We began the day today by eating another great breakfast at the hotel, and we then got to take a nice morning walk through Bilbao. The weather today was perfect, no rain all day, which is rare here. Our group started at the market, which was very cool to see how people shopped for food traditionally. It was a butchers shop, deli, and a bunch of places to get food all in one building. We learned about the tranformation of the market over the years as well.

After the market, we had the opportunity to do a cooking class. We got to cook traditional basque dishes, including tortilla de patata and pinxtos. I am trying to learn more cooking for next school year, so this was very useful for me. I also work at my family’s restaurant, so it was an interesting experience to compare and contrast to. Just as music is an experience not bound by language, food is a great way to experience culture. After this, we got to walk around the city more, and made our way to the incline. Again, the parallels to Pittsburgh were evident, as this reminded me of mount Washington. It was a very scenic view and great place to take the entire city in.