Art After Dark is a party at the Guggenheim about once a month. Last month a group of us tried to go but we didn't buy tickets ahead of time and by the time we got to the Guggenheim tickets were sold out. So this month I was determined to go. I just wanted to be able to say that I partied in the Guggenheim Museum! They had a DJ, two bars, and a huge open space to dance and mingle. Also, the whole museum was open to just walk around which was fun. The party was really chill and more older people but there was good group from Cide to hang out with.
Also, one of the main reasons to go is you get a free entry into Fever which is a big club in Bilbao. However, I didn't make it to the club because on Fridays the metro stops running at 2am and that is when the club opens. So the only way to get home was pay for a taxi, which would have been like 30 euros for me, or wait til 6am when the metro starts running again. I just elected to go home, but I am happy to say that I have partied in the Guggenheim!
This past Friday Cide, my study abroad program, treated us to another wonderful excursion. We took a bus trip to the city of Gernika or Guernica and Mundaka. Some of you may know about Guernica from the famous painting by Picasso, Guernica is famous for the bombing in 1937. The city is the historical capital of Pais Vasco, Basque Country. During the Spanish Civil War Franco was threatened by the rebelling Basque people and so he asked the Germans to bomb the city to rubble.
A replication of Picasso's "Guernica"
Most importantly, though, Guernica is the historical capital of Pais Vasco. It has a famous symbol, thousand year old tree or the tree of Guernica, which symbolizes the old freedoms and the past Biscayan protagonist. When we first arrived in Guernica we visited the tree and the Assembly House in Gernika, which use to hold the meetings of the General Assemblies of Biscay. In 1876 the old laws which governed life in Biscay were abolished and meetings no longer took place. However, in 1979 the General Assemblies were recovered. We walked through the Assembly House after watching a video about the history of the tree and Basque country. Next, we toured the Assembly Chamber, where all the assemblies take place, and the Stained-Glass Window Room, a museum dedicated to the history of Biscay. It is know as the Stained-Glass Window Room because the ceiling is a complete stained glass window that represents the tree as a meeting point for the different towns in Biscay. It is quite impressive to walk under!
"The Old Tree" is approximately 300 years old.
The Assembly Chamber
Tree of Gernika was planted in 2005 and directly descends from "The Old Tree."
The Stained-Glass Window Room
After touring the Assembly Chamber we walked over to the Gernika Peace Museum, which was a modern museum. It was inspired by the tragic bombing of Gernika on April 26, 1937. The museum exhibits operate around three major questions: what is peace, what is the legacy of the bombing of Gernika, and what about peace in the world today? The exhibit for the bombing of Gernika was very well done and you were able to grasp a sense of the devastation it caused. The ground was glass which has rubble and cards and pieces from the bombing underneath it. You could read about the impact of the bombing and listen to stories from survivors.
Floor of the Exhibit
Another look at the Bombing of Gernika exhibit
There was also a temporary exhibit in the museum called S.T.O.P, Sobreviviendo en los Territorios Palestinos Ocupados. The translation is Surviving in the Palestine Occupied Territories. The exhibit is a look at the effects of the conflict in Palestinian territories through the statements of local inhabitants. It was done by photographer Giovanni Marrozini who revealed these stories of the region where the population are terrified by checkpoints, searches and bombings, but also by a lack of hope and a feeling that they have no future through a series of photographs. The exhibit was set up like you were walking through a checkpoint with barbed wire and the lights. It was a very moving exhibit and opened my eyes to a lot of things happening in Palestine.
S.T.O.P. Exhibit
One thing you can always count on while on a Cide Excursion is lunch! They always take us to the nicest restaurants and we get served 3 course meals. This time we got served traditional seafood Paella which is rice, vegetables, and seafood. I'm not the biggest fan of rice so I basically just ate all the seafood which included crayfish, fish, mussels, clams, squid, all of my favorites! Then for the main course we got served a white fish which was good, but the dessert was to die for! It was this light, rich, chocolate mousse cake drizzled in raspberry sauce. And we had coffee to go with it. It was the best ending to a delicious meal!
Paella
Best Dessert Ever!
After lunch we got back on the bus and drove to Mundaka which is situated on the mouth of the Mundaka Estuary. It is a small fishing town but is known for its great waves for surfing. It holds the World Championship of Surf. The town was quaint but the view was just gorgeous. Too bad our nice, sunny day quickly turned into a cold, wet, windy, miserable day. The minute we got off the bus everyone pulled out their umbrellas and huddled together to get away from the wind and rain. But the view was still pretty and I was able to get some good pictures. Again, overall it was another successful Cide Excursion!
View of Mundaka
Mouth of the Estuary
Me, Jacklyn, and Nina with a beautiful view behind us!
Carnival is a huge celebration right before Lent to have fun and drink and dance before one must give up something during Lent. In Spain during the reign of dictator General Franco, Carnival was baneed for 40 years. Now it is back in full swing! It is similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans back in the states except even bigger. Everyone of all ages gets dressed up in crazy, original costumes, most of them made and not just bought at a store.
Starting last weekend on Friday morning I was walking around Algorta and there was a parade of little kids on the streets being led by a car playing music. I didn't understand all of it but there were different groups of kids in certain costumes, robbers, cops, and prisoners. Someone told me that Carnival is also a time to make fun of government and its institutions. So that could explain those costumes. Then there was a huge tent set up with a stage in the main plaza. A clown on stage played music and led songs for all the kids to sing and dance too. It was fun to watch!
Little kids in the Parade dressed as Prisoners
Kids as Police
Dance Tent
That night I went pintxo hopping with friends and in one of the plazas there was Carnival rides and stands set up. Similar to what you would see at like a town fair. I didn't go on any of the rides because they didn't look too safe. But I got the biggest thing of Cotton Candy I've ever had in my life for 2 euros! It was seriously 5 times the size of my head! And so delicious!
The Biggest Cotton Candy ever!!
Carnival in Bilbao
Then on Saturday in Bilbao, there was a huge parade. Each year there is theme and this year's was broadway musiclas. Each float was a representation of a broadway musical and they had singers and dancers. They were very elaborate. I knew mostly every musical, Moulin Rouge, Cats, Greace, Flash Dance, Mary Poppins, Jungle Book, Phantom of the Opera, but of course all the songs were in Spanish. And there were also floats with men in drag on them, i'm not sure what they were representing but they had huge boobs, makeup and ridiculous outfits!
Spaniards dressed as American Tourists
Phantom of the Opera
Moulin Rouge
Mary Poppins
Cats
Grease
The streets were packed with people though in all different types of costumes. I was unable to get a picture but my favorite was a guy dressed as a Transformer! His costume was all made out of wood and he could actually transform from a robot into a truck that had wheels! At first I thought it was a little kid as a truck but then he transformed into the robot! It was the craziest thing ever!
Kid as an airplane!
That night my friends and I just went to Casco Viejo and went from bar to bar. In Plaza Nueva there was a huge tent set up with a dj and band. But the streets were littered with trash! The thing that blows my mind here in Spain is that everyone just gets 2 liter bottles of juice or soda, mixes it with their alcohol and just drinks on the streets. No one says anything, you just find a place to sit or stand with your friends on the sidewalks and drink! After bar hopping though we went to a club but didn't stay too long cuz it was so crowded and getting late.
Tent in Plaza Nueva
However, the festivities continued this Saturday night in Algorta, my suburb! It was so nice because I could just walk a few blocks down the street and I was in the midst of the festivities! There were so many people though all dressed up in crazy costumes and again just drinking on the streets, outside the bars, on the beach, just everywhere! My friends and I just had so much fun walking around and hanging out and just being a part of it all. Last night I didn't go in until 4am and that was early for Spanairds! There were still tons of people going until 6am!
ALL the people in Algorta!
ALL the trash on the streets!
People just sit wherever and drink and hang out
I think the worst part, I wish I had not seen was the girls that look like they are 10 years old but probably barely 13, maybe, out drinking. While I was standing in the plaza an ambulance pulled up and then the EMTs walked by with a 12 year old girl in their arms. She was so gone that she couldn't even walk herself or open her eyes or anything. She was the tiniest thing and looked like she was 10 years old. All of her friends were following looking very flustered and had no idea what to do, one of them started crying. It was just insane! All I could think was where were this girl's parents? A part of me really wishes I had not witnessed that part of Spain, the problems with underage drinking.
But Carnival was a success and I am so happy I got to witness and be a part of it!
I love the Spanish food here! Carman is an excellent cook but I still crave some American foods. Here are the top 5:
Chipotle Burrito- rice, no beans, steak, w/ guac (of course we went to London 3 months too early b/c they aren't getting one until April!)
Breakfast food- pancakes, crispy bacon, french toast, banana bread!
Moe's Billy Barou Nachos!
Chik-fil-a Nuggets and Polynesian sauce
Chocolate Chip Cookies
As for the last one, I have been craving just an excellent Chocolate Chip Cookie! So I figured I could get a recipe offline that I use and make the cookies at Carman's. This was my adventure yesterday. I figured out which ingredients Carman already had and went to the store to buy the rest. The recipe I used, Mrs. Fields, called for baking powder and baking soda. Carman already had baking powder so I just needed the baking soda and brown sugar, vanilla extract, and the chocolate chips, most important ingredient! However, I could not find baking soda at the store anywhere. So I thought if I just had baking powder that would be ok.
I get back to the house and we start getting out all the ingredients and bowls and stuff. Carman was like do you need anything else? Well, I need things to measure the ingredients with and so she pulled out this scale where you measure the ingredients in grams on it. Of course I don't know how many grams is a cup and stuff. I told her I didn't know the grams I needed like a cup measuring and a teaspoon and stuff. So for the teaspoon she just pulled out a tiny, small spoon. And for the cup she just got a mug from the cabinet. So there was no actual measuring cups or anything. I just had to wing the whole recipe....
This is what I had to work with.
Well I think I did a pretty good job at judging how much a cup and half a cup was. The dough didn't actually taste that bad. But then when I need to put my cookies in the over there were no degrees on the oven. It was just like setting 1-10 or you just turned it on and it was hot. I had no idea how hot it was or how long they needed to cook for. So i just put them in there and watched them. As I watched them however, they were not rising but flattening. I'm guessing because of the no baking soda.
Cookies baking in the oven
So I took them out and they were sticking to the aluminum foil and they were a little crispier than I would have liked. They don't actually look like cookies they are more crumbs but they still tasted pretty good! Carman we sooo excited about them! She said they tasted sooo good and that I'm going to make her fat with these cookies! haha
The first batch was a little bit of a mess
However after the first batch it got better and they actually weren't all crumbs. They aren't the best chocolate chip cookies but they definitely hit the spot. It was a challenge but I was excited about my success! I'm going to bring them to school tomorrow and pass them out. We will see what everyone says! And maybe next time I make them I will have baking soda and would have found measuring cups by then! haha...
The program I am in, Cide, plans a few excursions for our groups throughout the semester. They are all paid for through our tuition, so this past Friday they took us to the south of France. Charter buses were organized and it was about a 2 and half hour drive to the border, except we had to be there at 8am so it was a very early start! In Europe it is so easy to go from country to country, you just drive over the border. There was a toll that had to be paid but no passport checks or anything like that. We just drove over into France.
We stopped in an old town, Bayonne. It was a gorgeous, old town with a river running through it. I had dislocated my knee that night before while I was out, but I was determined to not let that slow me down! So I didn't go on the tour with the group instead one of the Cide people walked with me to the center of the town to wait for everyone, that way I had less walking or limping to do. Then we were let free and I walked around with Santiago and Mike who were very kind and put up with my slow goings and necessary breaks.
The highlights were the Cathedral of Santa Maria, a gothic style church. Construction began in the 13th century and was completed in the 19th century. Part of its decorations were destroyed in August 1793 by the French Revolution. But it was still a gorgeous church!
La Catedral de Santa Maria
Inside the Cathedral
Up by the Altar
A side room for flowers and prayer candles.
Another highlight was Les Halles, market plaza of Bayonne where the offer traditional products. But by the time we walked over there most of the people had packed up their stuff already. So we continued to just walk through the streets. Bayonne is known for their chocolate shops and ham. I had to get some chocolate! I got two bars, milk and white, which had praline crunches in the middle. They were so rich and delicious! Fortunately, the lady in the shop spoke English because I realized that I do not know any French whatsoever! These are the 3 words I know, 'Bonjour', 'Merci,' 'Ce va.' When I went to go buy my postcards the man told me how much it was and I had no clue because I don't even know French numbers! I just realized how much Spanish I know because at least in Spain I can get around and do daily things.
We had about 4 hours in Bayonne where we just wandered around and enjoyed the town. The weather was suppose to be rain all day long but we couldn't see any sign of rain. We got lucky with another beautiful day! Also, that day in the city there was a movie being filmed. We kept seeing men in interesting clothes and then we saw an old car being followed by another car with a camera on the hood. We figured out it was a WWII movie because we saw a Nazi flag hanging on the side of the building and cameras around it. Too bad there was nobody famous in it, that would have been really cool!
Streets of Bayonne
Cathedral in the background
The Nive that runs through center of the old part.
Nazi flag from the filming of the movie
See the camera and guy filming?
At about one we all reconvened and drove back to Spain to get some delicious lunch. We stopped at a Cider House in a tiny village for lunch. We were served some delicious pasta with a red meat sauce. The noodles were, well I don't know how to describe them. They were fresh almost, really thick and just delicious. Then we had some sort of meat from a cow, it wasn't like a normal steak. It tasted almost like meatloaf, really rare in the middle, and was covered with a orange pepper sauce. Not my favorite thing but it was good. Then to top it off we had cream puffs drizzled in chocolate and raspberry sauce for dessert. So tasty!
After our 3 course meal, we had about a half hour drive to our next destination, Hondarribia, Spain. It is right along the ocean and you can see France from the town, that is how close you are. The old part is surrounded by a wall to keep out the unwanted. Unfortunately it was really hilly which the knee didn't like but I didn't want to miss out on anything. First we walked to the sea which was gorgeous and the inlet had a number of boats. We were told that this town is actually very popular destination for summer vacations among the Spaniards. I can see why, it is a very quaint and peaceful place
Next we headed up to the old part of town. First we hit Plaza de Gipukoa which was constructed recently however its houses have a traditional appearance. Then there was the Castle of Carlos the 5th but in 1968 it was converted into a tourist hotel. It sits on the Plaza de Armas which served as the garrison for the exercise of arms and a place to celebrate many popular festivals, running of bulls, receptions and proclamations. There was a beautiful church but we could not go inside due to renovations. The final major stop was the Puerta de Santa Maria, the door of Santa Maria, it was one of the principal entrances of the city. Today all that remains is the arch.
Plaza de Gipuzkoa
Plaza de Armas
View from Plaza de Armas
The Church
Bell tower of the Church
View of the rest of Hondarribia
Puerta de Santa Maria
After traveling to a different country, experiencing new food, and limping around with a very swollen knee, it was time to get back on the bus and head back to Bilbao. We could not have gotten luckier with the weather! The cities were just gorgeous and it was fun to get out of Bilbao for the day! As for the rest of the weekend, it will be filled with lots of homework and resting.
My name is Ashley Cameron and I'm a volunteer with the Episcopal Young Adult Service Corps. Starting in August 2013, I will be living in the Northern Philippines and working with the Episcopal Development Foundation of St. Mark, based in Santiago City. I am helping manage funds of the development program to ensure they are loaned out in poverty-alleviation ventures and that funds are made available when participating communities submit proposals for new projects. I am very excited about this new adventure and hope you will share it with me by following this blog!
