Exploring the Basque Country

After our long day with our Basque family, we made our way to San Sebastian. We didn't mean to fall in love with this city, we just needed a place to stay between here and there and this just happened to be on the way. We had reservations at a hotel that was just minutes from this pristine beach. It made for a very nice evening walk. The next morning we went for another long walk along the boardwalk, then made our way to a pastry shop for chocolate-filled croissants. Yum! This is the kind of place I could take my family and spend a whole week.

Writing in my journal about meeting the family.

 One of the funniest memories of our trip was driving. We were completely dependent on the GPS we got with our rental car (totally worth the extra money!). We had several times where we were sure the GPS was leading us on a wild goose chase, then ended up right where we needed to be. This "chateau" was no different. We were driving along on a perfectly busy freeway then all of a sudden we were instructed to turn onto a small road that, in some spots, ended up being a one-lane road (watch for oncoming vehicles!). This castle was placed perfectly on the edge of a rocky cliff that overlooks the ocean. Chateau Abbadia was built in the 1860s-1880s by a man who spent a lot of time in Ethiopia. The interior is very reflective of the culture and landscape that the owner must have experienced there. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but you can see more pictures here.

Here is a close up of one of the exterior details of Chateau Abbadia

More Flysche, this time in France: French Flysche

The Basque Country is dotted with beautiful seaside towns. Here is a picture of Saint Jean de Lutz. The traditional Basque exterior is white with red shutters and handmade tile roofs. Here we saw an old church where Louis XIV was married in 1660. We also ate some yummy gelato topped with some really expensive whipped cream that eventually found its way to the pavement. . . . we blamed it on the seagulls.

I wish I would have counted how many cathedrals/churches we walked through. Here is a view from the cloister of the Bayonne Cathedral in Bayonne, France. This particular cathedral was built in the 1200s. As you can see, its being restored.

Also in Bayonne is the Basque Museum. We had a great time exploring this extensive museum where we learned a lot about the Basque culture. Chris is holding a paddle that is used in the Basque game zesta punta. It's similar to racquet ball.

 In Biarritz, France we stayed at the Hotel du Palais. This Palace was built in the 1800s for Napoleon III's wife who liked to vacation here. It has since been turned into a hotel. It's situated so that it overlooks the ocean. The ocean here was rather rough and stormy but it made for a beautiful view. The palace was beautiful. We felt a little like the Clampetts as we showed up with shiny foreheads and disheveled travel clothes that we had been wearing all day as we explored the coast. The guard at the gate couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak French and he thought we were just there for the restaurant. He told us in his made-up sign language that we wouldn't be allowed in because of our shoes (the restaurant has a dress code). But we were finally able to make him understand that we were there to spend the night.

Another view of the Hotel du Palais

We were finally admitted to the hotel, checked in, and taken to our room. We were told that we needed to wear the provided bathrobes over our swimsuits if we wanted to use the pool. To get to the pool we had to go downstairs, through the lobby and out to the patio where we could then follow the sidewalk to the pool. Imagine our surprise and embarrassment when we made our way through this labyrinth in bathrobes, only to find that the pool closed 20 minutes ago! 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was traveling along the French countryside to Cambo-les-Bains. This little town is home of villa Arnaga, the residence of Edmond Rostand, author of "Cyrano de Bergerac". I wish we could have taken some pictures of the interior of this beautiful home. The walls of each room on the main floor were decorated with murals, each painted by a different artist. It was very light and airy and comfortable. I would have loved to live here.

A view of the French countryside from the driveway of villa Arnaga

The backyard of the villa

Chris playing Cyrano. His nose isn't big enough!

Looking down from the second floor at the gardens of villa Arnaga

From our experience in this remote French town, it seems they don't get a lot of Americans. This was the one place where we had the most trouble with the language. However, we got along alright and we found the people to be pretty helpful and kind.

Basque Family Continued. . . .

We took a short drive from the town center, up the canyon to this picturesque valley of Barrio Olatz. There were just a few homes, a small church and a pub. 

The family home.

This was  a very humble home. We walked into the front entry and by the smell I could tell this was a farmer's home. We met more cousins and were taken to the kitchen. It is part of the Basque culture to congregate in the kitchen. Spread out on the table was the letter Chris had sent a few years ago, along with the $10 he gave them to help with any photo copying of family records they might do (which never happened). They brought out all the family pictures they could muster and we stood in the kitchen, everyone a buzz, making connections and explaining to the interpreter how everyone fit together. I could tell it had been awhile since all these relatives had been together. They were full of love for each other and excited to be together. I couldn't tell what they were saying but I bet they were sharing memories.

The kitchen was buzzing with excitement!

The money and letter Chris sent 6 years ago.



This was a very interesting home and I'm glad we were able to see it. Tomas lives here now and he manages the farm with the help of his two sons. Tomas was very proud of his little home and wanted to show us around. We left the kitchen and went back out to the entry (see below). Tomas opened the white door on the right which I thought was a closet.

Instead of coats and shoes, we saw cows and chickens! The stable is part of the house! We were very surprised by that but it's part of the Basque Culture.

Tomas took us upstairs and showed us all the bedrooms. At the end of the tour we were standing in the hallway, another surprise awaiting us. From the picture below you can see the bathroom is on the right. Its difficult to tell, but the door on the left is the garage where they keep the tractor-this is on the second floor of the house, mind you. We walked out to the garage and down a sloped driveway to the outside and back of the house.

The frontward of the family home.

By this time of the day Chris and I were famished. It was well into the afternoon and we hadn't even had a sip of water since breakfast. The family loaded up in cars and we all drove down the road to the tavern by the church. We had one more surprise in store for us. This little tavern opened just for us. We sat around this table with this wonderful family for three hours enjoying a six-course traditional Basque meal, complete with serenading by cousin Claudio (directly across from me) who had a little too much wine!

Notice we are the only ones drinking water!

One of the dessert platters. We tried a little of everything!

The family minus Tomas's two sons who had to go back to work.

I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day than this. After we said good-bye to most of the family, we took Bagona and Consuelo back to their home. We cried when we had to say good-bye one last time. I truly love this family and can't wait to go back some day. I'm sure if we do, many of these good people will no longer be with us. Some of them are getting on in age (The woman in the red blazer is 93!). This only made me feel stronger about how important family history is.

The little church near the tavern.

A cute little pasture with ponies.

Mutriku, Spain and Family

This trip was a little different than the trips we have done before. This time we had a purpose other than just touring. Chris has learned a great deal about his Basque heritage since he started working on his family history in 2008. Chris had some contact information of a few family members in Spain. He has been trying to get information from them to help with the genealogy. He even sent money and a letter translated into Spanish asking for any help they could give on the family line. He never heard back at the time. 

However, this time as he reached out, he did hear back from one of the cousins who speaks English. When we started planning this trip, we thought it would be great to not only visit the town where Great Grandmother Petra was born, but to meet a relative or two. Chris wrote to his cousin who now lives in Barcelona and asked if she could arrange for us to meet one of the family members who still lives in the Basque Country. It turned out that her mother, Bagona, still lives in the area. It was arranged for us to meet Bagona and her friend who would act as a translator for us.

We flew to Bilbao, Spain and spent the night. The next day we drove our rental car down the mountain to the little fishing village of Mutriku which is the town where Chris's ancestors were from. His great grandmother emigrated to Idaho in the early 1900s. We drove around Mutriku a bit before we met up with Bagona. It is such a beautiful, lush village where the mountains meet the sea. We couldn't get over how beautiful this place is. I often wonder if Petra had any regrets leaving this beautiful place for . . . . Idaho!

Our first glimpse of Mutriku.

A terraced garden at the entrance of the village, overlooking a picturesque harbor.

The church where many of the family baptisms and marriages took place.

The city center. One street heads down and toward the harbor, the other heads up to more buildings.

Another picture of the town center. I love the bright colors.

One unique thing on the coast of this part of Spain is this rock formation called Flysche. It is very rare and not found in too many parts of the world. I thought it was really cool so we had to stop and take a few pictures of it on our way to pick up Bagona. Learn more about it and see better pictures here.

Bagona lives in another little village not too far away from Mutriku. This is Zarautz, a cozy little seaside tourist town. We met her here and she took us on a little walk around this beautiful town.

The P-shaped dark structure in the back is one of Bagona's late-husband's pieces of art that he donated to the town to welcome visitors. It is called "Cyclops". The opening of the "eye" changes based on which direction the observer is facing.

Bagona (in the red) and her friend, Consuello, who was our interpreter. You can see the cyclops in the background again, this time from a different angle.

After we toured Zarautz Bagona turned to us and said that we better get going to Mutriku because the "cousins" were waiting for us. We were very surprised at that, thinking Bagona would be the only family member we would meet. 

The Cousins

After we met the cousins, we all made our way to Town Hall. The man we met with had researched the family line and pulled out a 7-page pedigree chart of this family! He gave that to Chris to take home and also gave him a book on the history of Mutriku and told him where he could find more names online if he wanted to research further.

By this time it was well into the afternoon. Chris offered to buy everyone lunch but they had another surprise for us. The home where Chris's great grandmother was born and raised is still in the family! We had more cousins to meet there!

To be continued. . . . .

Flower from Joyces garden