We returned to Bilbao following our Thanksgiving travels with a focus on acquiring the last of the required documents for our residency-renewal application. That took more running-around than we’d predicted and the holidays led to some delays, but everything was submitted two weeks ago.
Our applications are now under review. While we await the resolution, we need to keep our calendars clear, as any day we could receive a request for additional documents that we’ll need to submit within 10 days. [And this may require appointments at local government offices or a trip to the US Embassy in Madrid.]
🎄in Euskadi
While we have a good-sized and well-equipped kitchen by European apartment standards, it’s definitely smaller than what we’re accustomed to in DC. As a result, we haven’t done much from-scratch meal preparation since our arrival in BIlbao. But, since our lack of travel coincided with the holiday season, we decided to use the time to embark on some cooking adventures.
We saved our big holiday meal for Christmas Day, as we spent Nochebuena [Christmas Eve] Attending a Pelota Vasca tournament and then stopped at some of our favorite bars for oysters and pintxos. [Though, I did get the Christmas dinner preparations started by brining the coquelet that we would be eating the next evening.]
On Christmas Day, after a hike to one of our favorite spots in Bilbao-proper, the Mirador de Artxanda, we begin to prepare our feast. After removing the coquelet from the brine, I covered them in butter and a garlic and parsley paste, before roasting them with lemon and onion slices. [Without some of our typical kitchen implements, we needed to get a bit creative in our preparation methods.] They cooked quickly and were absolutely delicious, as was the small tarta de queso, purchased from a local bakery, that we had for dessert.
New Year’s Eve
We were told that everywhere closes in the early afternoon on New Year’s Eve, so that everyone can get home to celebrate with their family. [And then go out to party around 1:00.] So, we went out for pintxos that afternoon before returning to our apartment to rest. [I’d also read that there are lots of neighborhood fireworks around midnight, so we decided to lay low for the evening and return to the streets later in the night.]
a drink + tosta for 3€
We heard fireworks of some kind and neighbors hanging out in the street as we rested, but noticed that it did get very quiet as the evening progressed. After making dinner, we decided to go back out around 10:30pm and were honestly stunned by how quiet the streets were. While some folks, likely tourists, were having later dinner at the few open restaurants, almost every bar was closed. We walked through Casco Viejo and over to Calle Ledesma, two spots that are normally filled with people, and both were completely empty. I took advantage of the opportunity and took pictures of the holiday light displays that didn’t have other people in them. But, it was honestly kind of creepy.
As midnight approached we made our way to the Ria where we had seen others hanging out. I was carrying a bottle of champagne in my backpack, so we popped it a bit early and hung-out among the other folks that had gathered there. As midnight approached, we noticed a small crowd forming on the bridge, many carrying their own champagne and packages of grapes. [It is a Spanish tradition to eat 12 🍇 at midnight to bring you good luck every month of the New Year.]
While there wasn’t any official countdown or celebration, a small cheer spread through the crowd as 23:59 became 00:00 and the fireworks began to be launched from every neighborhood throughout the city.
We only stayed out until we finished our champagne. But it felt a bit like the 4th of July in DC, as we could hear fireworks throughout the city well into la madrugada.
Tres Reyes
The holiday celebrations in Spain continue until January 6, known as Día de los tres reyes [others may know it as Epiphany]. While this isn’t a holiday that we celebrate personally, we did take advantage of another quiet evening to try our hands at making paella.
VERY IMPORTANT POINT OF ORDER: Paella is a Valencian dish, where rice is cooked with spices, alongside rabbit and snails. By this standard, any dish similar to paella that is made with other meats [such as seafood or chorizo] cannot be called paella. It is to be called arroz [rice].
On the eve of Tres reyes, we made our arroz with chorizo, shrimp, and chicken, and found it delicious. We ate the leftovers the next day and followed it with a dessert of roscón de reyes, the typical dessert of this holiday, which we had purchased from a neighborhood bar the night before.
The paella seasoning that we bought came in a box with five packets. So, although the holidays were over, we made it again the following weekend, and this time did so “authentically”. [Though, in addition to the rabbit and snails we included bacon, so it may still need to be called arroz.] We again found it delicious and will continue to explore different arroz options as we work to use all of the seasoning packets.
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