Lesson 10: You can't compare apples to apples that look like oranges.

Last night I went to my first soccer -excuse me, football- game ever, at least since I last played when I was 12. It was loud. It was exciting. And it also included, arguably, the best player and team in the world.

If you haven’t discovered from my other posts, Bilbao is proud of everything Bilbao, especially their football team. In fact, Athletic Club Bilbao only has players from the Basque Country. While that could make them less competitive they have more chemistry than teams with twice as much talent. However, they had their work cut out for them as they were competing against FC Barcelona, the reining Champions League winner (best club team in Europe), and their standout Lionel Messi (FIFA Player of the Year two years ago).

Before the game, people traditionally hang out on La Calle Poza (left), just outside the stadium, for some European tailgating, which includes drinking heavily in the streets and chanting team fight songs. The stadium itself is also full of tradition. Built in 1913, San Mames is the oldest built stadium in Spain. Though it only holds 40,000 people, they know how to make some noise.

We had some pretty good tickets. We entered next to the President’s box, where all the owners of the teams and celebrities sit together. So they couldn’t have been too terrible of seats. But that didn’t stop us from jumping a railing to find something a bit closer to the field. We settled for a nice spot on the steps of the 10th row, inline with the front of the Box (right).

The first half wasn’t too special, besides Messi getting kicked to the face and bleeding. Both teams had a couple of chances to put it in the net, but neither capitalized. The game had gone on like most sports games I’ve been to. Everyone snuck in food and alcohol. I even saw an old lady with a flask, and an old man with a bota. The most peculiar was that everyone brought the same snack for halftime. Once halftime hit, people reached into purses and bags and began pulling out large aluminum-wrapped bars, which contained giant sandwiches (left). I even got one, with pork and peppers.

The second half was a bit more exciting. Barcelona scored less than ten min after the half, but Athletic responded just a few minutes later to equalize it. Then mayhem ensued. One of the Mames Mad Men jumped on the field waving an Athletic flag and was chased around for several seconds before finally being tackled into the goal. Though I was far away, I got most of it on video. I also got great shots of Thierry Henry (right) who was warming up right in front of our place on the stairs. This was his first game back since the infamous Hand-Ball, and when he finally walked on the field he was greeted with some “Boos.”

The game finished tied, which may as well have been a win for Athletic. Afterward I got pictures with a couple players from the team including the team captain, Etxeberria (left), then went back to join the people on the streets in celebration. It was an amazing experience live, but it’s hard to compare a football game in San Mames to, lets say, a football game in DKR. Some things that are consistent are that the people love their teams, the atmosphere is overpowering in both venues, and of course, how much fans cuss at the referees. Rather than that, it's too much trouble trying to compare football to football. Like apples and oranges, they are both good on their own.

Observation 3: Bilbao's individuality will touch your sole

After taking heed to my own warning to watch my step (so not to walk  into dog dung) i realized a peculiar thing, all the sidewalks have unique patterned-tiles. I asked Sara's Dad about these tiles and he told me that they could only be found in Bilbao and the surrounding area. This didn't surprise me one bit, after all this is Bilbao, a city that prides itself on doing things different from everyone else. I would compare Bilbao's love for itself somewhere along the same line as College Station's. However, that's about the only thing they have in common as College Station is about a tenth the size and its most prestigious building is the Bush Presidential Library.

The tile is about 1'x1' and broken into four identical sections. Each section resemble a flower sitting on a grid. There's a circle in the middle of each square with four more circles protruding from the center one at 90 degree angles. Lines shoot out of each of these circles towar- OK this is too complicated to explain, let me just show you.

There are you happy now? You made me steal a tile from the City of Bilbao just because you couldn't use your imagination and visualize it on your own. I could have been caught, and then who knows what they would have done to a foreign kid stealing from them, probably just throw me in jail. And Lord knows I couldn't make it in prison.

Sure I could have just taken a picture of the sidewalk instead of taking a tile off a stack next to some workers who were reconstructing a sidewalk and then stuff it into my backpack and then hike around all day with it between jobs making my back hurt for three days. Sure I could have, but I decided to risk my life for you and this blog, that's how dedicated I am.

Wine and dine

Do you know how wine is made? which grapes are the best to use? how the grapes ferment? how long the wine is bottled and why?  Who really cares? What matters is how the wine tastes, which Sara and I got to experience straight out of a cement fermentation block at a bodega in La Rioja.

La Rioja, also known as The Wine Country, begins just two hours south of Bilbao and is full of vineyards and bodegas (wineries). A month ago, Sara and I decided to go down there to have a peaceful, relaxing weekend. Instead we were greeted by one of the biggest party streets and found some of the most amazing churches in all of Spain.

We started in Logroño, the capital of La Rioja. After stepping off the bus we knew we were going to have a good time. The sidewalks were made from red tiles with grape shapes. There we made a pact to have a glass of wine at every place we stop at and to take a picture to remember each one. However, we weren't there very long, only to change buses to get to the little town of Laguardia, nestled between mountains and valleys and surrounded by vineyards.

The entire town of Laguardia is situated within its walls, which were once used to protect the town. The views are beautiful outside the walls, but all the appeal is found inside. Like other old sections of towns, the streets are narrow and the walls high to keep the town cool in the summer. There isn't even enough room for cars to fit down the streets, which is part of the reason they are not allowed inside the town walls. The other reason is because the entire town sits on a comb of caves, and too much weight would make the caves and town collapse.

The caves, however, have become natural cellars for Laguardia's wine. There are several bodegas found within the walls that store their wine in the dark, damp caves. When we first arrived to the town we made our way to one of these bodegas to learn more about the process, as well as get a few samples out of it. When we entered the bodega (Fabulista) we were immediately hit with the smell of the grapes fermenting right in front of us. The smell is nauseating and sucks the oxygen out of your breath and replaces it with an intoxicating vapor.

Once the tour began they led us down into the caves and cellars. Although the tour was incredibly informative, Sara and I were more preoccupied with taking photos and sampling the wines. Of the more than 20 people on the tour, we were by far the youngest. The others, mostly seniors, kept making jokes about how we were going to get drunk. Little did they know that we were already half-way there after our stop in Logroño earlier...

After we left the bodega, we joined the locals and headed to the bars for more wine tastings and pre-dinner pinchos. This included my first try of fried pig snout, which is much tastier than it sounds (as long as you don't notice the hair that is still attached). We ended up making it an early night and headed back to the hostel/restaurant for dinner and some much needed rest after the long day of traveling.

The next day we got up early to explore Laguardia in the daylight. For such a small town, it was really bustling. Part of the reason so many people were there, was to walk inside La Inglesia de Santa Maria de los Reyes. From the outside the church doesn't look like anything of significance, but inside its doors is one of the best preserved Spanish porticos (doorway). Built in the 14th century, it is over 600 years old, chiseled completely from stone. It was also painted twice, once after it was built and again in the 17th century. The stonework and painting is spectacular for its size. It is about 30 feet tall with exquisite carvings of Mary, scenes from her life, and the 12 Apostles (each one standing over five feet tall).

The inside of the church is just as spectacular. It was used as a fortress when the town was attacked so it has very few windows and therefor very little light. However, the light that does pour in reflects off a giant 24 karat gold alter piece, leaving the cavernous interior in a golden glow, and leaving me wondering if they would notice a piece of the corner missing...

After exploring the church we headed back to Logroño where we had reservations for the night, but not before stopping in another bodega on the way out. This bodega had a tour in English and we got to sip wine straight out of the giant cement blocks that it was fermenting in. We thought it was one of the best wines we had tried the whole trip.

Back in Logroño, our hostel was located perfectly in the Casco Antiguo (old part). It was one block away from the gorgeous cathedral and a block away from the famous Calle Laurel (Laurel Street). The best way to describe Calle Laurel is to picture 6th Street in Austin in the middle of Nappa Valley. The street is no more than a couple of blocks, but there are easily 50 bars on the one street alone. Unlike 6th St., where bars have multiple stories and rooms and can take up a whole block, these bars only have... well, a bar. That's why most people are out in the street enjoying a glass of wine and a pincho. It's the ultimate Bar Hopper's paradise.

Speaking of pinchos, each bar has its own "specialty" pincho that is posted on the door or can be found in a bar guide located throughout the street. We tried a different specialty and glass of wine at every bar we stopped at. We tried grilled octopus with milk and honey, fried sheep neck, several different sandwiches of hams and strong cheeses, but our favorite was the grilled shrimp and pineapple.

Unfortunately, most places in Spain are closed on Sunday, so we weren't able to do much our last day, except eat and drink of course. We walked around the city and walked into a couple of churches (I witnessed my first Spanish Baptism), but we missed an opportunity to explore caves or check out Dinosaur tracks because they were too far from the city center. If you ever go to La Rioja and save some room after the eating and drinking, take a few minutes to check those things out while you're digesting.

As for La Rioja, I was pleasantly surprised. The food was cheap but delicious, the wine flowed through the streets, the sights were spectacular, and the people only cared about enjoying life. How could they not? La Rioja was the perfect weekend expedition.

Lesson 9: 500g = ~1.1 lbs

I have never been much of a cook. I really never needed to be. With Chef Mom at home, dinner was always expected. Even in college, when I lived on my own, I rarely, if ever, cooked anything seriously. For two years I lived on dorm food, the other two years I mostly ate freezer food, fast food, and sandwiches. Or I went home to raid the fridge or mooched off my roommates (Thanks guys, you know who you are). So here are three reasons why waiting til Spain to learn how to cook was a bad idea:

1) Most of the food, brands, and packaging are different. So even if it does exist, I wouldn't know what it looked like or where to find it. For instance, my first culture shock was that milk is stored at room temperature on the shelf, not refrigerated. It was even more difficult to figure out which was whole milk and which was skim. Since I don't think I like either (and I never remember which is which), I just go with the one in between, semi-.

2) All instructions are in Spanish. The only thing I understand is numbers. So i guess that 5 means cook 5 min. This could explain why a lot of my food has tasted under cooked.

3) I don't know what measurements equate to. How should I know how much 500g is or 500mL? I don't even know how much 8oz is.

Which brings me to my story: Stephen's First Time Making Spaghetti.

After being criticized by Sara and her Father about my lack of cooking skills (repeatedly), I decided I would prove them wrong. (1st Mistake. See footnotes.) I thought pasta would be the easiest meal to accomplish and I had already bought the ingredients. I had a 500g bag of Spaghetti noodles, a 500g package of ground beef, and tomato sauce.

I decided to get the meat started first and began cooking it. No problem. I even added some pepper and spices, 'cause I'm that good. I then started with the noodles. I got the pot boiling, added some salt and pepper and then poured in the package of spaghetti.(2) 8 minutes later the noodles were ready, so I grabbed the single jar of tomato sauce and poured it on top of the noodles(3) and began stirring in a large bowl. I was curious why the noodles weren't really taking any of the orange sauce color and decided I hadn't bought enough sauce. So I stole some from my roommate (4) and used it as well, even though it was a different brand.(5)

After adding all the tomato sauce I could find in the house, I continued by pouring the pan of meat in to the noodles.(6) I stirred again, and felt fairly confident about my concoction. However, the spaghetti failed the taste test. Of course I had to make a point(7) to Sara and her Dad, so I scarfed down noodles and meat bits until I was full, which still didn't make a dent in the bowl. If I calculated right, I made about 2.5 lbs worth of terrible spaghetti and ate about a quarter of it.

I of course learned my lesson, and since then have made some great improvements. I cook spaghetti about once a week and the package now lasts me around a month.

1. Being competitive outside of sports has always gotten me in trouble. Just ask me about the story of how I fell through a window...

2. Yes, the entire 500g package of spaghetti. If that doesn't surprise you, than you are either a monster or one twinkie away from cardiac arrest.

3. Suppose to cook the sauce on the side first, preferably with the meat.

4. The problem with stealing other people's food is that you tell yourself you're going to replace it, but you never actually remember to do so.

5. Don't mix brands. Especially when one is some orange concentrated goo that looks like the leftovers of some nuclear experiment.

6. Forgot to drain the grease first, although it probably helped for this situation.

7. O dear, pride takes over again. Some people never learn...