Castle, Guernica, Italy and France!

So, I told myself I wouldn't get this behind on the blog. Wrong. But when I look at the date of my last post, it seems I wouldn't have that much to catch up. Also wrong.

We've done so much in the past 10 days, so let me start chronologically:

Castillo de Butrón
March 6, 2009
Determined to find this well-hidden and enormous castle in País Vasco (which I swear my Lonely Planet Spain guide says is still open to the public) Cade, myself and the Swedish girl Lina set out through an interesting and crazy journey. We started out the rainy day by taking the subway from Bilbao to Larrabasterra, then walked half a mile to the bus stop where this tiny little bus came and picked us up and dropped us off in the middle of NOWHERE. Seriously, there wasn't a road sign, bus stop or anything. He just stopped, dropped us off, and told us the general direction of where we could find the castle. We then found the little pathway (with goats!) that led us to the moat of the castle (yes! a real moat!). When we got there, all the gates were shut and there was no one around - more than a little strange, since Lonely Planet really hypes this thing up as a beacon of "medieval fantasy". We went in the little general store than was close to the entrance, and asked how to tour the castle. Unfortunately, she said, it's been closed for three years now! Even though we didn't get to see our castle's interior, it was still remarkable, especially with the moat. Here are the pictures.

Guernica
March 7, 2009
I went here with the group of chicas (the Swedish girl Lina and five Brazilians). Guernica was heavily bombed during WWII in the Franco era's infancy. Not to crowd you with history, but the town really is a somber reminder of what intolerance can lead to, and I believe it's toured heavily, mostly because of its Museo de la Paz (Museum of Peace, which we also toured). It's an interesting day trip if you're in the area and interested in the subject. It's intensely quiet. Here are pictures.

Parents come to Bilbao (and an abortion rights parade!)
March 8, 2009
We were lucky enough to have my parents come visit us this past week, which was a blast to say the least. I think they might have gotten just as culture shocked as we were when we first came here, (especially with the food!), but I think they got used to everything being so different. We had a blast showing them around the town and it was so nice to be able to be with my family finally, after not seeing them since I left Texas in January. I missed them dearly, and loved that they came all the way here to see us. :) I realized how much I missed them when we were walking down the street on a sunny afternoon. That day, thousands of woman stormed the streets for abortion rights for women. Right now, a woman can only receive permission to abort in cases of rape, or when the mother's or child's life is in danger. It's really actually interesting to see Spain go through this transition for women's rights (especially now, with the ever-more-progressive president Zapatero whose sweeping social changes make me wish Obama could do the same without being chastised), and their campaign centralizes on "Mujeres en huelga" (woman on strike). BUT, even though I'm constantly enthralled in Spanish politics and could write about it FOREVER, I'll try to stay on topic. ANYWAY, the parade of abortion-rights activists were going down the street, and my mom got so excited and held my hand and walked in the middle of the street with them. So, yes, I've now "officially" participated in an abortion-rights protest for Spanish women and it feels good!

Pisa, Italy
March 11-12, 2009
We all flew out of Bilbao to Pisa, Italy on Wednesday, where we enjoyed rich Italian food (I hate to admit it, but much better than Spanish food), Italian people (also a little friendlier than Spaniards - no offense), and Italian culture (which I fell in love with). I think if I knew Italian I might want to live there. It was absolutely beautiful, and so clean. Of course, we saw the leaning tower and took the obligatory pictures for that, but what I really enjoyed was walking down the adorable cobblestone streets and admiring the Italian architecture - everything from the quaint little shops outside to the massive Cathedrals. See for yourself with our pictures.Tuscany is truly beautiful, and even though I haven't yet been to Rome (we're going next month), I'd venture to say it's even more breathtaking than there.

Volterra, Italy
March 12-13, 2009
After bidding farewell to Pisa, we crammed in our rental car for Volterra, where we all spent an amazing few days relishing unbeatable Tuscan scenery, food, ice cream and sunsets. If you've read Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series (which I'm still working on), you'll know Volterra from the books. I think that's part of the reason why my mom wanted to visit this quaint walled city, which sits guarded atop a mountain overlooking a valley that stretches across the horizon. I'm so glad she did. It's classic Italy in its most literal meaning - the only evidence that the modern world has even remotely affected it is the occasional car you see pushing its way through the cobblestone streets and old buildings. What especially piqued my interest were the ancient ruins of the Roman theater (pictured here), where you can literally imagine the actors and audiences those many years ago. My camera doesn't even do it justice, but you can see the pictures here. You have to see this place, and what's more - you have to see this place at sunset. As the sun crept down below the mountains, not only did golden and yellow hues of light litter the purple sky, but you could see the Mediterranean and even two Italian islands off in the distance. Neither pictures, nor words, give it justice. But what's maybe most interesting about this walled city is it's nowhere in the Italy guidebook. So many people want to tour the big places like Rome, Venice and Sicily, without realizing that sometimes the most beautiful places are the least publicized ones. That's my favorite kind of beauty, and that's what makes me so grateful my parents were able to come here. They showed us a place (which has absolutely been my favorite so far, and more than likely Cade's too), where we probably otherwise would have never gone, and may have missed out on its beauty forever.

Paris
March 14, 2009
My mom got to celebrate her birthday in Paris, where we found ourselves at the end of our vacation because that's where they got on their flight back to Texas. Since our first experience with Paris wasn't what you would call ideal, we didn't have high expectations for our return trip - but with my parents, they can always find the most off-the-wall places to go! Like Volterra, the catacombs is rarely mentioned in any Paris guidebook, but it's well worth the visit and 4euro to check it out. Unlike the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame where flocks of tourists come daily, the catacombs is more low-key, but twice as intense. It's estimated that a nearly 6 million bodies are there to this day, which isn't a stretch on any imagination given the near-hour you spend walking through the tiny pathway - all the while just inches from skeletel remains of people who lived hundreds of years ago. Yes, a little morbid - but fascinating. No pictures of that, though, because they don't allow flash. Sadly, my parents took their subway back to their hotel near the CDG airport, as Cade and I stayed at a small 6-person hostel near the train station, where we took an early morning train the next day back home. I actually cried as they left - I didn't want the week to end - but I'm so happy they came and visited me and miss them already. You don't realized how much you miss seeing someone until you're away from them for months at a time. I hope they're reading this. :) If y'all are, I love you! After they left, Cade and I walked around town, checking out some things like Notre Dame (while mass was going on - really interesting...) that we missed the last time we were there. Here are those pictures.

Whew! I bet that was as tiring to read as it was to write, so I'll end here. Jason and Jenny are in town and are staying with us for this week, and we're all flying to Lisbon, Portugal tomorrow, so we'll report on that when we get back on Saturday. :) Hope everyone is doing well back home!
-Bana