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27 Jun 2017

Titan Travel Basque Tour 2017

By basque

Basque Tour with Titan Travel

Its been a great few weeks now working on our amazing new Basque Tour with Titan Travel. A seven-night Basque Tour seeing all the main sights of the Basque Country with Titan Travel, a large UK Tour Agency. The Stunning sights of the Spanish Basque Region…

First complete tour in the Basque Country

This is Titan Travel’s first complete tour in the Basque Country. Additionally, 2017 is the first year they are offering a complete 7-night Basque Tour via their website and via the printed catalogue. which also gets delivered to over 70,000 homes in the UK.

Your base for the week is Bilbao the dynamic, modern yet traditional Basque Capital. Visit the historical cities of Donostia/San Sebastian, world-renowned for its amazing Basque Food. Synonymous also with belle-epoque architecture and its tremendous beach.  Another day trip sees us in Vitoria with its beautifully preserved old town, squares, and Cathedral of Santa Maria. Also walk around Bilbao with the iconic Guggenheim Bilbao museum, and its river regeneration, recognised the world-over by urban planning experts.

In addition to cities, the Basque Tour includes day trips to Gernika and its Casa de Juntas Basque Parliament. Here we learn about and see ‘Guernica’ – Pablo Picasso’s most recognised and discussed artwork. Travel through the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with its rolling green hills, beautiful estuary, and bird center. Finally, we visit the spectacular La Rioja Alavesa region, currently producing some of the world’s best red wines. Come and join us at two of our favourite bodegas Torre de Oña and Casa Primicia!!

Hotel

Choice of accommodation is very important on a 7-night tour. Therefore we have selected a modern, four-star hotel in the centre of Bilbao with easy access to all the sights. Its close proximity to the excellent new Tram in the centre of the city, makes it so simple to get about. So important for a free evening or afternoon to wander by yourself or with your partner. Half-board is provided as is private transport throughout, with a dedicated driver and Tour Manager. Additionally, the guides are chosen for their excellent English, friendly attitude and close attention to the needs and wishes of the groups.

Basque Tour 2018

Looking forward. Titan Travel are offering places on the 2018 tours already. Twelve different weeks are offered across the spring, summer and autumn. Our photos will give you a great idea of whats included!!

  • BASQUE TOUR
  • BASQUE TOUR
  • Casa Primicia Basque Tour
  • Gernika Basque Tour
  • Bilbao Basque Tour
  • Torre de Oña Basque Tour Laguardia
  • Basque Tour Vitoria

 

04 Apr 2017

Basque Country Food. Where is it from ? pt. 2

By basque

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Food…thats it!

Where does our amazing produce come from and how do we use this great resource. Part 2 of our quick look at Basque Country food, produce and gastronomy with the chef José Pizarro, owner of 4 restaurants in London.

Alava, Inland Basque Country

Sometimes overlooked by visitors keen to see Bilbao and San Sebastian, Alava is the 3rd province of Euskadi, Basque Country and is completely landlocked. This is wine country, and many visitors come to learn and sample our famous Rioja Alavesa wine However, it holds many surprises as Jose found out!

Salt Cheese and Txakoli

Hidden in the green valleys lies a geological gem, millions of years old but very relevant today. The Salt Pans of Añana are marvellous. A fountain (or 3) of saline liquid, used over millenia to cure, store and flavour the Basque peoples food. Today we can visit and learn about this amazing place but also taste it in our own Denominacion de Origen Idiazabal Cheese. We visited our good friend Leire who is the only producer of this most Basque of Basque cheeses who uses this salt in the production of her award winning cheeses. The surprise here though is its not only Idiazabal that one tries… 🙂

Close by and another good friend sees us visit BarraskiBide, a farm producing organic snails, a popular dish all over Spain and especially those who are fond of Biscayan Sauce…. Nestled under the Sierra Salvada mountain range, the snails are well guarded so they don’t escape….

And what would one choose to wash these delicious products down with? Well our own Txakoli Arabako. The third region with the D.O. to produce Txakoli wine in the Basque Country. Our friends at Astobiza and Beldui are perfect hosts and enable Jose to learn taste and discuss the amazing advances this wine has experienced since it became regulated in the 1980’s.

Sleeping it off….

After all these foodie gastronomic exertions, sometimes there is nothing better than a siesta… However, when staying with us here at Basque Experiences we have our own favourite places, and top of the list in Bilbao is the great Hotel Miro. Opposite the iconic Guggenheim Bilbao, the service is what you would expect from a small privately -run hotel. It never fails!!

Just a short blog extolling some of our food highlights here in the Basque Country with Basque Experiences. But keep your eyes open for a foodie surprise in the coming weeks…..

 

    06 Dec 2016

    Bilbao. River, Industry and Regeneration

    By basque

    Bilbao and the river…

    Bilbao is a city that needs it’s river. Without this small river flowing through the green valley, the city we know would not be what it is today

    It all started in 1300 when Bilbao was given ‘town’ status by the Lord of Bizkaia, Don Diego Lopez de Haro. He needed a port to export castilian merino wool to northern Europe and ever since the history of Bilbao and the river has been entwined.

    Together they have seen war, trade, shipbuilding, mining, industrialisation, wealth, immigration, decline, and eventually regeneration. An awful lot for what is a pretty nondescript small river that flows for some 50km into the Bay of Biscay.

    Walk to Bilbao

    All this history can be seen, felt, smelled and absorbed by walking along the riverbank. An open, living book passing mediaeval ruins, steel works, furnaces, working suburbs, shipyards, abandoned lots, bridges and redeveloped barrios.

    Starting at the UNESCO listed Bridge of Bizkaia, the only Industrial monument on its list in Spain,  we stroll along the riverbank suburbs that form the city. Through Portugalete and into Sestao, a tough town where there is still much deprivation. Onto Barakaldo, a big town in itself  with functioning shipyards, abandoned warehouses and huge cranes. Past Lutxana and Burtzeña both almost forgotten about barrios. Past Zorroza and along the bank past Olabeaga before you reach what was the port  in the 19th and 20th centuries. Now you stand at the heart of the urban regeneration so successfully undertaken and where the Guggenheim and the Euskalduna Palace stand.

    Pintxos and Basque Food

    This is a great walk, which with stops for drinks and snacks could take from between 2 -4 hours. On surfaced roads and paths, all you need is your camera and an idea of where to go! Its another of the walks and hikes we at Basque Experiences love. Different, off the beaten track, and a chance to see and learn about the Basque Country on foot. Get your timing right and we will be on time for a few of those famous pintxos!! So get in touch with us regarding your Tour of the Basque Country and combine it with some trips with us to discover our famous Basque Cuisine and Basque Food…..

    On a sunny day the pics are great!!

     

    15 Nov 2016

    BBC Radio and Txoko – Basque Dining Clubs

    By basque

    Txoko – Cooking Clubs in Basqueland – BBC Radio 4

    The Txoko – A truly fantastic programme transmitted by BBC Radio 4 ‘The Food Programme ‘ on Sunday 13 November.

    https://player.fm/series/food-programme/cooking-clubs-in-basqueland

    or try this…. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0829dcq#play

    This made my day when I heard it earlier, a perfect, well written and researched programme by the BBC none the less on one of the things that I love so much about my Basque Country. A real insight into what a Txoko is, and what happens in them. Some great history and context from some real experts such as Heston Blumenthal (I didnt realise he felt so at home here!!) and the author Mark Kurlansky.

    Basque Experiences

    Sometimes I wish more of the world knew about what we are like here and what it means to be Basque. Mark Kurlansky makes a couple of good points when he says there is ‘a desire to have their own special way of doing things’ –  ‘they need to be allowed to be who they are’….that is so Basque!!

    This goes a little bit of the way, although they didn’t mention the reason why they started. In many cases they were similar to trade guilds seen in the City of London. Centuries ago, men who worked in a similar trade would come together to meet, discuss business in the towns on market days. These men would cook and dine together and more often than not stay the night! So the txoko or dining society was born!!

    For me its one of the best plans we can show you here in the Basque Country. If you want to see it in the flesh, well, you know who to get in touch with!! http://basqueexperiences.com/be-delicious/ Basque Tour.

    • Private Basque Tours Txoko
    • txoko basque
    • txoko basque
    • Txoko Evening
    • Txoko Evenings

     

    14 Nov 2016

    Basque Experiences at WTM 2016

    By basque

    WTM 2016 – World Travel Market London

    For the second year running now, Basque Experiences has participated in the WTM World Travel Market held in London. It is the leading global event for the travel industry to meet industry professionals and conduct business deals.

    Invited by Basque Tour, the Basque government’s department of tourism, it gave Basque Experiences the chance to increase market presence. Working on the stand with other agencies, operators and DMCs from here as well as Basque Tour is a real boost. With the experience of last year, I made sure we had a lot of meeting lined up with buyers and operators from our target markets.

    Good contacts

    In total I made good contacts with around 50 other companies from the US, UK, Spain, and Canada. Of these contacts I would love to see us being able to collaborate with all of them!! But thats not realistic, but with 5-10 I would be delighted, and a mixture of Agencies and Tour operators from the US and UK would be perfect! Hopefully 2017/18 will see Basque Experiences offering more made-to-measure tours to new visitors, and being the Basque Country DMC for specialist private tour companies.

    Its not all about just meeting new clients though. It gives you the chance to learn about new trends in the industry and new offers in your own market. I came away with  some good ideas on how to move forward and promote our project.

    Here are a couple of pics….. Basque Experiences working hard offering private small group tours to the Basque Country, Bilbao, San Sebastián, La Rioja, Vitoria.  🙂

    See you at next year’s WTM.

    • WTM London 2016
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