Cider Houses Rule

Besides being a mecca for haute cuisine, the Basque country is also home to many rustic cider houses. So, today we drove into cider country, just outside of San Sebastian. The season for new cider is January-April, but there are a few places open in the off season. We decided to start our day a the cider museum in the small town of Astigarraga.

We were told that the town only has 4000 residents, but during the high season, the population balloons to 10,000.

Being the only visitors, we got a private tour and a lesson in the ancient traditions of picking apples and smashing them.

We then tasted a few types of cider in the traditional way-- by catching the stream from the "txotx" or tap in our glasses from about 5 feet away.

In a cider house, when the cider is fresh, someone will yell "txotx", which is pronounced "choach", and everyone rushes to fill their glasses.

We also tasted a few types of apple liquor and apple juice.

The cider was pretty acidic, unlike the sweet varieties in the U.S. and the tasting process is similar to wine.

After the museum, we went to a cider house nearby to have a traditional lunch.

The menu at all cider houses is the same. You start with an omelet made with cod, then a lightly fried piece of cod with green peppers, followed by a giant T-bone steak.

For dessert they serve a mild and creamy local cheese with apple jam and walnuts.

All of this is paired with as much cider as you can drink from the giant barrels lining the wall.

We returned to San Sebastian with the intent to walk off this giant meal, but since it was pouring, we took the afternoon to relax and recharge for more eating.

It was still pouring in the evening, so we decided to continue our Pinxtos tour in Gros, the neighborhood surrounding our hotel. We ate at the renowned Alona Berri which is known for really intricately prepared bites.

We ordered a crab dish baked inside a crab shell, another type of fish topped with shrimp and a small clam,

mushroom croquette, sauteed mushrooms (I'm not sure what type of mushrooms, but they must have been very special because they ended up costing about $20) accompanied by a glass of txakoli, the fizzy white wine that is a favorite in pinxtos bars. It's tradition to pour txakoli from about two feet above the glass.

Next round of food included a red pepper stuffed with baby squid and topped with thinly sliced ham and a piece of cod over a bed of leeks and topped with apple foam.

The most interesting was the spoon of bacalao (cod) confit, topped with eggplant, hollandaise, quail egg, aioli, rose, fried spinach and a purple potato chip--lots of tastes and textures all at once.

We finished with a dessert sampler. The highlight was the walnut pie and the typical Basque dessert--fried milk.

Wanna see how close we can get to these horses before they bite us? or Pudding for Breakfast

Today started with a visit to two local markets to pick up lunch before the three-hour hike we had planned.

The first stop was a small health-food boutique where we bought two small containers of organic "yogurt", which turned out to be vanilla pudding. Who says you can't have pudding for breakfast?

The next stop was a combination of a grocery store and farmer's market where we picked up some spanish cured meats and cheeses and a demi baguette for lunch.

The hike was supposed to start at the end of Zurriola beach, wind around the coast and end in Pasajes San Juan. So we strolled along the beach,

only to find a locked gate at the end of the beach and no visible path in sight.

On to plan B--eat our picnic lunch by the beach and drive to Pasajes San Juan instead.

Now would be a good time to interject that having a GPS has been invaluable on this trip. There is no way we could have had a single relaxing drive without it.

But, technology isn't perfect.

Knowing that Pasajes San Juan is a tiny town among a few other 'pasajes', we plugged "city center" into the GPS figuring it would be obvious when we got there.

We crawled up a steep mountain down into a steeper driveway and the next direction had us driving straight into a house (which, because we are not Michael Scott, we didn't). So we turned around, went back up the driveway, careful to miss a lounging dog we had seen on the way down.

Well, the lazy dog actually had a partner in crime--a hyper puppy that literally threw itself in front of our car while barking like a maniac. We were both relieved beyond imagine when we saw the little guy still running after us as we made our way out.

Since the GPS was no use, we figured we'd try to explore a bit on our own. On the way up the mountain, we had seen a cemetery that looked pretty cool and thought perhaps that it was bordering the town we were looking for. There were lots of cars parked beside it and even two buses that looked like they could have been tour buses.

So we parked the car and walked inside the gate where we were met with the eyes of 100 surly Spanish teenagers. This was no entrance to a picturesque village, but instead, the gates of a local high school.

Oh.

I don't speak Euskara, but I'm pretty sure I heard someone say "who are those creepy Americans?"

Back in the car.

So the Pasajes were a total bust, but as luck would have it, this detour led us up to the summit of Mt. Jaizkibel with its gorgeous views.

Behind the lookout tower were horse farms and a view of the sea:

We then made our way back down the other side of the mountain in the charming town of Hondarribia, said to be one of the most picturesque towns in Spain located just a few miles from the French border.

We strolled around the port and through the marina, which was beautiful, but we arrived in the middle of siesta, so many shops and restaurants were closed.

Before leaving town drove over to the medieval part of the city, just a few blocks from the marina. We made our way through the narrow cobblestone streets

Until we came across the town's Parador, once the Castle of Carlos V and home to Ferdinand and Isabella:

We explored the inside as far as we could without being paying guests at the Parador,

and then had overpriced cokes at the bar,

and strolled through the antique store across the street.

Back in San Sebastian, we headed out for dinner--another night of Pinxtos.

Many places remain closed on Mondays, so our options were somewhat limited. We ended up at La Cepa, which is supposed to be a classic Pinxtos bar. We had grilled beef and small green peppers, croquettes, and a skewer of mushrooms and bacon. It was all pretty tasty, but nothing compared to the innovative menu of the previous night.

Bilbao to San Sebastian

After much needed full night's sleep, we strolled along the Nervion river to the Guggenheim, which is easily the most recognizable landmark of Bilbao:

giant spider sculpture outside the museum:

The museum was celebrating its anniversary and offering free admission--one of the few bargains we encountered on the entire trip.

The interior is equally unique in design with not one single straight line anywhere in the building. We saw a few exhibits, including a grouping of large wooden structures that turned the exhibit hall into a series of mazes.

After the museum, we headed back into the parte vieja for lunch.

Flower sculpture outside the museum:

Walking across the bridge:

View by the Nervion river:

The daytime pinxtos scene was equally hopping--only slightly quieter than Saturday night. Luckily we were able to befriend a local couple next to us who knew enough English to help us order a few hot dishes, the best was a plate of fried squid.

Then, back in the Micra for the scenic drive to San Sebastian.

The mountains were so dramatic, it seemed as if the sheep were literally standing sideways.

We followed the winding road along the coast and stopped at a lookout point to get a better view. The pictures hardly do the view any justice.

After checking in to our hotel in San Sebastian, in the Gros neighborhood, just across the river from the Centro and Parte Vieja, we had a little nap and and ventured out for more pinxtos.

The Parte Vieja was pretty quiet--especially compared to the night before in Bilbao.

The bar we chose, A Fuego Negro, was sleek and sophisticated, also quite a contrast to the bars in Bilbao. There were a few cold tapas on the bar, but most dishes were made to order. We had olives filled with vermouth, mini kobe beef burgers on tiny ketchup flavored buns, a puree of tomato with mussels and a bechamel foam and a plate of thinly sliced pork shoulder served with crispy bread & a red peper tomato sauce.

Each dish was more delicious than the last and we were able to find a seat at the bar, which made the whole experience more relaxing.

happy and full on our way back to the hotel: