Park, Park, Park & Park

Grandma and Grand-Dad arrived from the US yesterday. So, we took them on a walk into the hills around Larrabetzu to work off the jet lag. Then, today we ventured into Bilbao- spending the day walking all over the place.

Here is C in front of la vacha- Spanish for cow. Out in a field near to where I, I and L are camping. Here is D on the streets of Bilbao, after tasting pintxos- the Basque idea of light lunch meets appetizers. We had also just walked by the Teatro Arriaga showing Chicago!

I gathered several bits of video since arriving which give a bit of the experience. In order of appearance: The hill where Idioa, Inigo and Leia are camping for a few days, overlooks the town of Larrabetzu and the surrounding countryside. We stopped in for a tour and fresh fruit right off the trees yesterday eve. Then, today off to the beaches of Bakio . Apparently, the surfing is good here, and the rock formations in the background provide lots of interest to C. We then went up the coast to St Juan de Gaztelugatxa to have a bite to eat. If you look closely at the video, you can see both the Catholic Church way out on the point and the island off to the right (see the map as well). No video for this, but we then drove through the hills to Gernika (famous for the WW2 bombing and Picasso protest painting), and then back home. Once back, we made a tour of the high street late in the day for more of the local fun and drink. C is running up and down chasing Leia. Bedtime for C and D ...

We went for a short drive and then a long walk (by C's standards) in the hills above Larrabetzu today. And we ended at what most people would call a local restaurant- Inigo knows everyone and gets us the best food and wine. It was a fantastic (phonetically "osondo" in Basque) meal. Here we are at the top of the hill.

Bells doesn't write too often for this blog, but an email she sent out about our ferry ride to Bilbao deserved a re-print. Just a quick note to share the journey with you. It started even worse than expected. At 10 am, the vomitorium score was: Bella 0 Adam 1 Christian 7 Dorothy 9 Needless to say, while I had packed spare clothes, I had not anticipated the share scale of need! By 11 am, everyone got their sea legs and were fine for the rest of the day. And we've arrived ... stinking and smelly. But there's a washing machine. Anyway, see most of you in a month. And here are some snaps: Just driving on to the biggest ship I've ever been on and post- vomitorium below.

Landed in Euskadi- The Basque Region- this morning, and already settled into our abode. All the comforts of home (hence the wireless for the laptop), plus sun and warmth. Made a reccie of the town- Larrabetzu- and have secured grocery store, cafe, cash machines, and taverns. Everyone is very friendly to the British and American interlopers. Mom and Dad- we're set. Have also begun my list of Basque vocabulary to learn.

On my run yesterday, I almost tripped over this thing- as long as your finger! So, I wrapped up Lucanus Cervus in my tee shirt and brought him home. C and I talked about what he eats (wood) and where he lives (dead trees). C thought he was sad, and I think both sides were a bit intimidated. It turns out that it is an Internationally Protected Species , and in serious decline in the UK! So we put him in a jar and took him to the park to roam free.