dying.young

you're away for two weeks of summer vacation in italy.  on the last day, you received a news that a brother from your church has been called by the Lord.
death and life are no strange news when one is attached to a community, what puzzle you is this brother is only 41, and dying young is the thing that causes all the random thoughts in your mind.
you saw him  and even shook his hand on sunday 3 weeks ago, but now he has return to the Lord.
as you ponder, life is fragile, and you don't know when your life will end, so seize every opportunity that the Lord has given you and above all, respect and obey God's sovereignty as it's the Lord that determines all.
so, live your life to the fullest, don't be stingy with your words or express your feelings to your love one, make peace and not trouble for you never know when your journey to on Earth will end.

season comes and goes... you're in the autumn and today is the last day of august (which is also your home country national day) and september will step in tomorrow, september is always a new season for many people, the schools restart, people finally back from their summer vacation, so new plans will also kick start in the month of september.  you can't wait to seize what the new season has installed for you!

prov 17:17 a friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

adiós.bilbao

 nervion river by night, this is taken on the last night you're there, right in front of your hotel

 and the city hall which is just a stone throw away... it's a pity that the trip is coming to an end

as in a few hours time you already boarded to your flight very early in the morning, and seeing the sun rise in the aircraft over the horizon.

basque country is an eye opener to you, so near yet it gives you a distance feeling, so spanish yet they have their unique identity and language.

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i hope i've not bored you with the series of travel tales from basque country.  i still have more stories and photos but i will draw a conclusion with this post.  when this get posted i am almost at the end of my summer vacation at a different destination. so more tales to be told, only the country and the setting will be different.
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::p!ntxos::

when in spain one must eat and try the tapas. while in basque country, everyone feast on pintxos which is similar to tapas but elevated to the next level.
you feast on pintxos from breakfast to dinner and from dusk to dawn and it starts all over again.  here are some of the pintxos shots.

 you started your very first pintxos at bilbao, just next to guggenheim museum

 and in the evening at plaza neuva

even at portugalete, you paused for pintxos and a drink...

 at san sebastian, pintxos is taken to the next level, the txikiteo (bar crawling) starts as early as 11.30am

 and you're served will a heaven of pintxos, some with most unimaginable combination, all in bite size

 and so you went on from one bar to another

 this is how the txakoli (basque country white wine) is poured... from a height to create more bubbles in the glass

 and you carry on, and as you drink and chat, you get to know people and continue on for more pintxos

the rules to keep going is to take only one pintxos at a bar, no matter how tempting they're, and when you have enough of txakoli, ask for musto (grape juice), which is equally great.

it's an experience, particularly in san sebastian where you walk on the street with the highest density of pintxos bars.

::the great week::

the time that you're there, the city is busy building up performance stages, setting up stalls and preparing for the great week of bilbao that will take place from the 15th august for a week.  if you'd have known this in advance you probably will plan your trip accordingly.

 and this is the same wall that has been painted a few days later....

you have a glimpse of the festival as you're given a chance by a local that point you to a building in the old town to look at the floats - the giant paper figures...

you make a mental note that should you come back again to this city, it will has to be the second part of august and you definitely don't mind to be back to this city again, let's see how it goes...

::churros::

when in spain one must try churros con chocolate. so you just had it just once at a cafe well known for this.
the churros is nice with the right texture, the chocolate is alright, sticky and creamy texture, perfect for the churros dip.

la.concha

 the playa la concha early in the morning, where the tide is low and people are few... the beach really has the shape of shell (concha) as it curved at both ends of the beach

this is the left side of the beach as you're checking out the miramar palace

 the cloud has some sort of pattern which is quite unique and artistic

and right here is this your view....

as you sit on the bench and enjoy your outlook to the sea....

 the beach get crowded in the afternoon where people start coming out for sun tanning, swimming or surfing

 and this is the right side of playa la concha, you wish you have time to walk beyond the fishing village as from there on is another beach but you're just not in shape for a walk after the pintxos tour

 so you chose to sit at the pier and enjoy people watching

day dreaming and counting the waves...

miramar.palace

a beautiful palace where the spanish monarchy spent the summer. for many years, the royal family chose san sebastian for their holidays because of its beaches and climate. 
and the scenery and the architecture here definitely worth the 15 min of walk from where you're and return....

::bidebarrieta::

a library with period character. actually almost too pretty to be a library. while sitting here you actually day dreaming of attending a royal functions or ball event.
you came in to avoid the rain and also took the chance to recharge your cell phone, book wise they're all in spanish except a brief document that explains the history and architecture of the library.
lovely quiet place and definitely an oasis in the old town.

::bretxa::

while waiting for your pintxos tour to start, you stroll around the area by yourself...

 you notice there's a sort of market going on just outside the covered building

 little you know this is a place where the local producers congregate to sell their produces

 you're told this is the 3* mushroom because some michellin chefs just came by and placed their orders

 and every thing you see here are sold directly from the farmers, mean while inside the building that's where the market bretxa is

 it's not surprise to see the ham hanging and for sales here

 likewise the idiazabal cheese, cheese unique to basque country, taste really great and smokey though the cheese is un-smoked

you judge the freshness of the fish by its gills

and seafood is of course the highlight in this market, with tuna (bonito) on every fish stalls as now is the season for it.
you love strolling the market when you're traveling, even though you know you probably won't be able to haul anything back but it's the scents and seeing how the local interact to one another that intrigue you, plus you actually got a good course of explanation as the guide of pintxos tour also brought you here to explain the gastronomy of san sebastian.

::kokken::

you past by here and decided to drop in for dinner. actually it's the curiosity that drives you to enter and check it out.  scandinavian by its name and scandinavian by its interior design.  this place is clean, spacious and airy.

you asked for the choice for breakfast and decided to go scandinavian by having a smoked salmon toast and a coffee. it's good, not to salty and a brief break away from the basque kitchen of either sweet pastry or a savory pintxos as breakfast.

 you chatted with the chef (on the left), since he is one of the very rare who can speak english.  he worked in copenhagen before and that he wants the restaurant/cafe to have scandinavian design. that's explain the name too.

so you decided to return for dinner tonight.  they offered different types of dinner and you opt for 5 courses surprise menu. yet there's a few dishes that you really would like to try and they accommodate your wishes

 the monkfish soup with salmorejo, very tasty and refreshing and a clever use of black sesame seeds that add a bit of crunchiness to the soup

 scallop with artichoke mousse, you don't need more seasoning when the ingredient is at its best and freshest!  you actually wanted to try the tuna burger with black charcoal bread but that's not to your avail, so the rest became a surprise menu from the third course onward...

 the squid cooked with teriyaki sauce and wakame. this is not bad but you just didn't expect a japanese cuisine in a basque country.  even then there's nothing to fault when the fresh ingredients were used and the teriyaki sauce is teriyaki in your humble opinion.

 and a beef steak with peanut sauce but the peanut sauce has a more distinct miso aroma than peanut, that said it's still a very nicely cooked beef and pair well with the sauce

you thought your dessert is merely a cappuccino, but you're wrong as what sits under the frothy cream is pineapple granite and the mousse is actually the coconut cream with a hint of cinnamon powder, pair really well with the chocolate brownie.

beside a long pause between the third and the fourth course (partly due to the mis-communication), the whole dining experience was excellence, you started at 7.30pm and didn't leave until over 10pm.  this restaurant is definitely a rising star and star potential!