough beach to get down to and stays pretty deserted because of that. So pretty! We ended up at Arnia (accent on the "i") and met the family for a beer and some rabas (long, thick, fry shaped calamaris) at what seemed to be the only bar for miles.
This was the coolest bar! Right on the edge of a cliff looking out over the sea. I guess on Thursday's they have live music, but we haven't made it back for that yet. Hopefully this summer! The view in the last photo (above) is from the parking lot of the bar. Awesome!
The following day, we took Paco out to meet a business associate and had the car for the day. So, we cruised around to a couple other beach towns. The first one we hit was San Vicente. The weather wasn't great, so we hiked to the top of the town to see the church/castle (I'm not sure which it was, they're all a blur, you know how it is).
Inaki wanted to do a senior picture in that last one. Looks pretty good I think!
After a pintxo, we rolled into Comillas, which means "quotation marks" in Spanish. We were air quoting pretty much everything we said that day and thought we were hilarious, which we were. Here's some "charm" for you to "enjoy"...
They've got a Gaudi structure in Comillas that we didn't go to because it costs 5 Euros, but we saw it from the other side of town poking out above the trees, suckers! We did get to check out the graveyard, which was pretty cool. They're so different from ours in Oregon with the graves all close together and protected by a wall. Look at this threatening angel perched above the site. Scary!
Day four was spent back in Santa and it was lovely. A fabulous lunch, a long walk and some great views.
That final panorama is a golf course that sits on a bluff above the beach. And, it's public! We walked all around it and it would be a fantastic place to play for you golf peeps out there.
OK, my adventurous spirit is feeling replenished and excited to get into a bit of mischief next weekend. I hope yours does too! Tata!
The day we arrived we headed out to the beach to catch some rays. Santander's beach weather is closer to Oregon Coast than San Diego, so we figured we better get some sun while we could. I can't remember the name of this beach, but it was just a 10 minute drive from Pilar's. She also has a few within walking distance and then you can hike on the bluffs in between good spots.
On day two we hiked from one beach to another, which you can see above. I can't remember where we started, but the last picture you see is a really tough beach to get down to and stays pretty deserted because of that. So pretty! We ended up at Arnia (accent on the "i") and met the family for a beer and some rabas (long, thick, fry shaped calamaris) at what seemed to be the only bar for miles.
This was the coolest bar! Right on the edge of a cliff looking out over the sea. I guess on Thursday's they have live music, but we haven't made it back for that yet. Hopefully this summer! The view in the last photo (above) is from the parking lot of the bar. Awesome!
The following day, we took Paco out to meet a business associate and had the car for the day. So, we cruised around to a couple other beach towns. The first one we hit was San Vicente. The weather wasn't great, so we hiked to the top of the town to see the church/castle (I'm not sure which it was, they're all a blur, you know how it is).
Inaki wanted to do a senior picture in that last one. Looks pretty good I think!
After a pintxo, we rolled into Comillas, which means "quotation marks" in Spanish. We were air quoting pretty much everything we said that day and thought we were hilarious, which we were. Here's some "charm" for you to "enjoy"...
They've got a Gaudi structure in Comillas that we didn't go to because it costs 5 Euros, but we saw it from the other side of town poking out above the trees, suckers! We did get to check out the graveyard, which was pretty cool. They're so different from ours in Oregon with the graves all close together and protected by a wall. Look at this threatening angel perched above the site. Scary!
Day four was spent back in Santa and it was lovely. A fabulous lunch, a long walk and some great views.
That final panorama is a golf course that sits on a bluff above the beach. And, it's public! We walked all around it and it would be a fantastic place to play for you golf peeps out there.
OK, my adventurous spirit is feeling replenished and excited to get into a bit of mischief next weekend. I hope yours does too! Tata!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Blues in Burlada
On Friday night Inaki and I wanted to get out and stretch our legs a bit. We wanted something new, but nothing crazy and settled on hitting up a bar called "The Black Rose" in Burlada, a village about 2 miles away from where we live. They had live blues music for the evening and we thought that sounded pretty interesting. The Spanish language is too sing-songy, in my opinion, to make a tune sound low down, pitiful, "my woman runned off an lef me, but befo she gone she done kilt me dog", sad. So, I wanted to see this Spanish blues concert of course! What would it be like!?
Well, it was in English. I almost wished I'd made up a business card before arriving because I really could have helped with pronunciation. However, the music was so good! This video isn't very good, but you can hear my fave Susan Tedeschi beat as he's getting into the lyrics:
We just leaned up against the cinder block wall, watched and had the best time. Early on in the concert, one of the first songs, the singer and band stopped after repeating the same line over and over again, and looked around at the crowd. If I were in the states, I would have taken this pause as a sign that I was supposed to repeat the line, but seeing as how there were crickets, I stood quiet. The singer looked at the owner of the bar and said into the mic, "Mikel, we're going home" but then laughed and finished the song.
In the next song, one of the lines was "oh, oh, oooooooooh."After saying it about 3 times, the singer and the band paused again, looking out at the crowd and again, silence. That is, until I got fed up and couldn't hold it in any longer. As the singers eyes passed over me, I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled "oh, oh, oooooooh!" It came out a lot louder than I'd anticipated and my "oh"s were obviously long and very American. As soon as the words came out of my mouth I wanted to suck them back in again. The singer smiled and continued the song, but then I thought, "crap, maybe I'm not supposed to do that here!?" I mean it was sooooo silent and then here comes the big obnoxious American with her loud ways! Picture my mother, at a basketball game, doing her signature "wait til everything's quiet and then yell at the ref in a deep baritone". That's what it sounded like.
But, after the song, Inaki leaned over to me and said, "good job with the 'oh's" He said Esteban, a friend we were with, whispered to Inaki after I yelled, "oh, that's what we were supposed to do!" So, I think I was actually helpful, yay! And, during the rest of the concert, other people started participating. Yessssssss, trend setter!
Anyhow it was a great time and if any of you readers come visit, we'll take you there so you can see the first place Spanish citizens repeated after a blues singer during a concert!
Well, it was in English. I almost wished I'd made up a business card before arriving because I really could have helped with pronunciation. However, the music was so good! This video isn't very good, but you can hear my fave Susan Tedeschi beat as he's getting into the lyrics:
We just leaned up against the cinder block wall, watched and had the best time. Early on in the concert, one of the first songs, the singer and band stopped after repeating the same line over and over again, and looked around at the crowd. If I were in the states, I would have taken this pause as a sign that I was supposed to repeat the line, but seeing as how there were crickets, I stood quiet. The singer looked at the owner of the bar and said into the mic, "Mikel, we're going home" but then laughed and finished the song.
But, after the song, Inaki leaned over to me and said, "good job with the 'oh's" He said Esteban, a friend we were with, whispered to Inaki after I yelled, "oh, that's what we were supposed to do!" So, I think I was actually helpful, yay! And, during the rest of the concert, other people started participating. Yessssssss, trend setter!
Anyhow it was a great time and if any of you readers come visit, we'll take you there so you can see the first place Spanish citizens repeated after a blues singer during a concert!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
2012 in reviewsky
While at home this holiday season, I found myself in constant complaint mode. As much as I tried to be positive about my life and how things are going, being home made me miss it even more, though I was there. Go figure. Every time someone asked me a catch up question, I would tell them, "I'm living in Spain and teaching English and we're decorating the apartment, blablabla." Eyes would widen, smiles would stretch across faces and a happy, good-hearted envy wafted through the air during these moments. People would say, "you are so lucky!" or "wow, I've always wanted to teach English in Spain!"
Usually, I would then ask my sweet friends, "what would you do with your time there?" Because, I find teaching to be all consuming and my weekend life is still infiltrated by thoughts on phrasal verbs and how to better explain them or how to get my students to sit down in their chairs and not stand on their desks staring at me like, "what are you going to do about this? Nothing." Mostly, people said they'd travel, eat, drink and learn Spanish. Although I've been doing that, I'm going to focus on that more this year. I want to quit taking myself so seriously and quit wallowing over teaching and remember that this is a special time in my life. We'll see.
Also, I've looked back at 2012 and realized, we did so much! I need to get my optimistic-self back, quit being a spoiled brat and enjoy the time I have here. So, here are my top pictures from experiences we had each month last year. It's pretty amazing that I did all this and it makes me feel glad.
January 2012 (or December 31st, 2012) Migration Brewing:
This was NYE last year (2011-2012) You see here Inaki and Whit sitting across from me at Migration Brewing shortly after we discovered that trying to make the Zoolander "Blue Steel" face while drinking is the funniest thing ever. I happen to have the cheekbones for it and can bust it out at a moment's notice. These 2 yahoos just couldn't get it! Whit has issues pursing her lips and Inaki... well, he's not the best imitator :) So I snapped about 10 pictures of them trying to do Blue Steel that night and I love this one because they are so happy, having fun, with their eyes shut the same way at the same time and it just makes me laugh when I see it. Pure joy in their faces, don't you think? We sure do miss hanging out with Whitty! Can't wait to hang out here in July!
February 2012, Mom and Dad's kitchen:
Inaki and my 2nd brew. Everyone said the first one was good, but when this one finished, everyone said it was better. We chose an amber because we thought it would be hard to mess up and then we dry-hopped it to get more flavor out of it. It ended up being much more drinkable than our first round and a smoother process the 2nd time through. Brewing and beer was a big part of my life in 2012. The process of applying for a job with a brewery and diving into the beer industry to learn as much as I could was really fun. Though we ended up in Spain, I think the beer industry would be a great place for me in the future.
March 2012, Seattle 10K with Cousin Kell:
Whits, Inaki and I headed up to Seattle to visit our cousin Kelly in March and run my first 10K of the year. It was so fun to visit Kelly as "adults" and see Seattle as she lives in it. I saw more of the city than I ever have and it was so cool to be with her and experience her life there. We ran a 10K, had delicious coffee, crumpets, visited Snoqualamie Falls (Twin Peaks fans should know that one), saw a few shows, had a terrible whisky shot (which almost made the blog) and ate at Dick's. Great times. We miss you Kell! Come visit please!
April 2012, Lake Pilsbury, CA:
This was just the coolest weekend! Inaki and I met Lance and Lauren 1/2 way and camped in Northern California for a few days. We packed up the Aveo and she made the trip like a champ! A million great stories came out of this weekend, but the theme was great friends, beautiful surroundings and adventure. I love this picture because you can see we were the only people there and right on the lake, got the only pocket of good weather (it was snowing the night before), we were fully stocked with the essentials and you can see me chatting with one of my best friends in the whole world. Doesn't get much better.
May 2012, Tom McCall hike:
This is from a hike Inaki and I took in May. It was in Tom McCall park and these dandelion-ish flowers were everywhere in the field perched atop a cliff in the Columbia River Gorge. All that yellow is such a clear memory and I'm glad Inaki had the sense to snap a shot like this. Oh nature!
June 2012, Father's Day biking bar hop:
We had a lot of great times in June, as we knew we'd be saying goodbye in a month, but Father's Day topped it, I think. I'm not sure how we came to the decision that we should do a bar hop by bike, but it was a great one! I'm pretty sure Inaki cooked it up and mapped it all out now that I think about it. We started at our house in NoPo and rode to St. John's for Occidental. Then, dad's bike got a flat and we thought all was lost because we had an 11 mile ride back to his house. We pumped it up at a gas station and had to skip a few spots, but we made it to Breakside, Mash Tun and then Peter's to round out the day. The amount of bars we had originally hoped to hit would have been way too many. I'll never forget trying to ride up the hill from Occidental after that first pint. So hard!
July 2012, San Fermin:
July has to be San Fermin. We actually had a huge July last year, because as we said goodbye to Portland, we said hello to Pamplona. But, you can't beat San Fermin. Maybe with Carnaval in Brazil, but I'm not sure. We accomplished our 24 hour party last year by starting at the chupinazo and staying out until the next morning to ring in the day with the Pamplonesa. I got to meet the whole family and the whole time was just jolly fun!
August 2012, a sudden visitor:
Inaki and I were so happy when Kim emailed and said she'd be visiting in a couple of weeks. She got a random job moving a boat from one spot to another (as you know, she's a professional pirate when she's not teaching), and popped into Pamplona for a few days. She was our first visitor and a friendly face from home was just what I needed. Thanks Kim!
September 2012, San Adria:
I blogged about this one, so you already know about the beer fight in San Adria. It was such a good time and reminded me of the Spain I left 5 years ago. Spanish hospitality all over the place, a visit to the Barcelona city center and all the sites it has to offer. Making new friends and having a crazy beer fight for hours. Who gets to do that? Me. Awesome.
October 2012, 1st full phase on El Camino:
October was another big month for us. I think it was the great weather. We ended up doing 2 phases on the camino, 2 races, visited Santander and the Picos de Europa and started our new monthly tradition of lunch out with Paco. It was great. But, I think the best I felt was on my first phase of the camino. Walking through all the tiny towns and such long distances feels so good. This picture is on the top of the Perdon, which I also already blogged about. I've got PaPete's old shirt on that my mom made for him and this is when it became my new hiking shirt. Anyhow, I'm sure there will be more camino to come. Maybe tomorrow!
November 2012, San Emillion and Bordeaux:
Inaki and I got to take a trip to San Emillion and Bordeaux during the end of November that was pretty cool. Next time, we'll definitely learn more french first, but the evening in San Emillion was just beautiful, which is where this shot was taken. Can you see our shadows? Wandering through the town was magical and then stopping at the grocery store for a dinner of wine, bread, meat and cheese. Here's to more trips in 2013.
December 2012, Christmas card:
We had so much fun walking around Pamplona and taking pictures for our Christmas card that we never sent last year! We threw some cheap wine in a thermos, added a cinnamon stick and strolled up to town to try to make it for the blue hour. We took various shots, but these are our favorites. How cool is a wine bottle Christmas tree? So cool. I might just make my own! Sadly, we never sent it, only face-booked it, but our intentions were good! Hopefully next year.
Well, that's my/our year in a nutshell. Wow, it's been a good one I guess. 2012 has felt very hard for lots of reasons, but we've managed to have such a full life in between the tough stuff. Cheers to being happy, healthy, adventurous and optimistic in 2013! And to the Cave Girls. Love to all!
Usually, I would then ask my sweet friends, "what would you do with your time there?" Because, I find teaching to be all consuming and my weekend life is still infiltrated by thoughts on phrasal verbs and how to better explain them or how to get my students to sit down in their chairs and not stand on their desks staring at me like, "what are you going to do about this? Nothing." Mostly, people said they'd travel, eat, drink and learn Spanish. Although I've been doing that, I'm going to focus on that more this year. I want to quit taking myself so seriously and quit wallowing over teaching and remember that this is a special time in my life. We'll see.
Also, I've looked back at 2012 and realized, we did so much! I need to get my optimistic-self back, quit being a spoiled brat and enjoy the time I have here. So, here are my top pictures from experiences we had each month last year. It's pretty amazing that I did all this and it makes me feel glad.
January 2012 (or December 31st, 2012) Migration Brewing:
February 2012, Mom and Dad's kitchen:
March 2012, Seattle 10K with Cousin Kell:
April 2012, Lake Pilsbury, CA:
May 2012, Tom McCall hike:
June 2012, Father's Day biking bar hop:
July 2012, San Fermin:
August 2012, a sudden visitor:
September 2012, San Adria:
October 2012, 1st full phase on El Camino:
November 2012, San Emillion and Bordeaux:
December 2012, Christmas card:
Well, that's my/our year in a nutshell. Wow, it's been a good one I guess. 2012 has felt very hard for lots of reasons, but we've managed to have such a full life in between the tough stuff. Cheers to being happy, healthy, adventurous and optimistic in 2013! And to the Cave Girls. Love to all!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Part 2: El Camino
Our 2nd trip on "El Camino" was much longer than the first. I don't think I've ever knowingly walked so far in my life: 12 miles. It's broken up into phases and we did the phase from Zizur Menor to Puente la Reina. The lovely Irene dropped us off in Zizur, which is where she lives, and picked us up on the other end with Mr. Francisco "Paco" Mayo (Inaki's father, not to be confused with this guy). Here's the routy-toot-toot:
Sorry about all the flags, it's the best image I could find, since we didn't follow a road.
This was my first day with my new hiking shirt on and it felt pretty good. With a few adjustments I think I resembled what Marilyn Monroe might have, out on a camping trip. I tried to get a split screen up in here, but Blogger no likey the copyright infringement on posting a Marilyn photo.
And off we went! Through the fields of Zizur and up over El Perdon (The Pardon) which is a hill that they refer to as a "mountain" here in Navarra. I believe the first town we strolled through was Galar. Like I've said, the small towns on the route are my favorite part. Suddenly you enter a town that has been there for a thousand years, follow the path and walk right out the other side. They all have incredible old buildings and nooks and crannies to explore. Here's a shot in front of the church.
We got the best views of the day on our way to the top of the Perdon. It was a little muddy, but what a gorgeous day. This has to be my favorite picture of the day. Somehow, Inaki made the perfect face for an adult anti-anxiety ad. Oh so happy, and I don't know why, sort of thing...
At the top of the Perdon, there's a sort of art piece of other pilgrims who have crossed the top. You get a great panorama of where you've been and where you'll be going as well.
All the places you can head to from the top of the Perdon.
It started to get a little rainy on our way down, but we did get one last image of the park in another small town that I can't remember the name of.
And that's it, another little adventure of mine. I need to get another good rant in soon, so my writing gets more creative, but I just haven't had time for complaints! One of these days!
Sorry about all the flags, it's the best image I could find, since we didn't follow a road.
This was my first day with my new hiking shirt on and it felt pretty good. With a few adjustments I think I resembled what Marilyn Monroe might have, out on a camping trip. I tried to get a split screen up in here, but Blogger no likey the copyright infringement on posting a Marilyn photo.
And off we went! Through the fields of Zizur and up over El Perdon (The Pardon) which is a hill that they refer to as a "mountain" here in Navarra. I believe the first town we strolled through was Galar. Like I've said, the small towns on the route are my favorite part. Suddenly you enter a town that has been there for a thousand years, follow the path and walk right out the other side. They all have incredible old buildings and nooks and crannies to explore. Here's a shot in front of the church.
We got the best views of the day on our way to the top of the Perdon. It was a little muddy, but what a gorgeous day. This has to be my favorite picture of the day. Somehow, Inaki made the perfect face for an adult anti-anxiety ad. Oh so happy, and I don't know why, sort of thing...
At the top of the Perdon, there's a sort of art piece of other pilgrims who have crossed the top. You get a great panorama of where you've been and where you'll be going as well.
All the places you can head to from the top of the Perdon.
It started to get a little rainy on our way down, but we did get one last image of the park in another small town that I can't remember the name of.
And that's it, another little adventure of mine. I need to get another good rant in soon, so my writing gets more creative, but I just haven't had time for complaints! One of these days!
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