basque-ing in the glow
05 january 2017
As much as I love everything French, Basque cuisine and culture are quickly beginning to steal my heart. It has been 3 short years in the making. In total, I’ve spent what amounts to over a year in Paris and France, in contrast, I have barely spent a full two weeks in Basque Country. However, I just can’t get enough of what this magical place has on offer. There is one special tiny city nestled neatly between the Atlantic Ocean and some mountains (not sure which ones, just some mountains). This city is called San Sebastian, and it is by far my favorite city in Basque Country. Like I said, I haven’t spent that much time here so you can just tell me to fuck off if you think you know better than me, and this is all subject to opinion anyway. However, if you like food, beer, wine, beautiful beaches and some of the nicest people in the world then you will definitely love San Sebastian or Donostia in Euskara, we’ll get to that later.
What the fuck is Basque Country?
If you haven’t noticed I use Wikipedia a lot, so according to Wiki Basque Country is “the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that straddles the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast.” I know, that’s a shitty definition that really doesn’t mean much, especially if you are unfamiliar with this region. It’s simply an amazingly beautiful place, with great food and drink and some of the best people in the world. They even put up with my non-French/Spanish speaking ass. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a complete idiot, but I will not be having any extensive conversations in French/Spanish anytime soon. I’m learning, but my knowledge is currently limited to food items. I’m actually pretty good at the market. O yeah, not only do many of the residents here speak French, Spanish, and English fairly well, they have their own language called Euskara. What the fuck??? I know, it’s crazy. What’s even more interesting is that Euskara, or Basque Language, is not related in any way to any other European languages. It is what’s called a language isolate, and only in this small part of the world is this language spoken. And that is part of the charm of this place.
It welcomes you with its gorgeous backdrop, the people grab hold of you with their generosity and love of sharing their culture and the victuals makes you never want to leave. It truly is an amazing place and one of my favorite places in the world. This is why I decided to make this San Sebastian series. I had to share this jewel with those that haven’t had the pleasure to visit. So look out for articles coming soon about restaurants, bars, attractions and recipes from the Basque Country.