Meeting Esti and More Basque Country

It’s been a week since I left home and I still cannot seem to get in the swing of things. I still feel torn between my home overseas and my home here. I have been sorting through the hundreds of photos that I took and trying to really internalize the experiences I had. This visit was in many ways very different than any visit I have had before. Very emotional and personal.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting Esti, whose blog I adore and read every single day. She is part of my daily morning routine along with my email and my coffee. I need her drawings, music and stories to begin my day. But it is incredible how I need something so much from someone I have never met before. As she wrote about in her blog, Esti and I grew up in the same city and shared friends many years ago, but never really knew of each other. A few months back, we found each other’s blogs by chance and realized how much we had in common. I really wanted to meet her during this trip. I really wanted to know the artist behind it all.

We met and sat at a cafe talking about the magic of blogging, music, creative impulses, motherhood and many other things. So many questions and topics jammed in a couple of hours with intensity but at the same time the feeling we have known each other for years. It was really magical. Those are some self portraits we took under the rain with our silly faces and messy hair.


With these photos, I put an end to my trip. Until next time. I hope you can visit one day.


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37 Responses to “Meeting Esti and More Basque Country”

  1. Estoy en Bilbao, no puedo dormir y de repente os encuentro

    Que guapas!!!
    Que cara de amigas!!
    Que alegría tan pronto por la mañana

  2. leaca says:

    gorgeous photos.
    exciting meeting a new friend too.

  3. limonana says:

    beautiful photos…so brilliant you met with a fellow admired blogger!

  4. What fun you must have had! Thanks for sharing!!

  5. Helene says:

    You make me dream just looking at your gorgeous photos. Thanks for the great post.

  6. Astrid says:

    It’s hard being an expat, isn’t it? Definitely you gain a lot, but being far from your roots is hard. Lovely photos!

  7. Suzana says:

    How emotional, Aran! Thanks for sharing beautiful photos of a wonderful place, and such personal story. Life is funny sometimes. :)

  8. nadia says:

    The photographs are lovely- what a beautiful place. I am so glad that you both had this time togethere…
    ( one brings to mind) iconoclast…the meeting of two very talented people!

  9. I m glad you found a nice friend by blogging. The photos are amzing :-)

  10. mirjam says:

    beautiful pictures. i just got back “home” to the states after a long visit to my real “home” germany and it took me a full month to feel like myself again. living in two cultures is a beautiful thing and a curse…

  11. Candace says:

    Very sweet! Sounds like it was a fantastic visit home.

  12. Dédalus says:

    ¿Sabes, Aran? Acabo de ver vuestras fotos y tengo la sensación de que os había visto bien antes… Es totalmente improbable; pero no deja de ser curioso.

    Celebro vuestro encuentro.

    Besos.

  13. Preciosas fotos, es genial poneos caras a las dos (que también sois partes de mi rutina diaria).
    Un besazo para las dos

  14. linda says:

    I loved Basque country when I was there some years ago. Your pictures are very pretty :)

  15. I would love to go. It looks incredible. I am glad you had a great trip back home. Returning to somewhere you loved is the best and somewhat painful thing.

  16. Tartelette says:

    Look at those two cutsies!!
    So happy you guys got the chance to meet and enjoy such a lovely day, well, after the rain. You know what I mean.

  17. Lori says:

    Blogging opens up new worlds sometimes, doesnt it. I can understand the feeling of wanting to be in two places at once. Thanks for sharing your sentiments.

  18. Beautiful photos! It’s amazing how small the internet makes the world isn’t it?

  19. Alexa says:

    Nice post, Aran. What a beautiful way to seal a friendship that was meant to be.

  20. What lovely photos! So glad you got to have such an amazing trip!

  21. Esti says:

    aran, gracias por tus palabras. Realmente espero que nuestra amistad se convierta en una de esas amistades donde los silencios son comprendidos, donde las horas sin parar de hablar no me dejen el recuerdo de haber sido muy loro, ja, ja… seguro que tenemos muchas cosas para compartir en adelante…
    P.S.: la verdad, me siento un poco rara con la cara al descubierto, ja, ja…

  22. I’m glad you had such a wonderful trip, & have so many beautiful memories to share. The pictures say a 1000 words & more. The country is beautiful…wish I get to visit it one day too…

  23. Camille says:

    Thank you for sharing your photos of your trip. So beautiful. (And your creations for Nadia…just lovely.)

  24. Eileen says:

    Lovely photos, Aran. Sounds like it was a VERY special trip home.

  25. Madam Chow says:

    How wonderful to meet a fellow blogger! I”m part Basque, on my father’s side. His mother’s family immigrated to Argentina from Spain.

  26. Que talentosos soys los bascos! Buenos, más bien las basquas! Que fotos más chulas Aran!

  27. Mrs.French says:

    the two of you are so beautiful! I am so thrilled you had the opportunity to meet…seems fitting that 2 of my favorite bloggers would meet in person and come from the same magical place..

    …I hope the feelings of being torn lighten up a bit soon…I can relate (on a much smaller scale).

  28. this is awesomely beautiful, so well captured! lovely and honored to have read this!

  29. *le sigh*

    Your trip looks delightful!

  30. home is a very abstract concept nowadays. living overseas myself i totally understand your feeling of being torn. i suppose we will never be able to leave our roots behind. but i think that’s a good thing =)

  31. Y says:

    Aren’t the back-from-holidays blues such a bummer? Love your photos, especially those Autumn leaves.

  32. Cakespy says:

    You’re both so beautiful I can hardly stand it!!!

  33. Such great images, full of light and mood and motion. How wonderful to meet a good friend, just at the moment you need it. I’m so happy you found this journey and don’t doubt that you will think about it for a very long time.

  34. Oh Aran! this is such a beautiful and moving story…there is so much magic in what we are all doing here–I am happy you had such a wonderful and sweet meeting with esti…you are both so lovely and i can see the excitement in the photos as well!

  35. the b-line says:

    What an emotional and beautiful post. Thanks for sharing your lovely photos. I’m so glad you got to meet Esti.

  36. pia says:

    oh how i wish i was there to meet you both. But there will be another time, I’m sure of it! I’m so glad you had a wonderful trip Aran. px

  37. Claudia says:

    You girls look like sisters, daughters of Bilbao!

    Claudia

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