Some Things That Can Only Be Seen in the Basque Country
 

A list...

- The only underwater cellar in the world, maturing wines under the sea at 60ft under sea level in a beautiful bay.
- The largest Rolls Royce collection in the world, open to the public and all in perfect running condition, in an amazing castle in the woods
- Basque sports (obviously!) like Jai Alai, stone lifting, log cutting, grass cutting, open sea rowing,...and so many more, based on strength and skill.
. Cider houses, where you can enjoy real, natural cider along with a great meal at unbeatable prices
- Pintxos (not tapas), part of our social life, bars are not specifically places to drink but places where friends and families meet
- Txakoli, the unique Basque wine, that has developed in the past few years to be an unbeatable white wine.
- Idiazabal, also a unique sheep cheese, made in farms, and from a special breed of sheep.

(to be followed)

Such lists always invite instant refutation, even though I think mikelg is a wonderful truth telling guy.

For instance, off the coast of Portofino, there is underwater wine production

http://www.tigulliovino.it/dettaglio...dArticolo=7217

and obviously you don't need to to go the Basque country to watch Jai Alai, eat pintos or drink Txakoli or cider.

The Basque country is in itself a unique area of the planet, with a unique cultural outlook and a unique language. Doesn't matter that it has the most Rolls Royces or restaurants with Michelin stars per square kilometers. It is a singular place and always has been.

Nice post, but some things you can find outside of The Basque which you list.
Cider houses: known along the North of Spain as Sidra http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidra#Sidra_en_Espa.C3.B1a
http://www.tierra-astur.com/
In Galicia and no doubt other parts of Spain there are rowing competitions held in the sea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yge6nx9vV-U

Yes...but it´s not the same thing...cider houses in the Basque Country are distinct to those in the rest of Northern Spain

Agree with the rowing competitions...but no doubt it´s a Basque sport originally

Yep...sandralist...it took me some time to figure out the title in English...and I came with "seen" instead of "particular" or "characteristic"...sorry, did not want to sound too pretentious.

About the underwater cellar, I did think it was the only one in the world...well, I should have said then that it´s one of the only two in the world, then!! :)

Let's add to the list of things unique in the Basque country the Enchanted Forest of Oma near Gernika, sometimes referred to as the Painted Forest. Then there's the Vizcaya Bridge (Alberto de Palacio) in Portugalete and the historic Gernikako Arbola, the tree of Gernika. Then there is the Santimamiñe Caves and the prehistoric Caves of Sare.

Watching Jai Alai (pelota vasca) in the Basque country (Pays Basque, Pais Vasco and northern Navarra) is not quite the same as watching it somewhere else, so I would keep that as unique to the Basque country.

Pintxos found in the Basque country are quite different for what you will encounter elsewhere, most of which are the old style pintxos, something served on a piece of bread with a toothpick stuck through it, not quite haute cuisine.

Also, Txakoli isn't made elsewhere because of the soil conditions and grape varieties found in the Basque country, which makes it rather unique. You can find Txakoli in a number of other places, but it's just not the same as drinking it where it is produced.

Well there are a few more "prehistoric caves" to be found in Spain
The Galicians also have pinchos which are traditional.
Unfortunately here Tapas is taken over, mainly for the tourists ;-(
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-He73OfLxXJ...uta-Pincho.jpg
http://turismogalicia.blogspot.com.e...chos-2013.html
http://ocioengalicia.com/ourense/sab...-ourense-2014/

Robert,

I think you are behind the times in the international world of gastronomy. All of the famous and iconic foods of Europe are being dished up in foodie capitals all over the world, often by native chefs. There are good reasons to go to the source to sample them, but the imitations are quite faithful to the original forms.

Honestly, this seems to me to be missing the joy of visiting the Basque country by a wide mark. It is a unique culture that has given many things to the world which the world has happily adopted. Plus, one of the most interesting things about visiting the Basque country is that a good chunk of it is in France.

Tnanks Robert...some of them were on my list. Sandralist, the fact that we are divided into two countries and three political regions is another interesting characteristic of the Basques.

Can´t agree, though, on the fact that pintxos are unique to the Basque Country. I´ve been to many countries and this pintxos culture is absolutely unique. As an example, there are many "Basque" bars in Barcelona offering pintxos and neither the food nor the atmosphere are a bit close to the real thing.

Actually the biggest thing missed out so far is the Language. It is not related to anything else in the world...now that is totally unique!

- The language, euskara or euskera,as ribeirasacra says, unique in the world and not related to any other. Spoken by around 600,000 people only, it has SEVEN dialects!!
- The Tree of Gernika, sacred symbol of the liberties of the Basques, home to one of the oldest Parliaments, that still rules the province
- Pottokas, the Basque horse, a mix between a pony and a horse...well, kind of
- The highest concentration rate of Michelin starred restaurants per inhabitants
- The Hanging Bridge, patented and developed here in 1893, www.puente-colgante.com, so special.

Olentzero, the Basque Father Christmas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olentzero

Love Olentzero, pure Basque!

espelettes!

"the fact that we are divided into two countries and three political regions is another interesting characteristic of the Basques".
The same could be said of the Catalans.

I highly recommend the donostiarra Julio Medem's very brave documentary La Pelota Vasca/The Basque Ball (with a reference to Jai Alai) about the unique Basque political drama of the past four, five decades. Hopefully a closing chapter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV5ffMFBqxo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-JDcKG16bk

Wonderful Music/song by Mikel Laboa, also very much unique to the Basque country. Here in an epic scene from the movie (together with the fantastic Orfeon Donostiarra, the San Sebastian city choir): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOkv1rRfdhA

A Basque shepherd tending his flock on a mountainside.

((I))

I´ve been today on the Oma forest...will post the pictures tomorrow on my FB page, it´s really something unique. And free. And not crowded. And difficult to reach.