San Juan de Luz iluminado, originalmente cargada por Rufino Lasaosa.

Una foto para un día: anochecer en la calle Gambetta de San Juan de Luz, Francia

Más fotos de San Juan de Luz

et si mon nom n’est pas basque ; c’est qu’on m’en a donné un autre, je suis fait de méandre que comme la rivière la vie creuse dans la roche, l’impalpable du réel, surprenant comme cette eau qui gronde retenue par les morts dans les recoins profonds de la masse de roche qui grouille sous nos pieds, que nous appellons l…a terre, multiforme je le suis et en même temps un en esprit même s’il cherche à se rejoindre constament être rassemblé dans ce lieu du monde et du corps d’ou il peut voir et être, l’instant projette ses propres méandres et redéfinie l’identité , mouvante et multiple,
l’esprit rode et règne, tout doit lui revenir quelque soient les fentes ou il se glisse, lui qui s’accroche, lit grognard de l’harmonie

How to say Merry Christmas in different languages. Send these to your friends around the world.

Afrikaans: Gesëende Kersfees

Afrikander: Een Plesierige Kerfees

African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats

Albanian:Gezur Krislinjden

Arabic: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah

Argentine: Feliz Navidad

Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand

Azeri: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun

Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal

Basque: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!

Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha

Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce

Brazilian: Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo

Breton: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat

Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo

Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!

Chile: Feliz Navidad

Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun

Chinese: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan

Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito

Columbia: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo

Cornish: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth

Corsian: Pace e salute

Crazanian: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo

Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi

Croatian: Sretan Bozic

Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok

Danish: Glædelig Jul

Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak

Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
or Zalig Kerstfeest

English: Merry Christmas

Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!

Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon

Estonian: Ruumsaid juulup|hi

Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!

Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad

Finnish: Hyvaa joulua

Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar

French: Joyeux Noel

Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!

Galician: Bo Nada

Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!

German: Froehliche Weihnachten

Greek: Kala Christouyenna!

Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!

Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka

Hebrew: Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova

Hindi: Shub Naya Baras

Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!

Hawaian: Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket

Icelandic: Gledileg Jol

Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal

Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah

Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat

Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.

Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie

Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags

Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!

Latvian: Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu!

Lausitzian:Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto

Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus

Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu

Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un ‘n moi Nijaar

Macedonian: Sreken Bozhik

Maltese: LL Milied Lt-tajjeb

Manx: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa

Maori: Meri Kirihimete

Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh

Navajo: Merry Keshmish

Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul

Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado

Papiamento: Bon Pasco

Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu

Pennsylvania German: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!

Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo

Philipines: Maligayan Pasko!

Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie

Portuguese:Feliz Natal

Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha

Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua

Rhetian: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn

Romanche: (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!

Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele

Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom

Sami: Buorrit Juovllat

Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Sardinian: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou

Serbian: Hristos se rodi

Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce

Sami: Buorrit Juovllat

Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh

Serb-Croatian: Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina

Serbian: Hristos se rodi. Singhalese: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa

Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok

Slovene: Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto

Spanish: Feliz Navidad

Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År

Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko!

Tami: Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal

Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!

Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai

Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym

Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho

Vietnamese: Chung Mung Giang Sinh

Welsh: Nadolig Llawen

Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic

Yoruba: E ku odun, e ku iye’dun!

Coffee Art Updated

I Know I have Blogged It Before But …I dont care…The Funk Brothers are my hero’s and these clips are from my all time favourite film

19.2 million people watch Donny Osmond win

NEW YORK — An estimated 19.2 million people watched Donny Osmond win “Dancing With the Stars” — the smallest audience for the show’s finale since the first season. This was the ninth edition of the contest, one of television’s most popular shows. The Nielsen Co. says ratings have been down all season for the show, an indication that viewers weren’t as attached to the contestants as they had in the past. Osmond said the show has been a highlight in a career of ups and downs. He competed during the show’s finale Tuesday against singer Mya and Kelly Osbourne, daughter of rock star Ozzy Osbourne.

Donny Osmond was declared the new champion of “Dancing With Stars” on Tuesday night, taking home the show’s mirror ball trophy in the season finale of the ABC contest reality program. Osmond, the former teen pop star of the singing Osmond family, said the show has been a highlight in a career of ups and downs. “I did it!” Osmond exclaimed. He promptly rushed to the audience and plucked out his wife, Debbie, whom he carried across the stage. Helping push Osmond over the top was the tango he performed Tuesday with his professional dancing partner, Kym Johnson. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba hailed it as “artistry in motion.” It earned the top score of the final performances. Three celebrities made it to the finale of the show’s ninth season — Osmond, Mya and Kelly Osbourne, the daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. The show picks a winner with a combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes. Mya entered as the favorite, having won the highest scores on Monday’s show. Dancing with Dmitry Chaplin, she performed a jive. “I’m just so happy to have made it to the finals,” Mya said after the loss. The 30-year-old singer is most famous for collaborating on the Grammy-winning hit “Lady Marmalade” from the soundtrack of 2001’s “Moulin Rouge!” Osbourne was the first of the three eliminated. With her famous family — Ozzy, Sharon and Jack — looking on, Osbourne and professional partner Louis Van Amstel danced to a cover of Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble.” The 25-year-old was clearly moved and began crying after her last dance She thanked the audience and said she had “grown so much” during the show. Co-host Samantha Harris said Osbourne had become “a swan.” The finale culminated a season of good ratings for “Dancing With the Stars,” which consistently ranked as one of the most-watched shows of the fall. The contestant who grabbed the most headlines, former Congressman Tom DeLay, had to withdraw in the third week of competition because of stress fractures in both feet. A healed DeLay returned Tuesday night to dance the Texas two-step routine he had hoped to perform. All former contestants returned, including former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin, who performed a dance-off to the theme of “Monday Night Football” with another NFL receiving great, Jerry Rice, who was a contestant on the second season of “Dancing With the Stars.” The judges declared Rice the winner. Pop singer Aaron Carter, voted off this season, performed a dance to the theme of “The Muppet Show.” Animal took the drums, while Miss Piggy lurked backstage. Mistakes on the dance floor weren’t the only missteps of ABC’s live broadcast. At the top of the show, as highlights from Monday’s show ran, the video froze on shot of Miss Piggy, prompting host Tom Bergeron to remind viewers that the broadcast was live and send the show to an early commercial break. Whitney Houston also made a guest appearance to perform her “Million Dollar Bill” and the fitting “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Gymnast Shawn Johnson won last season’s “Dancing With the Stars.” ABC can expect high ratings for Tuesday’s finale. Last week’s results show attracted an audience of 16.2 million.

Amazing !!!

Astounding !!!

Was Jesus taught by the Druids of Glastonbury? New film claims it is possible he came to England

As a book of record the New Testament doesn’t do too well on the early life of Jesus Christ. The large holes may explain why so many outlandish theories have been able to build up about what the Son of God got up to as a boy. But among those myths most perpetuated is that he visited Britain  -  an idea immortalised in the opening lines of William Blake’s Jerusalem.

But did Jesus build a chapel beneath Glastonbury Abbey (pictured here), as a new film suggests?

Now a film has sought to add flesh to the fable by claiming it’s perfectly plausible the Messiah made an educational trip to Glastonbury. And Did Those Feet explores the idea that Jesus accompanied his supposed uncle, Joseph of Arimathaea, on a business trip to the tin mines of the South-West. Whilst there, it is claimed he took the opportunity to further his maths by studying under druids. Unsurprisingly, the documentary stops short of concluding the visit did take place, noting ‘Jesus’s shoe has not turned up’. However, the makers insist that while the visit is unproven, it is possible. The theory is that he arrived by sea, following established trading routes, before visiting several places in the West Country. In the film, Dr Gordon Strachan, a Church of Scotland minister, says it is plausible Jesus came to further his education. The country is thought to have been at the forefront of learning 2,000 years ago, with mathematics particularly strong. Ted Harrison, the film’s director, said: ‘If somebody was wanting to learn about the spirituality and thinking not just of the Jews but also the classical and Greek world he would have to come to Britain, which was the centre of learning at the time. ‘Jesus was a young man curious to find out about all sorts of things. ‘We know there is a huge gap in the life of Jesus between when he was born and when his ministry started.

‘He would have come to learn what was being taught about astronomy and geometry which was being taught at “universities” run by druids at the time.’Mr Harrison, a former BBC religious affairs correspondent, says Jesus may just have been a boy when he left the Middle East for England.Tresanton St Mawes in the west country which looks towards the Roseland peninsula, where the film claims Jesus spent some time He said: ‘He started the ministry at about the age of 30. There is only one mention in the Bible between his birth and the start of the ministry.’That is when he was around the age of 12 and went to the temple and astounded the learned experts with his knowledge. One could speculate he had just come back at that point.’ Alternatively, he may have made the visit when in his teens or 20s and used his earnings as a carpenter to fund it. Jesus is said to have built a chapel in Glastonbury  -  and when theologian St Augustine heard of it 1,400 years ago, he wrote to the Pope to tell him about it. Mr Harrison said: ‘The concrete evidence is this reference by St Augustine that at Glastonbury there was a small building or church that was put up by Jesus.’He added that Blake’s hymn Jerusalem refers to the visit with its opening lines: ‘And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England’s mountains green? And was the holy Lamb of God on England’s pleasant pasture seen?’Mr Harrison said there were ‘no archaeological finds’ to back up the myth, but ‘by exploring the legend, we are opening up a fascinating new insight into early Christianity’.

How much would you spend to spice up your love life? Sales of luxury lingerie costing up to £900 rocket in the run-up to Christmas

I Love To See A Woman In Exquisite Lingerie….But Im Sorry….The Feather One Does Nothing For Me

Despite the unstable economy and looming expense of Christmas, it seems couples are determined not to neglect their love life – whatever the cost. Women across the country are snapping up luxury corsets in a bid to add a touch of spice in the bedroom, a leading retailer said today. Selfridges said sales of its luxury fashion corsets were up 70% as stocks of Bordelle’s £900 feather girdle sold out in 24 hours at its Oxford Street store in central London.

Beat the boredom: The Bordelle £900 feather girdle sold out within 24 hours

Luxury lingerie sales were up across the country, with the average spend increasing by 16% compared with this time last year at Selfridges’ stores in Birmingham, London and Manchester. British designer Alex Popa, 27, said: ‘The items are more flexible than the traditional pieces,’ said Miss Popa. ‘If you are daring enough you could pair a corset with a pair of leggings and go out clubbing or to a party, but they can also be worn in the boudoir. ‘It is more of a mix between outer-wear and underwear. There was nothing out there that was doing in-between. Lingerie was very static but my designs focus more on design. ‘It has helped a lot that we are popular with celebrities. We made one of our designs for Lady Gaga, and we have made items for Shakira as well as pieces for Christina Aguilera’s new movie Burlesque.

Wrapped up: Shoppers are desperate to snap up Bordelle’s Angela Cage £365 bandage dress

Tie me up: A more modest monochrome version

‘Everything is made in my workshop in London. We don’t out-source anything and make it with a technique which is unique to us. The pieces are expensive, but we have had people who have wanted to get stuff from us for some time and they have saved up to buy a piece.’ With winter drawing in and nights getting longer, women are choosing to invest in quality lingerie rather than spend on nights out. And British luxury lingerie brand Myla is cashing in on the new trend – with the launch of a £350 silk ‘Christmas’ corset, which will be unveiled by queen of burlesque, Immodesty Blaze, in Selfridges’ Oxford Street window tomorrow morning. Helen Attwood, Selfridges’ head buyer for lingerie, said: ‘The trend for underwear worn as outerwear is more popular than ever with customers investing more in fashion that adds a touch of spice to everyday life.’

And the driving force behind the sudden surge? Hollywood of course.

Sales of Bordelle’s Angela Cage £365 bandage dress also soared by 90% after 21-year-old Rihanna stepped out in a similar white leather bandage catsuit at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles earlier this week. The Bajan singer flashed the flesh on stage in a futuristic white catsuit with white shoulderpads, which shot lasers across the stage. Copies of the more modest version will no doubt be available on the High Street soon as teenagers scramble to covet the barely-there look. Women certainly appear to be doing their bit to boost the economy as high-end cosmetics are also bucking the recession with a surge in sales, according to recent figures. And what better way to cheer her up than some sexy underwear and a bit of red lipstick?

The look was made popular by Rihanna on stage at the American Music Awards

The Hubs and I are attempting to sell our early 1900s Craftsman/Mission round pedestal dining room table and chairs on Ebay.  I absolutely love our new Basque table from Crate & Barrel, and all of the increased horizontal flat space is fantastic especially when we bake, but I am really going to miss our first real dining room set.

Christmas 2008

It has been in our Long Island storage unit since July so I thought it was about time to finally sell it.  We originally purchased it from an antiques dealer in the Catskills for $1250 and it is currently at $375; however, over a dozen people are watching the auction.  Here is a link if you are interested http://bit.ly/8OKhaZ

For those of you who have noticed … that is my antique buffet that I bought at an auction Upstate for $3 before David and I moved to New York City.  It too is also in storage and will be for sale shortly … I think.  I am not sure yet if I should sell it or not … I really do love it and have been planning to dry scrape it for years to save it from the Shabby Chic stigma!

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Etapa 7:  Meakur to Bilbao
Distance: 20.25 km
Wednesday, April 16, 2009
Weather: Party cloudy, mild to warm temperatures
Photos: 5
Notables: Road walking, steep descent down Monte Avril into Bilbao proper

Etapa description continued after the break. Follow the flecha . . .

Pilgrims have been making the journey to Santiago de Compostela for over a millennium using several different routes.  The Camino del Norte was mainly used by pilgrims arriving at Spain’s northern ports but also became important due to increased Moorish control of the Iberian peninsula.  The coastal path incorporated an even older route, following the old Roman road Via Agrippa.

Nowadays, industrialization and the construction boom in Northern Spain have presented two problems for pilgrims hoping for an authentic Camino experience.  I had managed, for the most part, to avoid both of these problems ever since I crossed the French-Spanish frontier in mid-April 2009.  I was subjected to small examples of both industrialization and construction projects between Irún and Meakur but they were too insignificant to note.  I could argue that most of the Camino I had walked up to Meakur was true to the original in spirit – I could imagine medieval pilgrims walking much the same route.

Today’s etapa to Bilbao, however, extinguished any nostalgic sentiments of the Camino isolated from modernity.  There were traces of antiquity found in an old stone cross and a village church where I stopped for a lunch break; but the Meakur to Bilbao route comprises an overwhelming majority of road walking through the trappings of modern civilization.  The previous etapas since I began my Camino did incorporate modern roads but the traffic was restricted to locals and low in volume.  There was a notable increase in the amount of cars that I passed today, so much so that I remember the loud and careless garbage truck that barreled past me on the switchback in between Andra-Mari and Goikolejea.  This wouldn’t be the last heavy machinery I had to outmaneuver today:  repairs were underway on a carriageway overpass and the Camino went straight through an active construction zone.  The excavator operators didn’t blink an eye as I tip-toed my way across gravel islands while they busily went along their working day.

I tried to convince myself that the unexpected asphalted hike was responsible for my incredibly sore bones at the end of the day but the likely culprit was the insanely steep descent into Bilbao.  I seemed to gain strength and endurance from steep inclines but my body never did adjust to descents and I was always left nursing aches and pains.  I acquired the first available pension I coudl find after an endless staircase of stone steps into the Casco Viejo section of Bilbao.

If you come and visit us, there are several places you can´t miss. Lekeitio is one of them. I spent several childhood and adolescence summers there, with my family (those long summers that started in June and ended by mid September, adapting to school holidays), so it´s a special town to me.

Lekeitio is on the way from Bilbao to San Sebastián, on the very scenic coastal road. It takes about one hour by car to get there from Bilbao, driving on a very curvy road (those that get sick on cars, take your precautions before). They´ve just opened the bypass approaching Lekeitio, so now it´s more accessible.

This is a fishing village, or maybe I should say “still”. The number of fishing boats is rapidly decreasing, and pretty soon this beautiful village will have to find other ways of earning an income. There are three beaches, Isuntza, Karraspio and La Salvaje. There´s an island that is linked to the continent by a wall, that disappears under the water with high tide (on the intro of this web you can see an overview of the town, www.lekeitio.com). There´s a XV century beautiful gothic church, Asunción de Santa María, with an incredible altarpiece. There are great festivals in September, 8 incredible days – not to forget Goose Day, when they hung dead gooses from a a rope on the port (used to be alive) and people on boats hung from their neck trying to break them, while being pulled and pushed up and down in the water.

Still very much untouched by tourism, this town keeps its authenticity and it´s a real pleasure to walk along the narrow streets where fishermen live, have some pintxos at its bars and enjoy the awesome views. And have the daily menu at the Hostal de la Emperatriz (also a spa and a hotel), overviewing the town, the beach, the sea and the island. Or sleep at Palacio Zubieta, paradise of tranquility…

So we have 7 territories and three political regions, two in Spain and one in France, that form the present Basque Country (in a wide sense) or Euskal Herria.  Two languages, Basque and Spanish. Basque spoken daily by around 500-800.000 people on both sides of the border. And 6 dialects for such a small number of speakers!! It´s possible to know the birthplace of a person by the way he speaks Basque.

Four capitals in Spain, Bilbao-Bilbo, San Sebastián-Donostia, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Iruña-Pamplona (the latter as capital of Navarra or Nafarroa, an autonomous community). The system in France is not as in Spain, divided into regions.

Excellent roads, very good public transport, a good public, universal and free health care system (as a matter of fact, when giving birth most women prefer public hospitals to private ones!!).

Currency: Euro (but many people still think in the old currency, pesetas). The rise of prices since the introduction of the Euro has been spectacular. Average salary per month (x 14 times, we get two extra wages on July and December), 1900 euros/month (gross).

Religion: food and eating. Then, Christian Catholics (95%). Churchgoers: less than 20%. A huge drop in religious beliefs and practices in the past 30 years.

Education: public and private. But…public education system has an agreement with many private schools (most of religious inspiration). Therefore, the Spanish or the Basque government pays for the education costs of all students and the wages of all teachers (except for those schools not included on this agreement, which are mostly foreign schools, like the French, or German, or American School). Difficult to explain, hard to believe, but that´s the way it is. So we have a “publivate” or “privublic” education system. Three linguistic models: A, all subjects taught in Spanish, and Basque as a subject (20%); B, 60% in Basque, 40% in Spanish (25%); D (there´s no C in Basque), 100% in Basque (55%). Something similar in Navarra, but inexistant in the French Basque Country. There are also privublic “ikastolas”, Basque cooperative schools, that teach only in Basque.

Airports: the most important one is in Bilbao, with many international flights (Europe, mainly). Then there´s a small one in SS (Hondarribia), a cargo one in Vitoria, one in Bayonne and one in Pamplona.

Cost of housing: huge, but dropping, thanks to the present 2008-2009-…recession. Still, unbeliable prices for housing. Most of the population live in apartments that they own. Apartments are completely equipped (washing machine in the kitchen, not on the basement).

Well, that´s almost all you need to know about the basic an boring aspects in Basque life. Now, let´s get in depth in some of them…

Little did I know that my first sighting of Basque people would be of naked women.

And sheep.  

(Note: while the sheep were also naked, I cannot, in all certainty, say if they were also of Basque origin.)

Those visions of yore came back to mind during our exploration of the Basque region during our 2009 Spain Adventure—which by coincidence did include sightings of a few (mostly) naked women and an occasional sheep.

I spent much of my early professional career in the mountainous regions of Northern California and that is also where Basque sheepherders had tended their flocks with great care and loving attention; you know, where—stop me if you’ve heard this before—the men were men…and the sheep were nervous.

This was especially true in the northeast portion of the state where massive, pure stands of beautiful, quaking aspens grow above the high desert with brilliant green leaves and almost pure white bark. Ecologically, this area is considered as the western fringe of the great basin rangeland, with scenic qualities more typical of the Rockies than of California.

I remember marveling at the intricate designs carved into the tree trunks: even after many years of tree growth, you could not help but notice that many of the carvings were what might be considered “R” rated, with a few garnering a definite “X” rating; not to mention a few that PETA or the SPCA might have some heartburn over, if you get my drift.

Hey, it got pretty boring after months of desolation while herding sheep around in those remote mountains.

I am reasonably sure that the reason those aspens really did quake was less out of fear of those early sheepherders with their sharp knives but more so as a result of the effect of the wind blowing on the flat-stemmed wide leaves.

Whether the sheep were quaking is a different matter.

Clearly, with their great appreciation of domestic farm animals and interest in outdoor artistic endeavors, the Basque people are worthy of closer study.

Until our recent excursion, I really had no idea that if it weren’t for the early Basques, the history of the New World could have been written much differently. I learned that it was many a Basque navigator that sailed on voyages from Spain that lead to discoveries well beyond the European shores.

Yet, even though the Basques—with a culture 50,000 years old—are said to inhabit Europe’s oldest nation, they do so without ever having been a county with its own borders. Their mother tongue of Euskera—the oldest European living language—is so unique its source is unknown.

The University of Nevada, Reno, has a Center for  Basque Studies, should you wish to delve further into the topic.

A sample of the tree carvings can be found on their site (the link is in the upper right-hand corner): the fourth page of their photo catalog lists the following warning, but keep in mind, these were done before airbrushing had been invented.

“The following page contains images of a sexual nature that some people may find offensive.”

While I did marry a beautiful and feisty woman of Basque descent, I knew little of these fiercely proud people themselves, save for an occasional headline of another bombing in northern Spain.

As we prepared for our recent 2009 Great Spain Adventure, I did take particular interest in a news item about the apparent resurgence of the separatist group, ETA, “celebrating” their 50th anniversary with yet more bombs, but, luckily, nothing exploded during our three-week visit.

An indication of the personal pride the Basques have in their cultural identity is the local practice of painting over the Spanish names for local landmarks and road names, leaving only the Basque version and spelling.

The Basque area of northern Spain arguably has some of the best wines this side of the more well-known wine regions of France. What I was not prepared for was the locally produced cider. We happened to stumble into a huge cider festival one evening in the small town of Eibar, between Bilbao and San Sebastian.

I assume the stuff must be an “acquired taste.” I’ll stick to stumbling out of the wine bars, thank you very much.

The Basques essentially have their own national bike racing team, which you would have seen in the Tour de France under the name of Euskaltel Euskadi, with their bright orange team colors.

Good luck with their official website, that is, unless you can read Basque.

Here is a picture of the team standing above the same beach that reportedly has topless sunbathers (“reportedly” as in reported on this very website).

Still need convincing how cool these Basque people are?

I’ll bota a wager that nobody gets better use of goatskin and latex than these people.

The guy who likes to leave his phone on the street has got another habit (also phone related) which is annoying. He will still be pressing snooze for the alarm he has set an hour and a half after it first went off. Why not just set it to go off later instead of waking me up early for the past 2 days! Plonker.

I had a later than intended one last night, there’s a Dutch guy who works here who I was having a few drinks with. A very clever and interesting bloke though also quite weird. He is either a compulsive liar or has had a Forrest Gump/Benjamin Button style life in his short 23 years on this rock. I’m not sure which it is.

The weather is great here today, it’s in the mid 20s. So it will make for a good day of wandering about.

The first place I went to was the San Mamés Stadium. They do a tour but once again I had more or less hit siesta time. I saw the outside at least and I’ll see how I’m doing for time later and maybe take a proper look then, I’m not really that bothered though if I have to leave it.

The main bus station is right next to the ground so I had a look at the bus times to San Sebastian. Pretty much every half hour, so that’s nice and easy.

While walking down the main shopping street on my way to the Guggenheim I nipped into the Lacoste shop as I always do. I don’t know why I bother as even though they have some mega threads, their stuff is so expensive. I saw a nice jacket. €310. I didn’t have to mull that one over for too long.

As much as I like Spain, it will be a bit of a relief to get into France as I’ve found it pretty difficult trying to order food, very difficult at times in fact. Before my next visit a crash course in Spanish might be in order.

The Guggenheim was good. It cost me €11 to get in though if I was 26 rather than 27 my student card would have got me in for €6.50. Doh.

There isn’t actually that much in there, I managed to get s decent look at eveything in 2 hours. Some of the stuff seems very pretentious to me. Mainly some of the video installations on the ground floor, ‘Zidane’ being a good example.

I really enjoyed the massive exhibition of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. I’m hardly very well up on architecture but I could appreciate how amazing some of his designs are, about half of which were actually realised.

I liked the abstract and surrealism stuff too, that sort of thing appeals to me. The works they have by Kandinsky and Gottlieb is particularly good.

The building itself is also very impressive. If you’re in Bilbao and you don’t intend to go inside the Guggenheim, you should at least take a walk down the river to it just to see the exterior.

Crikey it’s a strange bus infrastructure in Basque country. I got to the bus station at about 18:15 with the intention of getting the 18:30. I then bought a ticket from the automated machine for €7, all hunky dory so far. When at 18:35 my bus still hadn’t turned up at platform 2, 3 or 4 (as the screen stated) I was a touch concerned and begun to check the destinations on the other buses nearby and show my ticket to the drivers just in case. It was lucky I did as with the 2nd one I tried it was my bus apparently, even though it had Santander (which is in the opposite direction) as the destination and was parked at platform 8. Barmy these Basque lot.

The hostel (Olga’s Place) is okay, nothing special, but it will do for a few nights. It’s located on Zabaleta Street strangely enough.

There’s nothing on the agenda for tonight, just get some grub then take it easy. Over.

PS One last thing, as I type this on the PC at the hostel I’m being forced to listen to a conversation between the most boring couple you could possibly imagine, as dull as it gets. I’m not sure I want to go to New Zealand anymore.

I just watched this. What I find more amazing is how bobbins the ref must have been.

I’m off to the launderette now, clad in a bit of a strange outfit that I don’t really have much choice about. Converse trainers, no socks, short jeans, t-shirt and erm, no gruds. In November too. Though the weather is quite nice today.

Grrr, the bloody Spanish and their ‘little lie downs’. The gaff doesn’t re-open until half 4, I’ve been traipsing around Bilbao with a stinkin’ smeggy fast drying (it seems to have lost that quality now, I think it needs slinging) towel over my arm for nowt.

So by the time I’ve done my washing today will have been and gone which is annoying as I had 2 or 3 things I wanted to see (San Mamés Stadium, Guggenheim Museum, etc.). I’ll just have to get a much later than intended bus to San Sebastian tomorrow so that I can actually see Bilbao.

I’ll at least have a walk up to the old town this evening to try and recover something from the day.

On the way back from my fruitless laundrette trip I paid a visit to Lidl and got myself another 6 pack of Perlenbacher a 100g bar of white chocolate (which was gorgeous), a bottle of water and a double pack of microwavable burgers. This isn’t the tea I’d envisioned but as there’s no cooker here it will be considerably cheaper than eating out.

I’m just sneaking one of the beers in now while I wait to go back.

Reet, that was quite easy. Just under €10 is what it will cost and I’ve to go back at 7 when it should all be waiting for me. Skanky towel no more I hopes.

As I was leaving to go and pickup the washing I had a bit of a strange incident. I had just walked out the door and when I was moving out of the doorway onto the street I noticed a mobile phone ringing, it was actually in the doorway but anyone walking past would have noticed it easily and it’s a busy street too. So I took it back into the hostel to see if it was anyone’s and the staff were checking it wasn’t one of theirs when my room-mate (one of 2 in a 10 bed dorm) came over and said it was his (which it was as I recognised it then from seeing it in the room). I think he is Spanish and his English isn’t great but he’s friendly enough. Anyway he said he had put it there because there was a phone call he didn’t want to answer. Erm, okay, that makes sense. I wouldn’t try that in Manchester pal!

The old woman at the launderette was lovely and I’ve never seen my threads looking so well folded and clean. I went to pay in change but didn’t have enough so then went to give her a 20 Euro note but she just took the change anyway, even though it was at least a Euro short. It was a pain having to use a launderette, but at least it was a good one.

In other clothing related news, my brand new Mod t-shirt has somehow acquired a very large sort of red powder stain on it. I’ve no idea how it got there, I’ve barely been anywhere! On it’s maiden voyage too, like the ruddy Titanic.

By the time I got back, packed my bag, had grub etc. it was well after 9 and it looks like it’s maybe an hour walk to where I want to go on the map (and I want to walk it to). So I couldn’t be bothered. I’ll just get an even later bus tomorrow eh.

Every Spanish hostel I’ve been in so far seems to always have Manu Chao playing, which is no bad thing really but it can get a tad repetitive.

Today’s photo is actually from Madrid. Funnily enough it relates to the mustard incident referred to a few posts back.

The Basque Country, as an autonomous community within Spain, is called officially Euskadi, and has three provinces (also called Historic Territories) Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, in their Basque spelling. BUT the Basque Country, in a wider sense and referring to Basque heritage and culture, is called Euskal Herria (Basque People) and includes Nafarroa, on the Spanish side, and Lapurdi, Zuberoa and Behenafarroa on the French side. This is not easy to understand. Let´s leave it there for now, but when saying “basque” I will try to refer to the cultural concept.

The capital of Euskadi is Vitoria-Gasteiz (I´ll write first the Spanish name and then the Basque one), a political decision taken in 1980 when the Estatuto (Basque Constitution, more or less) was approved. Number of Basques: around three million. One of the highests standards of life in Europe (high income, good public health system, good schools, good roads, high industrialization,…, well, all this may not be that objective, but it´s widely accepted). We have our own President (Lehendakari, “the first”), Parliament, Police, Health system, Education system, Taxes, Laws,…, as an autonomous community within Spain. Vote is more or less divided 50% for the independentists and 50% for the non-independentists (Spanishtists?¿?¿?), with several parties on both sides that divide the vote in several options.

Plenty of industries, located everywhere but mainly near the capitals. Machine-tool, iron and steel factories, automotive suppliers and manufacturers (Mercedes, Volkswagen), aeronautics…and many small and medium size companies with a high level of technical expertise. Several universities. The biggest cooperative group in the world, Mondragón Corporation, an important part of the wealth of this country.

The rural world plays a very important role in our culture, but farms are quickly disappearing, and turning beautiful farm houses into rural lodgings. The landscape is very mountainous, with scattered farms on green land and forests (70% of the Basque surface is covered with trees). The coast is rugged, beaches (over 100) are surrounded by trees and are of small to medium size. The coastline is not ruined (yet) as in many parts of the Mediterranean, because of the strict enforcement of the Coast Protection Act (roughly translated).

You´ve probably heard about the Basque language (euskera, or euskara), how complicated it is and about its mysterious origins. Right. So you come and expect everybody to speak it and you´re afraid that you will not understand a word. Wrong.

Basque is spoken by around a 30% of Basques, that is, roughly half a million people. Spanish is spoken by 100% of Basques. There are two TV channels (ETB-1 and ETB-3) that broadcast exclusively in Basque (5% audience) and one channel (ETB-2) that broadcasts in Spanish (15% audience, approx.)

All public signs are written in these two languages, leading some times to confusion to those that speak only Spanish (as you see on the traffic sign right, Iruña is Pamplona in Basque). All towns have two names, one in Basque and one in Spanish. For example, the best known is Donostia-San Sebastián. Then you have two Basque names for some towns and no Spanish one, or one of them is taken as the “Spanish” one: Zornotza-Amorebieta, Hondarribia-Fuenterrabía (low level of irony here…). In any case, Basque is widely protected in public life and enforced in schools (that will be the subject of another post). But, sadly, it´s not spoken as a standard rule by most of the population. Yes, we mix sometimes  Spanish and Basque, a few words like “egun on” for “good morning” and “agur” for “good-bye”, to mention the two most used. Or calling “ama” and “aita” to your parents in Basque, followed by Spanish.

In any case, a beautiful language to learn, that is spoken kind of  “I to my grandma´s go” or “weather the to be fine going to is”. Very interesting.

I’m now on route to Bilbao. After finally making it up for brekkie (it didn’t happen, Sat, Sun or Mon) I went on the net for a bit and then said tarah to Topshop in time to make the 14:00 bus. €27 and a touch less than 5 hours.

The last few days events have caught up with me at last and I’m completely knackered so as the kids and scrotes are partial to saying these days, I’m
gonna chillax. After I’ve done my washing anyway, that’s something I sorely need to do.

I really liked Madrid, it’s up there with Berlin as my favourite city of the trip, with Napoli not far behind.

The journey actually isn’t going too bad as the bus isn’t packed and the landscape is interesting. It looks like a wild west set but then a small field of vivid green will pop up unexpectedly and then a little village with a church spire protruding much higher than the rest of the rooftops. So I’m doing this blog post (and finishing yesterday’s) while listening to some of my favourite folk tunes, I’ve certainly had worse legs of this trip.

One thing I need to achieve before I leave the lands of Spain; eat paella. I’ve not seen it about much at all, Topiary was telling me it’s actually more popular in the south which considering I’m heading for the north coast doesn’t bode overly well.

Now the scenery has changed again and we are passing through some mountain range with the clouds being ominously close to the top of the bus roof.

On the other side of the hills now and to my left is the sharpest pink sky I’ve ever seen. I wish I had a decent camera to get proper pictures.

I’m there now and the Akelarre Hostel is nice. The only problem is there are no laundry facillities and also there is no proper cooker so I’m going to have to eat out.

The laundry thing is the real ball ache though as that means I’m going to have to spend a bug chunk of tomorrow (my only proper day in Bilbao) in a laundrette. Apparently there is one somewhere in the area, it will set me back nearly a tenner though. Bugger.

The photo is of the square in Madrid with the Don Quixote statue in.

Top empire en satin noir et ruban violet:

35€

Corset & basque viscose elasthane avec baleines pour le maintient, laçage devant ruban de satin:  45€

Jupe en tulle, taille élastique:  69,90€

View Larger Map
*click Google Map link above to explore this etapa in detail

Etapa 6: Gernika to Meakur
Distance: 15 km
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Weather: Some rain, cloudy & cool
Photos: 40 total
Notables: Oak of Gernika, Biscay Assembly House, stained-glass ceiling, Picasso’s Guernica, finding Meakur in the rain

Etapa description continued after the break. Follow the flecha . . .

Walking the Camino de Santiago does not allow many chances to do actual sight-seeing unless you take a day off as I did in San Sebastián and Bilbao.  However, today’s etapa was a short 15 km to Meakur, allowing me to spend a casual morning in the symbolic Basque city of independence, Gernika (Guernica).

Gernika is the ancient seat of Basque lawmaking and the tree in the above photo of Gernika-Lumo’s coat of arms signifies the Oak of Gernika.  Traditionally, Basque assemblies would meet under local trees to discuss their fueros (code of laws).  Eventually, the separate assemblies were replaced in 1512 by a single assembly that met in Gernika.  One of the oaks, Gernikaka Arbola, survived until the 19th Century and the petrified trunk is on display under tight security at the current Biscay provincial assembly house. Subsequent trees have been planted from from the seeds of the original oak.

This tree amazingly survived the most infamous event in Gernika’s history, when Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe bombed the town at the request of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. The bombing occurred on a Monday, a traditional market day in the town, and was an early example of carpet bombing. Pablo Picasso immortalized the event in a famous anti-war painting: the original is on display at a museum in Madrid while there is also a mural in Gernika and another copy at the entrance to the Security Council room at the United Nations in New York City.

Back at the site of the Oak of Gernika, I took in the impressive stained glass ceiling inside the Casa de Juntas, which houses the Vizcaya (Biscay) assembly and the historical archive of the Basque Country.

With noon approaching, I set on my way out of Gernika and back on the Camino. The 15 km to Meakur was only going to take me 3-4 hours. Along the way I met a German pilgrim who was resting his feet in a field recently cleared by loggers.

Most of the pilgrims I met on my Camino were German but this one was different as he was closer to my age – most German pilgrims were in their 50s. He lived in Munich and was taking a few weeks holiday before starting a new job. He had become frustrated with his previous job and realized that his days consisted of sitting in an office, talking on the phone, and then going home to watch television and have dinner. He was disgusted about his sedentary, unhealthy, and uninspired lifestyle. His goal was Santiago de Compostela but he knew his lack of pace and time meant he wouldn’t be able to walk the entire way and would require a train or bus trip to cut some distance off his Camino. We walked and talked together for a few kilometers before arriving at a tricky navigational point on the day’s Camino. He didn’t speak any Spanish so I did my part to flag down some motorists to give us directions. The foreboding clouds from the morning had fulfilled their promise of rain and we were trying to find the correct way to Meakur and the albergue in driving rain – not one of my favorite Camino memories.

Meakur is actually off the Camino and honestly not worth the hassle of finding. The albergue is nice yet expensive, the village is tiny, and the nearby town’s restaurants did not open for dinner until the typically late Spanish dinnertime. Tonight’s meal was half a loaf of bread, two oranges, and a handful of sunflower seeds – early to bed to fight off a hungry stomach.

Biarritz, Navidades 2008, originalmente cargada por Rufino Lasaosa.

Una foto para un día: panorámica nocturna del Casino y el Hotel du Palais, Biarritz

Más fotos de Biarritz…

Voilà ce qui se passe quand on laisse André plus de trois seconde à côté d’un objet… il ne peut pas s’empêcher de le signer d’un Z de son Mr. A. Cette collaboration avec Quicksilver semble ouvrir de nouvelles portes à l’artiste parisien qui s’attaque maintenant au marché des Riders de la côte Basque. Du moment que la planche est bonne… que demande le peuple!

Pour surfer sur les autres créations, c’est ici

Biarritz – La Grande Plage, originalmente cargada por Rufino Lasaosa.

Una foto para un día: casetas de lona para refugio de bañistas en la Grande Plage de Biarritz

Más fotos de Biarritz

I have to give South Korea credit. It has subnational flags. (Suck it China – such a big nation, and only that one red and yellow flag to make fun of. What a waste.) In general, though, South Korea’s flags are super lame. Judging by the stark white, teal, pink and blue color palate, this flag is so totally from the ’80s. There must have been a flag designing contest right before the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988 (the ones when people freaked out when Greg Louganis got AIDS blood in the pool, the East German women cleaned up in swimming and Ben Johnson embarassed Canada yet again with his steriods disqualification) so South Korea could show its pride.

The symbolism is pretty perplexing. I think the pink ball and blue shape represent Seoul’s favorite passtime: Jai Alai! (There is a large Basque immigrant population in the Apkujong neighborhood.) The teal blob represents a deformed hand. The Koreans are very inclusive and accommodating to their disabled countrymen.

by Manzoor Chandio, Karachi, Sindh

I’m writing this with reference to many postings on these lists and some JSQM men’s talk with me…JSQM leaders are angry on English and Urdu media’s coverage of their rally in Karachi. Some Awami Tehrik activists are also worried about the press coverage of their long march reaching Karachi soon.

JSQM men asked me: Why English and Urdu media did not cover the event?Simply, because some old-style journalists think that JSQM is a separatist party. Therefore, it should be treated as an ‘anti-Pakistan’ party !!!

On which JSQM men said: “There’re separatists in UK, Canada, and several others countries across the world. Not only Irish Republican Army’s news are published on front pages of UK papers but also their leader Jerry Adams is interviewed and the same are published with his photos”…Canadian newspapers give proper coverage to Quebec separatists…So the Spanish newspapers do about Basque…Several other countries do not portray separatists in negative…

But here in Pakistan…it is problem to portray ‘freedom-seekers’ on merit…Editors of English and Urdu newspapers think that their spaces are ’sacred’ and the same should be used for Pakistan’s integrity.

Some of the JSQM men even asked me: should they meet editors and news directors in Karachi? I advised them that it’s better to write letters to them…Because mostly editors and news directors avoid meeting with leaders of political parties (personal friendships are exceptions).

I also advise all Sindhis living in foreign countries to write decent letters to editors and news directors, instead of condemning English and Urdu press. Give examples of separatists’ coverage in your countries…If possible send them some specimen for their concept clearance.

Courtesy: Manzoor Chandio and Sindhi e-lists.

I’m so pleased I was nice about Fabulous magazine last week – as they’ve used our lingerie again this week! Yesterdays edition included a 1940s inspired shoot titled ‘Fashion Sirens‘ which focused on figure hugging dresses and nipped in waists. They featured our Glamour Merry Widow which includes power mesh waist shaping bands for that vintage hourglass silhouette (the straps are detachable making it ideal for wearing with strapless evening gowns).

Lápiz, pentel y acrílico sobre papel.

Yes, We are finally sewing again! I want to apologize for leaving you in the middle of a sew-a-long. My break was good and it was much-needed. Now, I’m returning refreshed and ready for action.

Let’s review where we’ve been:

Day 1

 
Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

 Day 5

Today, we are going to join our basque pieces and our ruffle pieces.  Then, we are going to finish the bottom edge of the ruffle.

First, take your two basque (waistband) pieces.  Place them right sides together.  I serged them together, but if you have a regular sewing machine, stitch then zig zag over the edges.  Do this to both sides.  You should have a completed ring.

Next, find the top side of the waistband and finish the edge.  I serged around the circle.  If you have a regular machine, simple zig zag around the outer edge.  Make sure that your side seams are pressed toward the back of the waistband.

Here’s what you should have:

Here is a close up of one of the edges and the upper edge of the waistband.

Take all of your ruffle pieces and put them in one spot.  Take two of the pieces and match short edges.  Sew these together.  I serged them together.  Keep doing this until your ruffle pieces make a ring.  Make sure all of the edges are finished by either serging or zig zag stitching.

Press them all in the same direction.

Now, it is time to finish the bottom edge of your ruffle.  Locate what you wish to be the bottom edge.  If you have a serger, I suggest doing a rolled hem.  If you only have a regular sewing machine, you may: a)  zig zag around the entire bottom of the ruffle and turn up once, press in place and stitch  or b) You may turn up the raw edge twice and press in place and stitch.  The amount you want to turn up is really your choice.  I would probably turn them up about a 1/4″ to a 1/2″ each time.

Here is a looked at my finished rolled edge:

Now, you are ready to complete our next step.  Day 6 will probably come next week.  This will give all of the newcomers time to catch up.  Here’s a look at my ruffle at this stage of the sew-a-long.  It is hard to get a picture of the entire thing laid out

Remember, if you have any questions…please leave them in the comments section.  I’ll get back to you with the answers.  Happy Sewing!  It is good to be back crafting with all of you again!