Spring Break Part II: Salamanca

Salamanca is about 4 hours south west of Algorta. 14 years have passed since my last visit. Prior to that I studied there one summer in college and I had visited in 1985 as well. While much of the college town remains the same, Salamanca as a city has really grown. 

We started with a tour of the city. Since we were staying in Barrio La Vega which is on the other side of Rio Tormes, we had about a 10 minute walk in towards the center of town. We took some pictures of the views as we approached. 



Once across the bridge, we headed directly into the monument zone. The first on the list was the Catedral Nueva, which by US standards isn't all that new seeing as it was built between the 16th & 18th century.

You may have noticed the carving on the cathedral of an astronaut, which of course didn't exist when the cathedral was built. My understanding is that relatively recently they needed to clean up the outside of the building where some of the intricate carvings had eroded. They apparently did this with a bit of creative license to "modernize" the outside.

Not far from the cathedral is the Patio de las Escuelas and the historical university building with its famous frog carving.


From there we headed towards the center of town. Maia happened to notice some Jewish stars on some buildings which also had some moorish influences. That sent me on a mission to find out a bit about the presence of Jews in Salamanca. As it turns out what Maia had discovered had no real meaning other than the builder liked that architecture. However there is some history, although most remnants of it are completely gone at this point.

The Plaza Mayor is one of the most beautiful central plazas in all of Spain. If you have the opportunity to visit, stop in at Meson de Cervantes, another favorite study spot for me. While you can sit outside, I recommend going in and checking out the photos on the walls. It shows some of the history of the plaza from the times when cars were allowed, and how it has transformed into the meeting place that it is today. Once you are done in the plaza, across the street is a large indoor market which is a great place for picking up fresh fruit and vegetables.

The park pictured is Parque La Alamedilla. I remember studying there as an alternative to la Plaza Mayor as it tends to be a bit quieter. There is a bar/cafe in the park, where I had the best granizados de limón, basically a lemon slushy. Unfortunately we were told this is a seasonal drink that is only available in the summer. We'll have to go back some time for that...

Just outside of Salamanca there are many options for day excursions. We went with our friends, MaLuz, Sara, and Lola to La Peña de Francia and La Alberca. We drove up the mountain and stopped along the way to take in the views before reaching the top. It was quite cold up there and a rather gloomy day but we got some great pictures anyway.

At the top was a beautiful old monastery.

After having a drink to warm us up a bit we headed back down to an adorable little town called La Alberca. There we found a great place for lunch and took a tour around the city before heading back to Salamanca.

The sights were stunning and the company was great. Yet another successful adventure.

Barcelona

For those living in the Basque region, Semana Santa is something of a misnomer. It is actually semanas, as the girls had two full weeks of spring break. We made the most of our time. They make up for it by being in school until late June.

Part I: Lauren attends Eurocall SIG in Barcelona
I left a couple days before everyone to head to Barcelona where I attended the Eurocall-CMC Telecollaboration conference. Upon arrival Mercedes and family, my youngest sister of my Basque family, met me at the airport. They took me to the bed and breakfast I had reserved near the downtown area of Barcelona. Ana’s Guesthouse was wonderful and I would highly recommend it. Ana and her daughter Natalie were great, breakfast was perfect and the house was lovely. Here are a few pictures of the patio courtyard and living room. Hard to believe this is just off of the downtown area of Barcelona.


At the conference met a colleague from León with whom I had been communicating for over a year. It was a small conference attended by people from all over Europe and Scandinavia. It was interesting to learn about what people are doing with language technology in other parts of the world. It was also interesting to realize how different US expectations are of connectivity as compared to other regions. While not all of our students are connected at home there is a definite move in the US to expect students to find ways to get connected when they have to be; via cellphone, at the library, or at school. While other countries are connected, and so are their students, they don’t expect students to be. Some instructors still hesitate to require students to use media and the resources that make the web a richer resource than a traditional paper. Much of the work is done during the school day when they can get access to a lab. They do have the same issues as we do which are bandwidth and filters.

The final keynote was a US colleague, Steven Thorne, who is always a great speaker and stretches all of us a bit to move out of our usual comfort zone. All in all it was a great two days and I’m glad that I attended.

Part II: Look UP!!! High!!!
On Friday night Dean and the girls flew out to meet me. I unfortunately had to switch to a different B & B as Ana didn’t have enough rooms available for all of us. We stayed at BBB - Jardinets Guest House. The rooms were nice and the girls especially liked the elevator.

We met some of the other guests who were also friendly although it didn’t have the same family feel and was a bit more do-it-on-your-own than Ana’s. Our room was on the front of the building on a busy street but we managed with the night noise. The location was really convenient.

   
At this point, I had realized in Barcelona, it is very important to LOOK UP. The architecture everywhere is amazing and if you don’t look up you miss most of it.

Saturday we started out on our own. A long walk down the street took us to Las Ramblas and the pier. Along the way we stopped to take pictures of some of Gaudi’s amazing creations. The Pedrera and Casa Batlló were definitely worth the time to study from the outside.

We stopped briefly at Plaza Cataluyna.

From there we headed down Las Ramblas. At the end of the street near the pier we stopped for some pictures at the monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus, Plaza de Colón. We decided to skip the inside. On the way back up Las Ramblas we stopped at the Boquería, a large open market full of all kinds of food. We picked up some fruit and smoothies. Like everything during Semana Santa, the place was packed.

Our last photo op before lunch was Gaudi’s Segrada Familia. We again decided to stick to just taking pictures from the outside. I’m not sure how or when people ever get really good pictures of this church as it has been under construction for years. We did the best we could but you’ll have to just imagine what it would be like without all the scaffolding. The amount of detail put into all of Guadi’s work, and especially this one is beyond words.

Later we met up with Mercedes, Carlos and Unai for lunch. We were in plan to see more of the city from the very top, or what seemed like as high as we could go. We headed up the steps to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) and then kept going.
Before long we found ourselves at the Olympic stadium. It was pretty cool to be walking where all those amazing athletes shared their talents with the world. It’s nice to know that the buildings are still being used regularly for a variety of other events.



By this time, Maia and Unai were fast friends. Unai never napped as he was busy looking for Maia and a bit for Morgan too.

We eventually found our way to the teleférico that took us to the top of the mountain and Castle Montjuic with some great views. There was an African festival there that day so we caught a bit too much of some rap music and a really good storyteller.  Of course we have some pictures of the views as well. Barcelona is a HUGE city.

On our way back down the mountain we caught the magic fountain show. The fountain leading up to the MNAC was timed to "dance" with the music. At night it also has colored lights but the sun sets rather late here so we didn't stick around for that.

It was a long day and a lot of walking but the girls did amazingly well and we all slept very well Saturday night.

Sunday we  headed to Parc de La Ciutadella where we again met up with Mercedes, Carlos and Unai. It turned out to be the day of the Green Festival so besides the park being packed, there were hundreds of tents set up with all kinds of information on living green. I especially liked the Caballitos Ecológicos, pedal powered carousel with the recycled material horses. Not pictured is the music for the carousel that was solar powered. Very cool!

We enjoyed the park, the bicycle built for four, and most of all the company for a picnic. Later that afternoon we made our way to Mercedes, Carlos & Unai’s house. Yolanda, the sister that I went to high school with in Portugalete, joined us for a walk to the park and dinner. Nothing beats great conversation and great company.

Monday we headed to Parc Güell, another one of Gaudi’s amazing works of art. I have long been fascinated by the mosaic work that he did. It was unfortunate that the park was so packed, as it was hard to get some of the photos I was hoping for. Aside from that, I had seen it in many pictures and was glad to finally have a first hand view. Yolanda met us there with some of her housemates. It was nice to spend a little extra time with her as I rarely have the opportunity to catch up. She’s the one of the four that I see the least. We had a lovely afternoon in the park but wanted to keep things a bit lower key so the kids didn’t get too worn out.

Tuesday was our final day. I was on a mission to see Casa Batlló on the inside. So, Maia and I headed down shortly after it opened and Dean and Morgan met us later. It left me speechless. The admission  included a guided audio tour that was great as it  helped to point out the details that I would have otherwise missed. What an amazing place. He paid particular attention to light and glass as well as wanting to give it a maritime feel. You may notice the soft waviness of some of the design. There were no less than 20 points of interest on the audio tour. We were there for probably 2-3 hours. Gaudi used a mixture of soft wood, metal, and mosaics with attention to the most finite details. He was also very focused on reusing materials, something that is quite popular today but was innovative during his time. I’ll let the pictures tell the tour.


Following our busy 5 days of Barcelona, we had a couple of days in Algorta before a 5 day excursion to Salamanca. That post coming soon...

Costa Vasca: Lekeitio y los alrededores

The weekend of April 9-10 we joined another family for an excursion to Lekeitio, along the Basque coast. We left Saturday morning and headed straight for the beach, well with the exception of a few missed turns and re-routings it was straight to the beach.


Most of this story we will tell in pictures. This first set gives you an idea of the beauty of this small city. It is a port town. Many of the homes have beautiful ocean views. As you will notice there is one house with extra view. Think skylight without the glass. It appears they had a fire which is unfortunate but I suspect with the views that they had, they will rebuild. While the day was sunny, the winds were strong so it wasn't as warm as it looks. After some time at the beach, we walked around the town, stopped for some food, and then went back to the beach.

Across from the town is an island. When the tide is low, which it was after lunch, you can cross over to it, well at least if you have a swimsuit. The girls made it over and climbed the stairs. The water is freezing, although you wouldn't think so from seeing the girls in it. There is a rock wall that is supposed to offer another option for reaching the island however there were parts that were broken and worn away by the water. Since the adults didn't have suits, we decided to not risk getting soaked.


Our friends Patricia (mom), Eusebio (dad), and their two daughters that go to school with Maia and Morgan were great company.


We stayed in Kurtxia a casa rural (country house) that was quite lovely. We had great views of the city from our window as well. Breakfast in the morning was really good and the owner, Xabier, was nice enough to give me the recipe for the very yummy lemon breakfast cake. 


By Sunday it had cooled off quite a bit and appeared to be an on and off rainy sort of day. Since we had gotten cool by the end of Saturday we decided to venture inland a bit on our way home. We visited a waterfall and took a short hike in the Gizaburuaga area. It was a beautiful drive through the mountains, although the winding roads aren't meant for people with a weak stomach.

It was a great weekend and we look forward to our next excursion.

Recent Sightings...

Another primarily photo entry of what we have recently seen/experienced in the area.

Next to Maia is Lara and next to Morgan is her sister Nicole. Nicole and Maia are in the same class. In the middle are Lara and Nicole's cousins. We had spent a rainy evening wondering around Zubiarte, a mall in Bilbao and then discovered an outdoor fair of some sort. 

At the fair there was a BBQ, as well as a variety of tents selling handmade goods and items typical of the region.

 We spent a sunny cool Sunday afternoon in Sopelana at a cervecera. These are locations where you typically go with a group of people, order roasted chicken, french fries, salad and whatever else sounds good at the time. These cerveceras typically have both indoor and outdoor seating and lots of land with a park, soccer field, and in this case a swimming pool that opens in the summer.

We ran into some friends there unexpectedly. Great opportunity for Maia and Morgan to play for a while.

More playing in some local parks with Morgan's classmates Denise and Eugenia.

Morgan with her friend Eugenia can never have enough fun at the beach. In this case we had our bikes. After playing and picnic at the beach we rode to the Puente Colgante and then back home. It's a nice ride on a bike path along río Ibaizabal.

Trip to school

Many people have asked the girls about school here. Now that they are well integrated into their classrooms, I'll try to get them to sit for another interview. Meanwhile I thought it would be of interest to share how we get there. In Madison we live about a 5 minute walk as the school is at the bottom of our street. Here it is a 20 minute walk, but not quite as typical as a walk through Madison. Here is our journey in pictures.

On the left is the street our flat is on. We walk up the hill and through a short pedestrian walk (on the right). From there we cross a crazy roundabout intersection and head downhill.

The blue building in the picture to the right is the library and cultural information center. The library is quite small but functional. It is not as integrated as the Madison system with all the other libraries in the area.






From there we follow a rather long street until it ends in what is left of countryside in Algorta.

We see lots of wildlife along the way. There are goats, occasionally roosters, cats, lizards and ducks. The goats and roosters are typically hanging out in the same field. As we continue our walk down the road we see our first set of cats. A couple of them come running to be greeted by the girls both in the morning and on our way home. We need to add a few extra minutes to our journey so the girls can get their kitty fix.

As we continue our journey we reach the end of this quiet road and are greeted by a rather busy roundabout intersection. Crossing there we pass under a highway and cross the street. This area is a very quiet neighborhood with mostly flats and a few stores but not nearly as active as the area in which we are living. There is a metro stop here so on really rainy days, the girls prefer the metro over the exercise. Ok, actually, everyday they would prefer the metro over the exercise, they just don't get that option ;-).

 
Our journey ends as we hit the little river and cross the bridge to their school. We typically see a couple more cats who are very skittish and several ducks.

On the left is the back of the school and the playground area for the elementary school kids. The picture on the right is the front of the school which has a couple of playsets for the younger kids. The school day begins and ends in this part of the school yard. Just as with Thoreau School in Madison, the kids line up by class to enter the building.
I hope you have enjoyed the picturesque journey between the mountains that we take daily to get to and from school. It's amazing to pass such a diversity of urban and rural settings in just a 20 minute walk.

Excursions in Euskadi

We decided to rent a car for the weekend and head out on our first official excursion. Of course at the time we reserved the car we didn't plan on three out of four of us being quite ill during the week. Arming ourselves with cold meds and a sense of adventure, we crossed our fingers and headed out the door.

Our plan was a combination of sightseeing and seeing friends along the way. We began our journey around 10am, a car full of snacks, cameras in hand, and a GPS. We drove along the coast to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. The drive was quite nice although the highways were curving around through the mountains so not the best for those with a tendency towards motion sickness.

We were most of the way there when the views caught our eye and we had to stop for a photo shoot. We were in the small town of Bakio. It was a really nice area and seemed to be the perfect place for a vacation home by the ocean. While it isn't far from Bilbao, it didn't appear to be as easily connected to the big city as where we are living; a car or bus ride away. These first pictures are what we saw.

We continued our journey along the coast guided by our GPS. Most of the time that works well. However, this time it took us, as it turns out, past our destination and to where the highway ends, literally. Apparently it has been closed for a couple of years due to fallen rock. We pulled over, got out, and could see the island we were trying to reach. This time guided by our gut we backtracked and found a parking area where we could catch a not very well marked trail.

As you can see the views were spectacular. The staircase consists of approximately 230 stairs. That part really wasn't bad at all though. At the top is a small church that dates back to the 10th Century. We were lucky enough to enter. In most cases the building is closed.  In addition to the church, there is a nice covered area with stone picnic tables and a fireplace. You may have noticed in the pictures that Morgan is ringing a bell. It is supposed to be good luck to ring the bell three times and make a wish. (My wish was for no more trips to the clinic...)

I have to admit, it took me all weekend to learn to pronounce Gaztelugatxe, a word in Euskera. Since I worked so hard at it, I thought you would be interested to know its meaning. Gaztelu is castle and aitz is rock or bad. So it is either Castle on the Rock or Bad Castle. You can choose.

After spending some time taking in the views at the top we headed back down. The underneath part of the stone bridge that connects the island to the land has two arches. You can catch those in the pictures as well. We spent about an hour climbing around on the rocks, looking at snails and finding the tiniest shells ever. The last part was the hardest. Climbing back up to the parking area. I don't really know why it was so hard. Perhaps because that part of the walk is much less inspiring.

Once back at the car we needed to head to Guernika where we met up with Marina, an exchange student who lived in Madison last year. She is from Mundaka, just outside of Guernika. She and her parents took us to a restaurant where we sat overlooking the countryside and filled our bellies with roasted chicken, salad and french fries. The setting was beautiful and the company outstanding. It was really nice to meet her parents and to see Marina again, only this time in her home setting.

Following our meal we went to Bosque de Oma.  It was a long walk in but once we found the painted forest it was well worth it. The tree trunks were painted by Agustín Ibarrola, a Basque artist who lives in the village below the forest. We aren't sure in which one of the houses but you can see the village in the pictures below.

In any case, this is by far the most unique forest I have ever ventured through. In addition to the painted trees, there are triangle numbered markers on the ground. The idea is that you stand on the marker looking in the direction it is pointing and from there you see the works of art created by Ibarrola. He managed to paint tree trunks such that looking at groups of them together you see a variety of shapes and designs. Very curious. My suspicion is that he occasionally must return to the forest to repaint as the weather must wear away at his art work.

After locating the 40+ markers we made our way down the hill and walked through the small town below. The total trip was a couple of hours at least. Lots of walking but well worth. We ended our visit with a really nice bar on the beach near the ocean just across from Mundaka. We look forward to our next visit with Marina and her parents when we hope to visit her home town and other beautiful cities along the way.

We returned home Saturday night quite late, exhausted, but energized by our excursion. We knew we needed sleep as Sunday we had plans to visit our friends in Victoria. We definitely were getting the most out of our rental car.

Sunday came fast. Our first stop was Murgia, a small town on the way to Vitoria. It was there that we met up with our friends Rosa, José, Sara and Marta. They took us up to the top of a rocky mountain, Las Penas de Oro where we found Nuestra Señora de Oro, a small church, accompanied by more outstanding views. (For those of you who don't speak Spanish, you can translate those sites pasting the URL in at translate.google.com. It's not perfect but will give you the gist.)

Following our mountain top pictures, we headed to Vitoria where we visited Salburua nature preserve. The museum describing how they restored the area was quite interesting and we could have definitely used more time to explore it. Unfortunately they close at 2 for lunch and reopen later in the evening. This is typical of most businesses. I find it amazing that Spain has continued to preserve so much of this tradition. It is also not possible to shop on Sundays as nearly everything is closed. Fresh bread and pastry is available, video rentals, movie theaters, museums, etc. However grocery/food stores, clothing stores and the like are all closed.

Following the nature preserve we headed for lunch and spent the rest of the day just enjoying our time together. The girls really welcomed the opportunity to spend time with Sara and Marta, who are 12 and 10.

The drive home was uneventful but most importantly, we knew this was the beginning. We hope to make the most of our time here and enjoy similar excursions as we get to know more about the area in which we are living.

Carnaval

In Schools
Last weekend was Carnaval here in the Basque region of Spain. It resembles Halloween in that people are in costume and out in the street but they don't go door to door. There is lots of dancing and singing and celebrating though. In school, all the kids had to dress up. Each class was assigned a particular theme that met with an overall school theme and they performed dances in the school yard. This year's theme for Maia and Morgan's school was Music: Past and Present. Morgan's class dressed in some sort of a Russian themed costume, danced to a song from days of old and then to Thriller. Maia's class was something out of yesteryer with white wigs and long gowns.  As you can imagine, she was not too thrilled about the wig part. Her class also danced to the sounds of Bach followed by Lady Gaga.

In the Streets
In addition to the celebrations in schools, the rest of the city celebrates in the streets all weekend. There were a number of parades and a variety of bands from today's music to traditional sounds and instruments, including both Spanish and French Basque regions. In the slide show you will see the gigantes y cabezudos (giants and big heads) which march through the streets. Notice the bags the big heads are holding. They use those to randomly wack people in the streets chasing both children and adults. Pictures were taken in Algorta, the town where we live, and Bilbao, the large city several metro stops away.

At night young people head out in costumes that are quite well done and enjoy carnaval celebrations into the wee hours of the morning. The costumes are often quite elaborate and done in groups to particular themes chosen by the groups. This continues for two weekends in a row and from what I can tell they look forward to it all year long in the same way as our kids look forward to Halloween.