ALONE WITH MY THOUGHTS IN BILBAO

What do you think about when you are alone with your thoughts? Do you try to distract yourself with your electronics or do you engage with the musings that seep into your consciousness?

For two days I’ve been in Bilbao away from the Camino and all the pilgrims I have met along the way. It’s been good for me as I have taken these two days to recover. The only conversations I’ve had have been to order food and ask directions. This morning I was a bit lost and I asked a man, “Which way to the river?” He chuckled and traced the river on my map to show me which direction the river flows. Haha. Then he graciously showed yes me which direction to go to get to the river. Other than that I’ve been alone with my thoughts.

So when you are alone with your thoughts what do you think about? For me I think that my deepest yearnings rise to the surface. The most common theme is hospitality. I have long had a dream of opening a restaurant. It would be small, maybe a dozen tables inside with a few tables outside, a well stocked bar, an intimate atmosphere, classical music softly playing, and somehow designed so that the sound of one table doesn’t drift to another.

I would have a limited menu of maybe half a dozen dishes some of which would change daily or weekly. I would bring my experience of traveling in Europe to create a mix of French, Italian, and Spanish dishes. These two days in Bilbao have introduced me to pinchos. These are uniquely Basque. Pinchos are small plates, bigger than appetizers (tapas); for me 1-2 makes a nice little lunch. I actually learned that the best time to eat pinchos is in the morning when they are freshest unless it’s a very popular restaurant where they make the pinchos all day. So for breakfast yesterday I had some kind of croquetta with ham on a slice of baguette and a puffy thing filled with potato and a fried shrimp on top

Its not an Egg McMuffin but it was very good.

I think about bringing all of these things to my family and friends. I want to create an environment where they can slowly savor the flavors and heighten the experience with the best wine to go with it. I want to share the history, geography, and culture of where these epicurean delights come from.

Marriage, having a family, having grandchildren, and probably a healthy dose of fear of failure mean that my dream of a small restaurant will not bear fruit. On the other hand my thoughts still speak to me of hospitality, warm friendship, good food and wine.

What do you think about when you are alone with your thoughts?

Buen Camino