The Basque Countryside and Family

We arrived in Bilbao last week and we have spent every single moment with our friends and family. It is beautiful to see my children with their grandparents and cousins speaking the language I grew up speaking.

I realized how much I missed the countryside and how much it draws me in.

The Basque countryside runs into the Atlantic ocean forming a beautiful landscape of green mountains, rocky waterfronts and soft sandy beaches. The weather has been perfect with cool mornings and warm days. Sunny, blue skies with the most relaxing breeze. The perfect weather for afternoon naps.

One of my favorite spots is my uncle Javi’s garden. He grows everything from tomatoes, peppers, swiss chard, lettuces, different kind of squashes, beans, strawberries, wild blackberries, apples, pears, asian pears, plums, nectarines, lemons, oranges and many more. His sheep are one of my favorite thing to photograph, although this time they were quite far away, a bit reluctant to get close to us. I’ll have to write a post just about them. What a beautiful subject.

We picked all sorts of great produce and have been cooking and baking with them.

Another one of my favorite places is my aunt Bego’s terrace where we all gather during summer days. In fact, I am writing from there and loving the sun on my back. She cooked dinner for us one night. A house full of people, kids playing and plenty of simply prepared delicious food. That is what Basque cooking is all about. Quality, seasonality and simplicity.

We also visited my amama Miren‘s childhood house where my great aunt Jone still lives. Their garden is breathtaking and to see walls full of photographs and family heirlooms always makes me go back in time.

I am off to tape Robin Food in a couple of hours. I will share more of the hundreds of photos I have been taking, but this is it for now. I can never get enough of home.

I think these images speak for themselves, don’t they?