I ventured into the Basque region of Spain to the city of Bilbao to visit my friends Jessica and Kevin where they are teaching English for the year. The town was very beautiful and I was surprised to see how many new buildings were being worked on while I was there. My one take-away from the city was the importance of daily indulgences big or small.
Indulge in great food.
Our first stop was a tapas restaurant that specialized in plates containing cheese (and I might mention that they had 1.50 euro red wine). I felt like I died and went to heaven because the food was amazing. The restaurant was amidst many other restaurants, many which were so busy that people spilled onto bistro tables that lined the sidewalks. It was just a normal Saturday in Bilbao when everyone comes together to share a meal and some wine together. It was really lovely.
During my stay I also discovered the magic of the menu of the day, which many cafes in Spain offer. You get a drink, bread, a starter, a main dish and dessert for one price during lunchtime (about 9-12 Euros). If there are two people and you both order red wine, you get to share a bottle! Does it get much better than that?
Indulge in some carefree fun.
Next, Jessica, Piper (one of their super fun roommates) and I walked around the city. They had always wanted to explore a candy store called “Happy Pills” (not sure if something was lost in translation, but I liked it nonetheless). You buy a fake bottle and can fill it with all types of sweets and put an adorable label on it relating to what problem is trying to be fixed (such as “the remedy for everything”). It is true. There are probably very few things in the world that cannot be fixed with an ice cream cone shaped marshmallow or a gummy heart.
My idea of some carefree fun also includes purchasing baubles from the neighborhood jewelry place where you can not only buy some fabulous beads, but also handmade necklaces, headbands, brooches and more.
Indulge in the moment.
Another magical thing about Spain is coffee with milk. It is different from a latte, but is so amazingly good and very inexpensive. I did not even think about trying, but I think that you might be severely injured or have to pay a large sum of money if you wanted to get coffee to go because the Spaniards just don’t do that. You sit with an adorable mug and drink your coffee in whatever fabulous environment your respective coffee place has. As much as I love Starbucks, there is nothing quite like the mood and feeling of a Spanish coffeehouse. Whether you are with someone else or by yourself, it makes you stop to just enjoy the moment instead of always moving around at the speed of light.
Jessica and I have actually been to 5 countries other than the U.S. together (U.K., Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and Spain), so while I was in Bilbao we celebrated our 5th country anniversary. There is only one cupcake shop in the city (owned by a fabulous Belgian man), so of course that was the chosen location for the celebration. It seemed pretty appropriate if you ask me.
Indulge in lovely walks with great conversation.
We spent our days walking around the city and looking at all the great architecture and talking about life in general.
I especially loved seeing the Bilbao location of the Guggenheim which was so beautiful architecturally and also in terms of its location on the river. Of course we hit it at sunset, so that made the walk all the better.
