Berets (pronounced like ferets)

It's our last day on the train! We toured the famous La Encartada Beret Factory Museum and bought matching chocolate-colored berets. These will be part of our official Nut Brown Hare Club uniform. Berets (Vanessa the tour guide pronounces it like "ferets") are originally from Northern Spain (not France!) We were fed the bean soup they used to make for the workers over a hundred years ago. We have quite arrived!

Tonight, we can sleep in a proper bed...and together! Yeah!

Disclaimer: We have survived three nights and four days in a 6x6 room. What a testament!

Chupito!

The Basque equivalent to grappa (or port) is called Orujo. It’s a spirit distilled from wine and flavoured with special herbs or coffee.

It's served in a "chupito"--a small shot-like glass and is referred to simply as a "chupito." The "blanco" smelled and tasted like paint thinner, the "cafe" was similar to a kahula-flavor, and the "herbal" reminded me of Anisette.

Teamwork

Our large suitcases barely fit under the bottom bunk, and to access them, we have to fanangle them about...which means this morning he had to lay in his bottom bunk with his suitcase on top of him, while holding the lid of my suitcase open on the floor as I rooted through for my outfit of the day.

As I was showering the train rounded a bend and I went flying out of the shower and across the bathroom--the whole 6 feet--and landed in the toilet. As he lay in the bottom bunk with no where else to go--witnesses the entire thing. (I think this is how I may have sprained my finger.)

A Not So Beautiful Day for the Incline

We had a few hours before our luxury train across Basque country Spain departed, so we took the Artxanda Funicular up to the top of Bilbao for what we were hoping were amazing views of the entire city....but it was super cloudy and not such the best idea that day! Oh well...time to board the train!

Can we just stay in San Sebastian forever, please!

We definitely loved San Sebastian! Best idea for a day trip. We were both so excited that the San Sebastian International Film Festival was happening during our visit! The 50 minute bus ride was pleasant and easy. We wandered into a wine store called Luka's and was surprised to hear perfect English! Ben, a surfer from San Diego, poured us a few awesome wines and gave us the lay-of-the-land. I felt right at home in this seaside resort town. La Concha Beach is the place to sunbathe and the walking path along the waterfront allows for great views. A great place to stop for a beer by the water is a small bar called Akerbeltz. We enjoy the local brew, Estrella, and was invited to do shots with the bartender! We asked for the "local" liquor of orujo --they laughed at us and gave us tequila. The best pintxos ever were found at Ganbara. The restaurant is known for it's amazing dinners, but that would require us waiting until at least 9pm when restaurants open. (Note: our bus back to Bilbao was at 8pm. Needless to say, we missed it! We were able to get the very last bus back to Bilbao at 10pm, but would have stayed the night in a heart beat had we'd been able to find a hotel!)

Bilbao here we come!

In the heart of Basque country is Bilbao: the home of the Guggenheim. In this modern, working city there are few tourists. (Which means no English.) Bilbao is small enough to explore on foot in one day, and easily navigable. Even John and I, who both have NO sense of direction, found our way easily...

We tackled the old city (referred to as the casca vieja) where we wandered through narrow cobblestone streets, grabbed pintxos and a beer at a Berton (more or less a pintxos chain). I really enjoyed photographing the Zubizuri Bridge (which means "white bridge" in Basque). Of course, no visit to Bilbao would be complete without a visit to the Guggenheim. Even if you're not a museum person, the place is cool. There is just as much cool art outside, as there is inside. We snapped up some pics of Puppy and took some "illegal" pics inside of the Serra exhibit.