Hello hello hello! I’ve got a few new things to share with all you lovely people. First of all, I’ve got two new interviews up online if you haven’t seen them yet. Thanks to both of these sites for asking me to be interviewed!
- The Working Traveler – Jessica Bowler: Why I Live in…Barcelona
- Internations – Recommended Expats Blogs, Barcelona: Hola Yessica
I also have a few older interviews you may not have seen (you know, if you are understandably endlessly fascinated by me. I’m joking!) I just wanted to share a couple of my favorite sites:
- Expat Blogs – British-American Expat Living in Barcelona: Interview with Jessica
- Young Adventuress – The Expat Files: Jessica in Barcelona
- Expat Edna – I Love My Neighborhood: Barcelona’s L’Eixample
I figured if I was writing about interviews I should include a photo. This is me in my natural habitat. In case you have forgotten.
And now onto the more interesting stuff – travel plans! My lovely padres are coming to Barcelona, so we’re going to be spending the week enjoying some cañas, eating delicious food, and seeing some of the hidden corners of the city.
Next week, we’re off to the Basque Country! I’m so excited to go, as I’ve wanted to go for ages but I’ve never gotten the chance. We’ll be spending time in San Sebastián and Bilbao, and I’m really looking forward to it. After that, I’ve got a few fun things up my sleeve that I hope pan out for the summer. Fingers crossed!
Photo source: Drink Ribera Wine
So on that note – does anybody have any recommendations for things to do/see/eat in San Sebastián or Bilbao?
Besos!
-Jess
are the Basques considered separtists like Catalonians?
They are another of one of those groups in Spain, yes. I’m not very well-informed about what things are currently like, but like the Catalans, most people I know from the Basque Country consider themselves Basque, not Spanish.
Why do these folks not want to be part of beautiful Spain. I can understand Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan. But Spain. Some people need some good spanking you know where to hit them with reality bites.
I’d love to vicariously go to the Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim museum in Bilbao (he did the gold fish on the waterfront in Barcelona, the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, etc – and the art is supposed to be quite good too!
I think that’s #1 on my Bilbao list! I love the fish in Barcelona. Did you know they had to sandblast the Disney Concert Hall because it was too shiny and made the surrounding area way too hot?
I didn’t know that about the concert hall! How random. Anyway, I felt like the Concert Hall is a better version of the Guggenheim. As much as I liked the Guggenheim, it is very similar to the WD Concert Hall and the concert hall is just perfection; mostly because i loved the rooftop garden. Can’t wait to hear what you think! Have fun in Basque Country!
Congrats on all the interviews! You are famous! If only I could make it to your level of blogging…but I am rather uninteresting haha. Enjoy Basque Country!
Haha thanks! I’m not exactly the most interesting person, but I do have lots of spare time on my hands to dedicate to blogging. 🙂
Just finished 10 days in Santander/Bilbao/San Sebastian…loved it! After 8 months in the south, it was nice to be away from all the cliches of Spain and see something entirely different. I was also impressed by how lovely and funny people were in the north (Andalusians tend to think of themselves as the friendly ones!) I was also surprised by how beautiful Bilbao was. For some reason I thought industrial=ugly, but the architecture was amaaaazing. And the mountains surrounding the city are stunning.
I assumed industrial = ugly too, so I’m glad to hear it’s not the case. 🙂
I was in San Seb/Bilbao last week. I recommend the little hike up to the Jesus statue in San Seb next to the main beach, it’s so green and beautiful and has some great views of the city.
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll check it out. So excited!
Oooooh Donostia is such a beautiful city!!! I love it so much when I visited there! I want to go someday and get to see more of the Basque Country, that time I only went to Donostia and Vitoria-Gasteiz. Enjoy the visit of your parents!
Thanks very much! I’m so excited to see the Basque Country. Was there anything in particular you really enjoyed?
Sounds like you have a great summer ahead of you. Enjoy your travels!
Thanks very much! I hope you have a fun summer too. 🙂
I,m from Bilbao. What can I tell you? its a fantastic city. Modern, elegant, friendly people, and you will love how wonderful is the food. In Bilbao and also in San Sebastián you have the better places in the north to eat pintxos. (tapas in the rest of Spain).
Visit the Guggenheim, of course and “Bellas Artes Musseum” is very near.
To have a very special dinner or a glass of champagne visit the last floor of “La Alhondiga” is an old market redesigned by Philippe Starck.
Near Bilbao you have amazing beaches (like Sopelana, is a very appreciated beach for surfers) but in San Sebastian as you know the beach is in the town.
Enjoy!!
http://ladylog.wordpress.com
Wow, thank you very much for your suggestions! I’m very excited to get to know your city (and the food). 🙂 La Alhondiga sounds amazing, I’ll have to check that out. Thanks again.
I loved to walk along the river from the old town to the Guggenheim and a bit further. And of course the Guggenheim (Richard Serras “the matter of time” is amazing), the old town itself, the many bridges and the Doña Casilda Iturrizar park. (Guess you’ve seen most of it in my Bilbao posts)
And there is a park on top of a hill overlooking Bilbao, well worth walking up the many,many stairs (called mallona stairs) from Plaza Unamuno in the old town.
Furthermore I took the metro (but you can also take the renefe) to Portugalete to see the Puente Colgante/Puente Vizcaya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizcaya_Bridge), also worth it. Unfortunately my fear of heights and strong winds kept me from walking over the top of the bridge, so I only took the cabin. Portugalete is a quiet charming town.
Have fun, can’t wait to read your stories!
Ah awesome! I’ll add them to the list. I have seen the park in your posts and I’m desperate to go. 🙂 Thanks very much!
San Sebastián is wonderful! You definitely need to go to Parte Viejo for tapas one night if you can. There are a lot of places on Calle 31 de Agosto. It is a little more expensive than some places, but the food is unreal! We also visited the Aquarium and it was a good experience. It starts out more historical and whatnot, but the sea life is amazing. Climb up the Monte Urgull or Monte Igueldo. On Monte Igueldo, there is a funicular that you can ride up to the top to see the beautiful views without the hike.
So, so jealous! Enjoy San Sebastián and Bilbao! Can’t wait to hear your stories.
Thanks for the food suggestions, I am so stoked to try Basque food because everyone says it’s incredible. And the hikes and aquarium sound good too!
Thanks for the link Jessica! Have a great summer in San Sebastian/Bilbao!
You’re welcome, and thanks very much!
How fun! finally! You’re going to love it. I just hope you get some sunshine. If you have even patches of blue sky in San Sebastian, be grateful!
Eat, eat and eat in San Sebastian, check out a post I wrote about pintxos http://wp.me/p74a3-Us
Roaming Bilbao is a lot of fun and make some time for the Guggenheim!
Evidently I am being waay too slow at checking out others’ blog posts! I suppose you’ve already been and come back now? I would’ve referred you to the posts I wrote on Bilbao and San Seb when I visited during semana santa this year. Never mind. Did you discover anything you unexpected?
I have indeed been and come back! I’m equally behind on blog postings haha. I was so surprised by Bilbao – everyone says it’s ‘industrial’, but I thought it was quite pretty.