to the top

this week has been a cloudy and cold one here in bilbao, but phil and i managed to do a little more sight seeing, mainly taking the funicular (kinda like a cable car) to the top of a mountain from which there is a great view of the city. we were planning to dine while up there, but for some reason unknown to us every restaurant and eatery was closed. we wandered for a short while before taking the trip back down the mountain to grab some grub.

yesterday, on phil's last full day here, we made it a point to go find his favorite meal: menu del dia. this crafty little creation is the most common way to eat in spain during the midday. for a mere 10 or so euros, you get a first dish, a second dish, wine, water, bread and dessert. you really can't beat it. restaurants post their daily menus (usually consisting of about four or five options for each plate) outside so passersby can check out what's being offered. phil has become a major fan, and we made a habit of searching for a good menu del dia each day.

the other highlight of our past couple of days was finding the email address of senor musitano, our high school spanish teacher. we had high hopes of crafting a very clever, well written, spanish message, but half way through, we ended up switching back to english. fortunately, sr. musitano didn't let us slide and he responded in spanish. i am proud to say that i was able to understand the email, and i am now reconsidering picking up my book and trudging through the rest of the first chapter. sr. musitano, if you're reading, i'll keep working on my skills and hopefully when shannon arrives, we'll be able to send you a more solid email in spanish!

unfortunately, today phil leaves me to fly back to the states and back to reality. he's come up with a nice little song about growing up that wouldn't have the same humored effect if i tried to type it here, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. i, on the other hand, am still spending two weeks in neverland, and i will miss our daily disbelief at how late we slept and our regular adventures to find a good menu. i have a couple of more pictures from our last few days, but they'll have to be posted later. for now, we need to get him to the airport to ensure that he doesn't miss his flight.