Happy Hallowewwwwww

The texture is what I think chewing wacky noodles would be like. I understand white and yellow teeth, but...blue and green? From drinking lots of Slurpees?  Once you get past the aesthetics, they're actually strangely addictive. Like...candy.

Larceny, Valour

I previously commented on Kilometroak, an annual walk-a-thon event to raise money for Basque-speaking schools. This year's event took place in Tolosa, where many participants were wearing t-shirts in support of Herrira, a prisoner's rights group that has recently been subject to some difficulties. 

Herri kirolak, because we do sports differently in the country. You know you want to try it. 

Another big deal issue not only in these parts but in the Spanish state in general is the LOMCE, or the Wert educational reform law. There were some really large protests/strikes in public education facilities everywhere last week. People are upset because the law cuts funding to public education as part of the current austerity measures, and it also undermines the ability of autonomous communities to oversee their own education policy, especially with regards to linguistic requirements. Bear in mind that schools in this region are often bilingual (Basque-Spanish) if not trilingual (Basque-Spanish-English), and the law is attempting to take away autonomous community authority and assert the supremacy of the Spanish language.   

Some really good music with an accordion and a nyckleharpa.

Lots of people. Possibly too many. And it was extremely loud. But the incredible support that people show for their schools is pretty impressive.

  

Sagar Uzta

We had such a good time last year at the Astigarraga apple festival, we decided to go again. Hard cider production is a major industry in this town and the region in general. 

An apple pie competition

Basketmaker

Idiazabal is a local cheese that goes well with cider (and everything else).

Astigarraga has its own cider museum.

The main attraction is the cider kiosks. Buy a glass for 3 euros and you can try as many hard ciders as you want.

An exhibition on grafting techniques.

Mosto, or freshly pressed apple juice (the word can also refer to grape juice). Sweet, unfermented, unfiltered cider is not common here like it is in the northeastern U.S. (I am hoarding a bottle from a recent artisan's festival for the right occasion) and it is a novel product for people in this area, who pass it around during this festival after the apple crushing demonstration.

Distributing juice from the press.

A page from a really cool cider dictionary published by the cider museum. It has information about how cider is produced, local apple varieties, apple pests and pathogens, etc. A totally great find. And motivation for improving my Basque...

Donostiako Auzoak: Antiguo

The Antiguo neighborhood of Donostia feels like its own separate city with about 21,000 residents. It begins just behind the Miramar Palace and stretches out over a mostly hilly area.

Because much of Antiguo is built on a hillside, and the buildings are often very close together, walking through this area feels as if the city is rising up to meet you, as in the movie Inception. It would not be possible for this to work in a slightly colder climate since ice would make it impassable.

Antiguo is said to have begun as a separate town in the 1200s in association with a monastery and it eventually became part of Donostia. I have met people from this neighborhood who will tell you they are from Antiguo, not Donostia.

The Park of Serafin Baroja, named in honor of a Basque writer/mining engineer who had several children who also became famous writers. Many notable artists and writers from this part of the world have a day job and a serious artistic devotion to the Basque language that they express on the side. Antiguo has a very urban feel at the bottom of the hill, but as you climb, it is possible to run into extensive forested sections with few or no people.   

The neighborhood pelota court. Serafin Baroja is said to have coined the term Americans are more familiar with w/r/t this game, i.e., "jai alai," which is actually somewhat nonsensical in Basque.

A poster on the door at  the church of Saint Sebastian, Martyr at the edge of Antiguo that says "I want to work." The sponsor is Caritas, a Catholic relief agency that has had its hands full even in these parts of late.

The most distinctive building in Antiguo is the seminary at the very top of the hill. Built in the 40s to train priests from around the Basque Country, the back half is now devoted to an elementary school as religious vocations are now even less popular here than in the U.S.

A view of the Igeldo neighborhood.

Antiguo is full of alleys and unexpected vantages, and it is easy to find strange new places every time you go there, only to follow the hill back down to the city center in a few minutes.

Astundu

September 11th is the day of the Catalan nation (see AP photo), and this year, Catalan independentists formed a human chain that was hundreds of kilometers long. Naturally, not everyone was happy with this show of sentiment. People in our neck of the woods are watching closely and expressing their own views on the proposed reforms. The retirement society building across the street posted this sign indicating their lack of support for those who would cut their pensions. Coincidentally, Lasarte hosted a heavy metal concert this week, bringing out the best in William Wallace-style fashion, goat head-adorned microphones, "shrunken" (beauty school mannequin) heads and burning crosses. It was a fete for all ages, which had to be moved under the tents/plastic wrap when it started raining. 

Berrobiko festak

Berrobi is a small town; a lot of it looks like this.

St. Augustine is the town patron saint (not my first choice, either).

Winners of gizon proba (man test), a team stone-moving contest, spray champagne in celebration.

Road Trip!!!1!

Constitution Square in Danville, KY

NNY is quite a distance from Kentucky. But well, adventures. Here are some postcards.

Ithaca Falls. As a young person, I climbed down the side once. When there was less water.

No mortar at all. Shaker Village, Pleasant Hill, KY

Pioneer Playhouse, Danville KY

Special oxen at Pleasant Hill. The Shakers actually first settled in NNY, a widespread trend among other utopian/religious groups, for whatever reason.