Submitted by Shannon Wade on the 2018 spring semester program in Barcelona, Spain…
I spent my weekend traveling throughout the autonomous region of the Basque Country. It didn’t take long to realize how different the Basque Country was compared to that of Barcelona. The biggest difference was the language. It was completely different from that of Spanish and Catalan. Even to this day, many are not sure where the Basque language originated and still remains a mystery. What the Basque Country is known for is their food, especially their pinchos. In Spanish, pincho means toothpick, because when you enter a pincho restaurant (which there are many of in the region) you order as many of these small single sandwiches with a toothpick through it as you like. It is customary to throw your pincho or toothpick on the ground of the restaurant when done. Many toothpicks on the ground is a sign the food at this restaurant is pretty good. While in San Sebastian, a small town within Basque region we spent some time on the beach looking out to the Atlantic Ocean. Even though it was still pretty cold out, the beach was absolutely breath-taking. The water was as blue as the sky and the horizon seemed endless. My weekend trip to the Basque Country has been my favorite weekend in Spain so far. It always amazes me how different each region is within Spain, but I believe that is what makes this country so unique.
the