A Week in Northern Spain

and some recommendations

We got back a few days ago from our yearly family vacation. We like to go away as a family for a week every year. As my kids become adults, that means squeezing it in whenever in the summer they don’t have other plans. It was a huge pleasure to spend an extended period of time together the four of us, which happens so rarely even though we still live under the same roof.

This year we decided to stay local and not get on an airplane. Not having to deal with the hassle of crowds, delayed flights, and long lines means less stress, and vacation starts earlier. So we drove to Bilbao, where a friend lent us a small apartment, and spent 5 nights there and then 2 in Navarra, one of my favorite parts of Spain.

As you can see from my outfit, it was actually cool weather there! Now we are back home and the heat is stifling (more on that next week and by the way, there are just a few spots left for my Summer Tapas online cooking class with 18 Reasons this coming August 10, sign up here, it’s a wonderful menu that includes some pintxo-style inspiration).

During our days in the Basque Country, we spent a couple in Bilbao itself, one in San Sebastián (one of my favorite cities in the whole world), and also got to explore some smaller towns in the province of Vizcaya (Biscay), two of them coastal, and we finally made it to Guernica/Gernika, yes the town (or rather, the bombing thereof) that inspired Picasso’s famous painting (which is now housed in the Reina Sofía museum in Madrid).

I highly recommend a visit to their Museum of Peace, which we found informative and even moving. The whole town has found a way to thrive as they commemorate the tragedy of 1937, within the framework of world peace and conciliation. The tourism office was a great source of info for a self-guided tour of the town’s main sites, including this big park which contains a sculpture by Basque artist Chillida and another by Henry Moore:

Naturally, one of the highlights of the Basque Country is the food, hands-down the best in Spain. As you may know, Sobremesa curates and leads bespoke culinary-based tours in the Basque Country, and I like to explore and incorporate new places, but also, every so often, revisit the ones I send my guests to, and make sure they are still up to standard.

Many, many pintxos were consumed throughout the week among the four of us; I don’t think you can tire of them in a week (or two). Though the variety may seem overwhelming, over the years I have been refining down to my favorite pintxos in specific places. Here is a selection of them, in case you find yourself in the area soon (if you book with Sobremesa, good pintxos are guaranteed!).