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Made in Spain
Whether you’re an expat chasing the dream, a traveller inspired by European elegance or a foodie seeking the perfect paella, Made in Spain is your insider’s guide to all things chic, cultural and quintessentially Spanish.
Join hosts Nalini Sharma and Laura Senior García for a glamorous mix of travel, food, fashion and the rich cultural narratives that make Spain a global icon of style and sophistication.
Nalini is a former Canadian TV presenter, who has previously covered red carpet and live events, and major news stories. She channels the same wit and curiosity to the Made in Spain podcast, offering sharp, unscripted takes on everything from Spanish traditions to expat surprises.
Laura, a seasoned leadership coach and global traveler, shares her deep, first-hand knowledge of Spain—not just as her birthplace, but as a country she continues to rediscover. With a British father and Spanish mother, she considers herself a global citizen with deep roots in Spain. Her insights connect Spain’s rich past with its modern evolution, offering a unique and personal perspective on life, culture, and luxury in Spain today.
Every episode of Made in Spain explores the country’s hidden gems and exclusive experiences, but it’s more than just a guide—it’s a conversation.
The show’s Slice of Life segment gives listeners an unfiltered peek into Nalini and Laura’s daily experiences – the joys, frustrations, and unexpected moments that make life in Spain, and beyond, full of surprises. Sometimes, it’s about the reality of settling into a new country – at other times, it’s about their travels, funny mishaps, or behind-the-scenes stories from researching the podcast. No matter the topic, listeners feel like they are right there with them, stepping into their world.
Made in Spain
The Basque Country: Spellbound in Bilbao
The moment our plane touched down in Bilbao, we knew we'd entered a different Spain. Gone was the Mediterranean sunshine, replaced by a lush, green landscape that immediately signaled we had arrived somewhere special. This unique corner of the country—the Basque Country—holds centuries of distinct cultural identity, and we couldn't wait to discover what makes it so fiercely independent.
Walking through Bilbao's streets, you're immediately struck by the signs written in Euskera, Europe's oldest language with no relation to any other tongue in the world. This linguistic anomaly reflects the Basque people's determination to preserve their heritage despite centuries of pressure to assimilate. From street conversations to menu descriptions, the language surrounds you as a constant reminder that this autonomous community operates with its own cultural heartbeat.
The jewel in Bilbao's crown is undoubtedly the Guggenheim Museum, an architectural marvel that transformed this once-declining industrial port into a world-class cultural destination. The Frank Gehry-designed titanium structure shimmers differently depending on the light, creating an ever-changing exterior that matches the dynamic art housed within. Inside, we found ourselves literally dizzy from Richard Serra's towering steel installations and mesmerized by Rafiq Anadol's AI-generated landscapes that blur the line between technology and art. At just €15 for adults and free for children under 12, this world-class museum offers an accessible art experience that appeals to visitors of all ages.
Beyond the Guggenheim, Bilbao itself has undergone a remarkable metamorphosis. Once shadowed by economic decline and the activities of the ETA terrorist group (which only officially disbanded in 2018), the city has reinvented itself through strategic cultural investments. Modern trams glide past beautifully maintained public spaces where families gather, while pintxos bars serve the region's famous small plates alongside txakoli, a slightly sparkling white wine grown on distinctive trellised vines.
We were particularly struck by the warmth of the Basque people—from taxi drivers who continued offering recommendations long after we'd reached our destination, to locals who greeted us with genuine hospitality. This welcoming atmosphere stands in sharp contrast to historical tensions, suggesting a region proud of its unique identity yet ready to share its treasures with curious visitors.
Ready to experience this cultural enigma for yourself? Subscribe to our podcast for more insights on Basque culinary adventures, art discoveries, and perfect day trips from Bilbao in our upcoming episodes. Have you visited the Basque Country? We'd love to hear your experiences—share them with us on social media!
made in spain podcastera welcome to made in spain. Very good job, laura.
Speaker 2:A lot better than the way I would have said it in my head I'm kind of going a mix of Spanish and Japanese, that's very different, so we'll talk about the Basque language.
Speaker 1:But first of all, welcome to Made in Spain. I'm Nalini Sharma.
Speaker 2:And I am Laura Senior-Garcia, and we are your co -hosts for the Made in Spain podcast.
Speaker 1:Welcome to season three, season three we're doing a little bit of a mini series, so we're going to focus on the Basque region, particularly Bilbao and the surrounding area. We're going to cover culture. We will cover art, food and day trips. So our experiences.
Speaker 2:And our first episode of this little mini series which will cover, like our first kind of three episodes of this season, and then we're going to go on to other topics that we'll talk about towards the end of the episode is called Bilbao and Beyond Basque Culture, History and the Art that Changed Everything.
Speaker 1:Absolutely okay. So I'll give a little bit background here in terms of the Basque region. So it is in the north of Spain, it is its own autonomous community. It looks vastly different to me than well. I mean it's green. First of all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so very, very green, we're flying in from Alicante, or sorry, valencia in this case to go to Bilbao. Describe to our listeners the change in scenery from what you saw when we took off from Valencia and what you saw when we landed in Bilbao.
Speaker 1:Well, here sun, there cloud.
Speaker 2:Just in a nutshell Same day, 45 minutes away.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly so. I mean, the north of Spain is typically cooler and rainier. We were very lucky that the few days we were there we had sunshine. So yeah, we were lucky for that. But the Basque region technically has three provinces. Navarra is considered. It's not in the autonomous community of the Basque region, was it at some point?
Speaker 2:Because they share a lot of cultural elements.
Speaker 1:I think before it really was handed over to under spanish rule um the basque area, that part of spain was ruled by the in the kingdom of navarre from ad 846 until it fell under spanish rule to the crown of castile in the early 1500s. So the three provinces that exist right now are okay I'm going to say this completely wrong. But Gipuzkoa, bizkaya and Alaba, alaba.
Speaker 2:And again, the interesting thing is, I think the discussion comes in whether you're saying it in Basque or if you're saying it in Spanish. I need help with both. Yeah, so we're getting to a whole different level, but that's just maybe a little bit. So, nalini, do you want to share as well why North, like, why did we choose to go North? Obviously, we still have a lot to explore in this region, in the Southeast region. We still have a lot to explore South, but we decided to go North.
Speaker 1:So why go north? Why go to Bilbao specifically? I've always wanted to go there since I've moved here, and particularly to visit we'll talk about the Guggenheim. We'll do a bit of a deep dive in a couple of minutes, but I've always wanted to see the Guggenheim, I just think, you know, I thought it would be a real cultural experience. And, yeah, when, when we said let's pick somewhere, we sort of said we need to go north. We've been south, we've been, you know, we've in our own area, but it was time to go north.
Speaker 1:And I just want to talk a little bit just about the, not just the history of the Basque people, but for our listeners to understand that they've had a very fractured history and they've really fought for their own sort of identity, their own cultural identity. I mean, not all of it has been. I mean it's been also brutal under, you know, with the ETA, and they actually did not officially disband until 2018. 2018. So, from the late 50s up until 2018, this is what that part of Spain had to deal with the terrorist group ETA. But outside of that, when you look at their history, it's almost as if their culture, their language, it's been. They've tried to take it from them, like integrate speak Spanish, you know, you know you should speak, but they have a completely different language, which is basque basco and I mean they're.
Speaker 1:The language is called yeah, so we call it basco.
Speaker 2:Uh, in spanish you would call it, but it was kera basco, right? But it is very, very interesting because you know it's, I always reflect on it. It's the Basque country, right, it is a country within a country. It is, however, that's controversial it is controversial and we're not going to get into the politics of it. We're as we always say. You know, we're not historians, we're not politicians, we're definitely not.
Speaker 1:What do you call it that we said last time cocktail mixologist you know, we found that out, yeah, our little research, our experience, and I will say that their language it is very different. I mean, once you start, you know, you get on the highway and you start reading the signs, it doesn't look anything like Spanish.
Speaker 2:No, it absolutely doesn't. So for those visiting Spain for the first time and you think, oh, you know, I'm going to take a trip to the Basque country, you know, to Bilbao, to San Sebastian, to any of these beautiful places, and expecting to practice the Spanish that you learned in high school, I would say forget about it.
Speaker 1:Good luck with that.
Speaker 2:And also because when you start getting into certain regions don't get me wrong most Basque people and I would say most speak Spanish. It's not that they don't speak Spanish, but some by choice, some because, like you said, it's the tradition, it's the roots, the same as in, you know, in Catalonia they speak Catalan. You know they choose to speak Basque and you know that's fine and, as you said, it is a totally different language. It sounds very, very different.
Speaker 1:Completely different.
Speaker 2:I actually, as a child growing up in Benidorm, you know when we were on the beach and there was a lot of people from the Basque country that visit this area Right, particularly, like you said, because it's sunny here, it is sunny, it's raining there, you know, like a quick little funny thing, you know, when I said, when we were in Bilbao and, you know, went to her dressing appointment, and the lady said, you know where are you from? And I said, oh, this region here, and she said, oh, from the sun. She literally said from the sun, because you know, it is very much, most of the time, more cold, more gray, etc. And I just think that it is very fascinating that I remember growing up listening to people speak in Basque and I didn't know what they were speaking. They didn't look, you know, from an Asian country or anything like that, but it sounded it almost sounds more like Japanese like I said at the beginning.
Speaker 1:So in Spanish you would say adios agur. See, it's not the same.
Speaker 2:It's not even close. Yeah, and you know, we tried to learn a few words while we were there. I spoke with someone the other day who's from this area, that lived there for over 12 years. It is just a hard language for us to learn and for people that haven't grown up around it to learn Right us to learn and for people that haven't grown up around it, to learn right.
Speaker 2:So lots to talk about. We'll do more of a deep dive on the experiences that we had. Again, we only had a chance because we were there for four days to explore Bilbao and surroundings, so that's what we're going to focus on. As Nalini said, uh, culture, art, food and some of the day trips and some of the great dates you can take your, you know our own ideas our own, like you know what the kind of dates we would like to be taken on.
Speaker 2:I would say even though we're both married yeah whatever by our husbands too. It was like husbands can take you on dates. So that's kind of the. Those three episodes are focused on that because, as we said, you know to say, hey, we're gonna go on like look into and research and cover the Basque country in four days. Forget it. It is like a mini country you know.
Speaker 1:And just one final note on their language it is considered the oldest in Europe. Really, it is considered the oldest language in Europe and it has no relation to any other language in the world. They don't know where it came from, so that's you know, that's, I think, part of the Basque identity, their language.
Speaker 2:And because it is as old as it is and because obviously things have evolved. The one thing I will say that's quite funny is you will hear words that sound like a Spanish word that has been turned into a Basque sounding word, like supermercatua. You know which is like supermarket? Or you know you'll hear different things, like when you say mobile phone, television, etc. It's things that obviously did not exist hundreds and hundreds of years ago that now exist and it's like well, well, we can't just say you know in the middle, so we have to make it sound, you know, like it's part of the language, right?
Speaker 1:So it is very, very interesting, yeah, all right, let's get to a little bit about the history of Bilbao.
Speaker 2:Okay, so let's talk about Bilbao. So first of all, I have to say that it's been pretty comical. Coming back from this trip. A lot of the people that we know that have asked oh so how was the trip that have? Been to bilbao before and I was like oh, it was great, it was beautiful, it was this. It was that. It's like did you go to the same place that we went to? And I think part of it is because we were so lucky with the weather sometimes you cannot underestimate that right we got there it was sunny, obviously our predisposition as well.
Speaker 2:So not saying surrounding areas are the natural part, but the city itself, right. So we loved it, absolutely loved it, and I think bilbao is gorgeous. I'm gonna just say that and we'll get into a little bit more of how the city has evolved in a moment. But I do want to give just some brief historical background. So it did begin in 1300. And it was founded by Diego Lopez V De Addo as a merchant town.
Speaker 2:So it is a strategic location in the Nervion River right, and it did allow them to grow very much. And the port is actually, you know, very, very close in terms of, you know, you, havecho. You have, uh, very close access to the sea and it was the iron town, you could say, so they did export a lot of iron ore and it was a lot of the maritime trade was actually happening from there as well. So very industrial city, right. My understanding and I know we're going to get into the Guggenheim a little bit more is that before the Guggenheim was built, the city was not in the best place. No, it was in a bit of a really big time decline and it would have definitely, before the Guggenheim not have been considered a tourist destination.
Speaker 1:No, not at all. I think the history of it is quite. It was becoming derelict, yes, and also what we were discussing, the ETA, yeah, it was a campaign of terror to liberate the Basque region, to become an independent state. So you have decades long campaign by the ETA. I think almost a thousand people were killed in their campaign over that period of time. I actually know somebody who told me the story of how his parents were approached and basically blackmailed into doing things for the ETA, otherwise they would hurt your family, yeah, because his parents were professionals.
Speaker 2:So I will say that I think, like with any terrorist group, which is extremely sad, anything taken to an extreme is going to hurt a lot of people, of course, and it's going to really impact the culture of the place where you are. So, if I think about you know, if you mentioned the basque country 20 years ago, the first thing that people would think about in the rest of spain was the eta, of course, and they would think of you know well, why would you ever go there? You know, spanish people are not wanted there, right? And it is very, very fascinating to me that this time, because I I did visit, uh, the basque country quite a few years ago and I remember the feeling of a little bit feeling like hostility, right of I actually I remember asking someone for directions and the person turning around to me and answering in Basque. They knew how to speak Spanish.
Speaker 2:I knew they knew how to speak Spanish, so I learned, and the next time I asked in English. You know that was the last time. This time is a totally different experience. I don't think we ran into one person that made us feel unwelcome.
Speaker 1:Except in our hotel. Oh yes, that made us feel unwelcome. Except in our hotel? Oh yes, that's another story, but We'll get that into the slice of life.
Speaker 2:We're not going to recommend the hotel we stayed at for sure?
Speaker 1:No, we wouldn't. But I would recommend every citizen that we met there, because they were so friendly, so helpful. I mean over helpful actually.
Speaker 2:Just not the autograph Mariette staff. No, sorry, we're going to get on the. We're going to get blacklisted by Mariette now. But regardless though, as Delaney said, I actually am going to give the award of friendliest taxi drivers ever to the people there?
Speaker 1:No, they would come home with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. So anyway, let's talk about the Guggenheim and what in on earth is the connection between the Guggenheim and Canada.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, the architect of the Guggenheim, frank Gehry he was born in Toronto sort of relocated. Such a coincidence.
Speaker 1:Yeah strange coincidence, but he is, I think, lived in Los Angeles, so he's Canadian-American, born in Toronto, spent time in America. So the idea for the Guggenheim being located in Bilbao. The government decided that, listen, we have to do something with our city. It is falling into ruins. We have to deal with this. Eta let's. Maybe this partnership came about, that they would invest the money to build this, I mean, spectacular museum to attract tourism. And it wasn't just about the tourism industry, it was also that it was a chance for them to rebuild their city, to claim it, to rebuild it, put it on the map as a cultural destination. They built transportation, they put trams in, they made sure that there were other art installations and, I think, gave their city and the people there something to be proud of and move away from this. Oh, the only thing that you'd ever see about Bilbao was the ETA.
Speaker 2:So let's put it this way If I lived in a city and it had the Guggenheim, I would be extremely proud of living there, of course. It pounds down. So I'm really curious First impression when you saw the Guggenheim in person, when we were in the car and we were driving into the city and you saw it, what was your first impression?
Speaker 1:Well, it's so because it's a building. I mean, if anybody I mean I'm sure people have seen it, you know, even online, or those who have visited it's not like a building you will find anywhere else. And Gary actually had to compete. He was it was a competition, I mean, submit your proposals to do this and he was the one that was selected. So it took I think it was from 92 to 97. Um, he was very proud that it finished on time and it finished on budget. So the budget was about 90 million and, yeah, he came that may be a first for a construction project here in spain.
Speaker 2:I'm just gonna say it, sorry, but it it is. It is an amazing building and I will say this you know, I've had the the opportunity to see the Burj Khalifa, all these like iconic buildings around the world, but the Guggenheim just hits different because, first of all, it's not about height, it's not about you know, it's just very special. And the other thing that our photographer told us about that, you know, maybe we'll talk a little bit about Olga at a later point is that it really depends on what time of the day you're standing outside the building.
Speaker 2:It looks very different because the walls are kind of made out of metal, so depending on the light, and the lighting outside, the building takes on a different color and almost a different shape.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and a different color and almost a different shape, absolutely in a different feel. I mean, she encouraged us to come back, go back in the evening, um, which I think we would have done. I I have a slight injury, so my walking was not the best.
Speaker 1:Um, it was not you did a lot of walking though we'll talk about that injury a later day, but it's yeah, I could not walk really all the way back. It wasn't far from our hotel and then on another trip. I would highly recommend keeping your ticket. They give you a band when you leave. Keep your band on and just go back in the evening, even if it's just to sit inside and just people watch. It's just an amazing building structure and probably one of the first times in my life I would say that I visited a museum and come out with like a feeling I could not agree more.
Speaker 2:And the other thing as well. I don't know how to describe it, but it doesn't really feel like a museum no it feels more like an experience.
Speaker 2:I was, yeah, I was gonna. So, you know, if you go, if I think of museum and I think of, like you know, the art museums that I've been to particularly, yes, some of the paintings you see or some of the things you see are going to make you reflect in one way or another, but I don't think I've ever been in a museum that actually made me feel like overwhelmed, dizzy, goosebumps, and that is actually what happened, and not just saying it because we're recording about or anything like that. You know, we're going to talk a little bit about the installations in a second. The other thing as well is that you can go there for coffee, for breakfast. There's a lot of places in the museum you can access without having to buy a ticket.
Speaker 1:Well, on the outside they actually have, I guess, I guess, smoke show. We. We did try to stay for it. However, that particular, I don't know it wasn't working or it was late and we just said, okay, let's go inside, but they have it, uh, normally every hour on the hour. So even if you don't go in the museum, there is a lot to see and just hang out. There's a nice little park they have there, and I think that's what the city has done really, really well. There are a lot of public spaces for people to just sit. You don't have to pay money, and it's green and it's pretty and it's landscaped really nicely and, you know, you see kids playing and I think that's really important for cities. I think that's what we lack here, actually.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a little bit for sure. And I think the other thing as well that I would be, you know, very proud of, if I think of, like, the way that the Guggenheim is going about things is, you know, these days it feels like it costs a lot of money to be entertained. So like, let's say, for example, if you go to a concert, you know Taylor's are selling tickets for $400 or whatever, everything feels expensive and the tickets to the guggenheim are 15 euros. If you're an adult yeah, uh, I believe they have a discount for seniors if you're, uh, younger than 26, they're seven and a half.
Speaker 1:Seven and a half and I think, if you're, uh, under 13 or under, 12, under 12, it's free.
Speaker 2:It's free, yeah. So you know you can go for not like you can take the kids for nothing, and I do think they're going to be entertained. And we had that range of ages right to kind of gauge how interesting this was. Because we had your two sons, and one of them is early 20s and one of them 13.
Speaker 1:And we took off in separate directions and when we came back we thought, oh, you know, they probably left ages ago and like they had taken in just as much or more than we did actually, I think I think they took in more than us because, you know, I confession, no, I said, I said after you guys had better learn something, right, like come out of here with something, not just something from the gift shop. And then they came back and then they were quizzing us did you see this, did you see that? And we're like, yeah, yeah, it was very interesting, yeah it was. And they're like, ah, you guys didn't go to that area, but they really took in all the the different um installations. They remembered a lot of what they read. I don't know how they did it so fast, but we were just kind of I think we were just like, oh my god yeah, I think the amount of times that we said, oh my God and wow, oh my God, wow the other thing as well.
Speaker 2:So anything else before we move into the kind of installations that were there, right now?
Speaker 1:No, I just think it's, you know, a fantastic place.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely Recommend it. Do it. I would really say, if you have a chance, if you're in the Basque country and, by the way, this is a recurring theme in our podcast in general get the ticket in advance, because you know they do sell out by the time we went on there. We were limited to what times were available and obviously I think they do a good job of trying to make sure that it doesn't feel overwhelming the amount of people in there, trying to make sure that it doesn't feel overwhelming the amount of people in there.
Speaker 1:No, I I think they do an excellent job of that. Because you were, you are able to enjoy the installations, move through the museum. There was never, uh, a time where we felt uh, crowded or the only thing you had, well, we had to line up for was this um light installation, but it went very quickly. Every you're allowed one minute in there, which it wasn't my favorite, and also you're not supposed to touch the bulbs, which we did, so we got in trouble.
Speaker 2:If you go check out our TikTok, the Made in Spain podcast, you will actually see a little video of us inside the installation and we're just kind of going. I was going boop boop.
Speaker 1:That was literally the noise we were making. What are we supposed to do?
Speaker 2:with these and just in our defense, there's no signs anywhere. These things look like they are designed to be played with. So, you know, you think, oh, maybe it's interactive. And I just started, like you know, like touching the bowl and then suddenly all of a sudden the woman opens the door. She goes don't touch the installation.
Speaker 1:I'm like, I'm sorry, oh, and we're like, oh, but when you do touch it, it lights up. Yeah, it does light up.
Speaker 2:So go figure, I don't know. Go check out the TikTok. And I do want to mention that you know, going forward.
Speaker 2:We are doing it today. We are going to be streaming the behind the scenes of, you know, the podcast recording on Twitch, so join us for that too. So let's talk a little bit about the installation. Okay, I want to warn parents and people with sensory needs and sensory sensitivities that you really do need to be aware of where you're stepping into into the Guggenheim, because there are some of the exhibits and the installations that if you have any kind of like sensory overload issue, it is extreme I, I would say so.
Speaker 1:I mean, if you have vertigo, do not go in the instant. The permanent installation on the bottom floor.
Speaker 2:Not that it's so terrible, but, uh, in terms of balance it's just at one point I remember you actually reached out, held my arm and said is the floor moving?
Speaker 1:Yeah, like is it me, are you dizzy? That's what I said. I'm like, are you dizzy? We both were dizzy. Well, we can talk about that. That installation is called the Matter of Time, so we were discussing what our favorite installation was.
Speaker 2:Was that the one by Rafiq Anadol?
Speaker 1:No, oh no, that's the other one, that's the AI generated landscapes. Yeah, so my favorite installation was it's called the matter of time. It's the permanent installation on the ground floor. It is by American sculptor Richard.
Speaker 2:Serra yeah, so that was the metal one, the metal.
Speaker 1:So I think there's eight or nine various sculptures and I mean, I don't know a lot about art to kind of encapsulate what it means, but I do know that they were constructed in Germany, had to be brought in on cranes. They actually, in the construction of it, they managed to put air bubbles in the steel so that it wouldn't be as heavy.
Speaker 2:Very interesting, I can't even. When we saw it, the first thing thing I asked is this has to be a permanent installation. Yeah, like, how are they moving these things?
Speaker 1:they're just so heavy you enter one and the woman that we were working with, um, she said, you know, of course we walk in. We're like, oh, wow, cool, and we were ready to, I don't know. Move on to the next thing. She's like, no, no, you have to go in them, like okay, so we start walking, thinking, okay, we're walking through this, and say, uh, are you dizzy? Yeah, are you dizzy? The floor is flat, the you're not walking on an angle, it's just the curvature of the actual walls in there, these steel walls, and it kind of curves almost like a shell. Yes, you know, and you kind of walk around, it's like a little maze and we, in typical fashion, 30 seconds in, we're like let's turn back.
Speaker 2:He's like where is this leading? Yeah, and someone said no, no, you have to walk all the way through the end, this older gentleman.
Speaker 1:He's like no, you have to walk to the end, like okay, if he can do it we can do it.
Speaker 1:So we went and once you get to the end, it's again the floor is flat, it is not on an angle. You feel actually a sense of relief that, wow, you've kind of gone through this. Like you know, you're a little bit dizzy and and yeah, I don't know, it was very. It was an experience. It wasn't just looking at, for example, the Mona Lisa. You know you stand in line, you're like quick, quick, get a picture and then you move on and you don't feel anything from it.
Speaker 2:There was definitely a lot of feelings involved in that one. I would say for me, the one with I cannot remember the name of the artist the one with the colored balls.
Speaker 1:Oh, you like that one.
Speaker 2:I liked it, but I think my kind of most shocking one was the Rafiq Anadol the, the one that merges the AI generated oh, that one yeah so the big, big screen, right, and it was architecture mixed with data, mixed with AI.
Speaker 2:I'm a big fan of artificial intelligence and what it can do and what it will do, and I think, seeing how it was turning all these data points into different things that kept changing and you know, just, it was basically like a huge, massive living painting, you know, and also, at the same time, blending in some of the architecture from Frank Gehry.
Speaker 1:I thought that was absolutely unreal, but you will if you. I mean, if you happen to go in the next few months and the exhibit is still on. You do feel a little bit dizzy in that as well. I mean, they have places where you can sit. People were sitting, I would have sat, but we didn't have. I couldn't find an empty seat, actually, and people also sit on the floor along the walls. It's a really super chill place where it is not overrun. I don't know what it's like in July or August, but when we went it was, I think, perfect.
Speaker 2:I believe that towards the middle of this week, because they had the final of the European League, I did hear it was absolutely jam-packed, which I was surprised.
Speaker 1:I was going to say something not very kind, but I'm not going to say it. We won't say it. Beep, not going to say anything.
Speaker 2:There you go, so we're moving on to our Slice of Life. Slice of Life. Slice of Life, season 3, episode 1 what are we drinking?
Speaker 1:Chocoli. I don't know why we should be shouting about it. It's fantastic.
Speaker 2:Is this the discovery For you of the Made in Spain podcast so far From a drink standpoint, and we do love our Made in Spain cocktail, but this is just so fresh I don't know how else to say it. So you can see, and I don't know if I'm like hallucinating with it, but you can see it's got bubbles, a little bit of bubbles, tiny.
Speaker 1:And it's very crisp, it's very dry, it's not too sweet, it's so good it has far different than the gas station wine I drink. Our famous Diamante gas station wine which you can buy at the gas station, and that's why I call it gas station wine.
Speaker 2:There's that, and we got gas station ice, you know, made famous all around. But this Chacolio Chacolina, you know, it's so good and I don't know what it is, but it's not, let's say, as popular Like. Let's say as popular like. Let's say, for example yes, obviously in the Basque country you go anywhere, they're serving chacoli with your pinchos, and all that everywhere. But you know, in general you have to look for it. Let's say, you go to a restaurant and you're not in the Basque region, I don't think you'd find it. You do find it but you have to look for it. Whereas, for example, the albarino from galicia, right, the rias baixa, that's everywhere, everywhere. But this, this stuff is really really good.
Speaker 1:Well, it's grown with a particular grape from the region, and the grapes are grown on trellises. Oh so it's not as if you would picture like a vineyard with the I don't know. Like the vines lower they're actually grown up. I don't know why, but is it produces a microclimate?
Speaker 1:That's what I read for the grapes, the fact that their trellis is, I guess, a bit covered. The fruit is covered, so it makes its own microclimate. And then you get this the wine really wasn't recognized with the DOC or the official recognition For until, I think, the 80s. So this was just something that was made in people's homes. And once it got an official recognition it started to be mass produced and of course I mean literally.
Speaker 2:You just go into any pincho bar and you just say un chacoli and I should remember that very kind gentleman that was in the bar and he kind of cut ahead of us a little bit and he all of a sudden realized he cut ahead. He didn't even say it, he actually just went like that, let's get his finger up and he goes. They know what I want here. So I'm, I'm a, I do come here often, and he got a chocolate and I thought that was so. Just if you're looking for it, if you, it is T-X-A-K-O-L-I and then either chacolina with an N-A at the end.
Speaker 1:Or sometimes you'll see it with a C-H, but in Basque, it's with a T-X, which is very non-intuitive.
Speaker 2:It's like chacoli, but anyway, so chacoli, and we also have a pincho, a pincho okay, okay, try it. I made this this is Like a chin chin of the pincho Cheers.
Speaker 1:This is just a very simple. It's a what were we having? Tuna on bread? Oh, is it good, mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Okay, you know what this pincho is missing Hot sauce, a pincho, oh Pincho. It's missing what the word means Pincho, it's a little stick, yeah, so we are trying to travel on a budget.
Speaker 1:Trying is a key word, trying very hard. We booked the least expensive flights that we could find. So how much were the flights? Four people 143 euro from valencia to bilbao, including tax. So we chose valencia over alicante, simply because of the flight time it was a little bit later in the afternoon, which I think worked out really well. And then, of course, there's the old um. You know the game of the suitcase overhead luggage has to fit under your seat or pay.
Speaker 2:So we decided uh, but if we wouldn't have taken any of it, it would have been about 32 years per person, which is pretty impressive right.
Speaker 1:I mean, I don't know how you travel without a suitcase for four days. It's impossible.
Speaker 2:But I think some people can do it. I I've seen people I mean we can't do it. Obviously other people can do it. I I think this may sound a little, but I think some men may be able to do it. I don't know, I need like many pairs of shoes, so and okay.
Speaker 1:So we decided that I took, and I told my kids too, because they're over packers. One of them knows who he is. You get one suitcase. I don't want to hear any arguing for both of them. Yeah for two of them. I don't want to hear any arguing For both of them. Yeah for two of them. I don't want to hear any arguing. Deal with yourselves. So they managed to fit everything in and of course.
Speaker 1:Hey, we got one suitcase to share between us, Exactly. So we paid for two suitcases, which wasn't that bad, Half each. I use those I don't know what do they call them the bags where you use the air pump and you compress everything.
Speaker 2:So it's like a vacuum packer, right, yeah, and you can just fit a bunch more stuff in your suitcase, yes, so I think the packing is important. Flights If you are flying into either the Basque Country or other places in Spain, and not because we love the airline, but just for tips Vueling, which is V-U-e-l-i-n-g. Yeah, they're a spanish airline and it is cheap. It is not. I wouldn't say it's as bad as some of the others no names.
Speaker 2:No names named it's not as bad as some of the others, but it is definitely very affordable and you can see a lot of the country. And again, just be very smart and don't try to, you know, beat the system. If you are taking hand luggage, measure it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and for those who carry front backpack and back backpack, that's not happening. Yeah, don't try that.
Speaker 2:For sure, clothes packing. As you know, you mentioned about the vacuum and stuff, but if I do think, based on all the conversations we had while we were in Bilbao with people, you have to be ready for it to get cold at any time, so you need a jacket. You know, even if it's summer, you need to bring something with you because it can get very cold very quickly and it can get very hot very quickly as well.
Speaker 2:I borrowed a blazer from you, yeah, and you had a little trench coat but I would recommend, if it's summer or spring maybe, take a lighter color laser that you can just throw over a dress, shorts, whatever, and shopping's really good there as well, really. So you know that's also. Uh, you know, something to note is you can do a lot of really good shopping, and the other thing is shoes, shoes, which is, I think, for every woman.
Speaker 1:The major issue is shoes, because you, in the back of your mind, you always think oh, I really want to bring my heels, because maybe I'll go out at night which, by the way, there's a lot of we're going to talk in the next episode about.
Speaker 2:You know really fancy michelin star restaurants and stuff you know you don't want to go to a michelin star restaurant special occasion in your new balance trainers, your nikes or whatever. So it's understandable to want to pack something a little fancier, but you have to bring flats with you. So we've adopted this bring the flats, but you know with you, right, and then you can just get changed when you get there. It is pointless to try and walk in heels around that city if you don't want to kill yourself.
Speaker 1:No, I brought, uh, my new cowboy boots and my trick for that was that?
Speaker 2:Shout out, Brian Stepwise, yeah.
Speaker 1:I put the clothes inside the boots, so I managed to fit like six outfits.
Speaker 2:Nalini was so much more efficient than I. So, yeah, that was my little tip. So other things around. Traveling around the actual city of Bilbao and nearby the subway is very good, very cheap, very intuitive. It's not, you know, hard to get around. No, it's like a couple euros per person.
Speaker 1:It's much easier actually than taking an Uber.
Speaker 2:An Uber will be 20 minutes to go a block we actually booked several Ubers and canceled them because they would not show up, right? So I actually think we only had one Uber the whole time because they kept canceling. So, and the taxi drivers are super open to giving you recommendations about where to go, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, your ride finishes and he's still talking.
Speaker 2:You're like. Ok, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, thank you, bye. And this is a really interesting um, I think, a really unique tip that we're going to share, and this is from Granada as well as Bilbao, and that is for a relatively affordable price. And this is not if you're podcasting or doing social media. This is even if you're just going as a family trip, because, keep in mind, for us it might be not so difficult to get on a plane and go somewhere inexpensively, but if you're traveling from far and you really want to preserve your family memories, think about hiring a photographer.
Speaker 2:Slash you know yeah video for one hour and it is affordable yes, and it usually ranges anything between 75 and 180 to 200, depending on the length of time, right, the amount of pictures from what we've seen. But we did, like Nalini said, have the experience in Granada so a shout out to Juliana and in Bilbao with Olga, and it was great because you don't have to worry about taking pictures. You don't have to worry about oh, let me hand my phone to some stranger that may run off with it, you know so that we can all be in the picture.
Speaker 1:No, if there's one thing that you spend money on, I would say look at that, so you find the photographers typically, and you I actually just go on Instagram or TikTok and go like, let's say, photographer Bilbao right or photographer Granada, and then you see a bunch of people show up, you decide, oh, I like these pictures, I like this style.
Speaker 2:Hey, do you do sessions for social content or let's say, for example, for family shoots and stuff? Most of of them do you know. I think most photographers are very versatile anyhow, but just ask, and I do think it's a very recommendable thing.
Speaker 1:Like Nalini said, it's a great memory and you don't have to do the work and they send you the pictures and the video after. You can just keep it as a in your, you know, for memories, or print a picture, whatever it is. They just look way better than if you're trying to figure it out on your phone and um, I would also say that it is uh yeah, it's just an affordable option to, in a way, to create memories absolutely all right.
Speaker 2:Sentence of the day of the day. Okay, so today's sentence of the day is very short, it's only two words, and I want you to try and figure out what it means. Oh gosh, don't worry I did not go with Basque because I just or I'm scared, I'm sorry, I it's just too complicated, so we're sticking with Spanish. So the sentence is abro melon, so abro, open melon, open melon great oh, you Great oh you're starting again, so good, okay.
Speaker 2:So what do you think? So I maybe go, and then I go abro melon, open melon. What do you think it means?
Speaker 1:I don't know. That's really hard, Like things are crazy.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's my answer for everything. So in English you would say something like I'm about to say something really controversial oh, I'm about to say something that is like a bit of a loaded one right and swanage would say okay wow, like. So it's like at the beginning. It's like it's kind of like hey, heads up, this is about to get a little iffy, so, so, abromelón, so it may be something that's like a topic that has a lot of feelings, emotions or politics, or controversy. Abromelón.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's a nice one. Cheers to that. I like that one. It's cute, I can remember that yeah there you go.
Speaker 2:Two words Bye everyone, agur, agur. Bye everyone, agur.
Speaker 1:Agur. The Made in Spain podcast is an Everything's Rosie production with executive producers and hosts Nalini Sharma and Laura Senior, with special thanks to production assistant Ayrton Nath.