Workshop in Rhapsody

Biarritz - I'm in France!

Like I said earlier, when we were in San Sebastian we took a day-trip into Biarritz France where we found another beach, macaroons, a chocolate museum, and the language barrier like I never felt it before.
I am going to elaborate on the language barrier and macaroons first. Anyway, so Biarritz is mostly famous for making amazing chocolate and sweets. We went into a sweet store and I decided to try a macaroon because we had been seeing them all over and I had heard good things. I got into the store and realized I didn't know how to say anything. It was so crazy to all the sudden really know how it felt to be unable to communicate anything meaningful. Luckily after I struggled with a jumble of English/Spanish/french - like sounds the clerk started speaking in English. I got to brush up on some French phrases because in a couple weeks I will be spending six days in Paris.
Ok, back to the macaroon. They come in all colors and look like little hamburgers and I decided pistachio would be a safe bet for something I would like. I took one tiny bite and instantly all my worries I had or had ever had melted away. It stills seems almost impossible that anything could be that delicious, but it was.

Beach!

Chelsey earns an epic win for this photo: when I jumped my feet were dry and I landed in water and she caught the perfect moment in between.

Bat wings are back! So I was not sporting my sweater that day, but I think Katy makes up for it with her awesomeness and this picture.

We tried to get a classy group picture at the beach, but with me involved and encouraging rapid changes of pose it quickly degenerated. Still, we are a pretty cute bunch.

I don't really know what Michelle is doing with her shoe, but it makes this picture for me.

Also, this is how I believe in finishing photo shoots.

I also took advantage of my sandy sketchbook again to draw the view of some nearby buildings on a hill. Ten minutes later...

Most artistic shell on the beach which is currently in my possession.

Pigeon I scared

Chelsey is a babe and here is some more proof. I just found her like that, can you believe it?

Michelle is amazing, happy, and hilarious. This is how I found her:

And, most importantly, this is how it looked when we found the Chocolate museum.
*picture courtesy of Chelsey

It was a very educational visit. First we watched a video explaining how chocolate beans are grown, harvested, and turned into delicious things. Then I learned that chocolate drink made with 100% chocolate is more delicious that any other kind of chocolate drink. Then I learned that you can put all kinds of things into bars of chocolate like crystallized ginger.
I decided to take some of my knowledge with me.

San Sebastian - My first jaunt into the Bay of Biscay

After Bilbao we spent a couple days soaking in the sun on the (still cold) coast of the Bay of Biscay. It was nice to get some good relaxing into our stressful schedule :)

Yes, it was freezing, but totally worth it.

One of the group made this perfect inscription, and it made me realize that the beach is just like a giant sketchbook which led to this:

Which, when everyone started standing around taking pictures and staring led to this:

A couple guys passing by saw the crowd fascinated at what I was drawing and came down to check it out. We talked for a while and tried to teach each other tongue twisters in our languages for a while. eventually they had to go because they were part of the Carneval celebration in the city. They invited us to meet them at a bar later, but we decided to forgo that. Anyway, hooray for fun friends in Spain!

Early the next morning we were off exploring again.

We went to France in the middle of the day, but that evening brought more fun picture-taking opportunities and we saw some of the toned-down craziness of Carneval.

Here I had fun messing with the shutter speed on my camera to give Chelsea wings. What you don't see is Michelle frantically flapping her white-clad arms in the background. It was a very entertaining experience.

Next Morning: Children awesomely having soccer tournaments on the Beach!

Erin, Emily, Michelle, and I decided to hike up to the monolithic statue of Jesus on the other side of the beach. Here Emily and Michelle try to catch up after taking a wrong turn. Many turn astray while seeking Jesus, but there are always those to help them back on the path.

We made it! It was a glorious adventure for a glorious morning.

Afterward, I hiked all the way to the other end of the beach to see some sweet and famous iron sculptures.

I raced back to the hotel and barely got myself together on time to meet at the bus. Luckily I have friends who make those rides entertaining.

Bilbao

Bilbao is a lovely, modern (for Europe) city that just feels vibrant and creative. I still made my visit to the local Cathedral where I admired the triangle stained glass window, but Bilbao was about the Guggenheim and creativity.

Here we are feeling the vibes outside of what will soon be the largest fresh market in Spain.

And here Michelle and I are having a contest to see who can make their lips the largest. We were focusing on the top one here.

Now we have moved to the bottom lip. So, cast your votes! Who won?

Guggenheim!
The best part about this museum was definitely the building and the permanent exhibits built to accompany the architecture. I wasn't too impressed with the rest of it by comparison. The museum was constructed by Frank Gehry who wanted it to catch the light like fish scales and look like a boat on the river. I feel like it was a success.

In front we found this gigantic sculpture of a dog covered in live flowers. It is titles "Puppy" which when pronounced in Spanish sounds like "poopy" fun times.