ummm..... vino

This week has been pretty eventful, despite the three days of constant rain. I have been told this time of year it rains all the time but not as much in the winter. Let's cross our fingers.

Yesterday, our institute provided one of the best afternoon activities yet...wine tasting! Wine is a very big deal here. For those of you who know about Rioja, you know what I'm talking about. Rioja is a huge and famous winery not very far from Bilbao where wine is produced from some of the most ancient and wonderful grape vines. I have yet to make a special trip out there. In the meantime, I will enjoy the copious amounts of Rioja wine offered and sold here in Bilbao.

All the students and some of the teachers walked to a place called La Carte de Vins, where a man from Bilbao owns a beautiful wine shop.



He took us all to the back of the store where a table and slide show are set up. He was excellent because he spoke Spanish so clearly and every once and a while spoke English-also very well. He taught us all about wine making with tons of scientific details and how to distinguish good and bad qualities of wine. We all learned so much! Of course, after our class we continued to drink some lovely Rioja wine. What a great experience.

Earlier this week, I visited some of the well known museums here. On Tuesday I went to El Museo de Pasos, which showcases the very important Holy Week in Bilbao. From Good Friday until Easter, the city has twelve processions within nine days, where more than 3,000 members of the Brotherhood of the True Cross take part. Many colored wood figures bearing characteristics of the Basque, Castilian, Levantine and Andalusian schools of imagery make this procession appear as a traveling museum.

Of course I won't be here when this procession takes place this year, so it was nice to get a feel for what the people see and how it all takes place. I am sending some photos through Shutterfly so you can see some of the artistic figures.

On Wednesday, I went to El Museo de Bellas Artes-this is one of Bilbao's most renowned museums. My guidebook puts it right up there with The Guggenheim. I was surprised to encounter such a modern, square-looking building in the middle of a town full of ancient and beautiful ones. I didn't spend too much time there because it is gigantic and I was starting to come down with a little cold. However, I did see some pretty awesome pieces of art. Most importantly an exhibit featuring Picasso and Debuffet. I mean, if I live on Calle Pablo Picasso, I think I am supposed to see some of his work while it's in Bilbao right? I thought it was a neat coincidence anyway.

I loved the exhibit. There were tons of people there from all over Europe coming to see some of these extremely famous pieces of art. Other paintings within this exhibit featured Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin and many more. These guys are my favorite so I was very happy! I will definitely have to go back to see more.

Tonight, once again we have vino y tapas in Casca Viejo. My profesora, Rosario, is leaving back to Italy tomorrow so I will have to spend lots of time with her tonight. For being a new Spanish professor, she has done a really great job. I will miss her.