Basque Country

I didn't quite realize before I came to Bilbao that the Basque Country is quite different than the rest of Spain. Basque people speak Euskera (form of Spanish), dress differently, and want to become independent from the rest of Spain. Here is a little bit of information on the Basque Country for you to become familiar with the area in which I live in.

The Basque Country (Basque: Euskadi, Spanish: Pais Vasco) is a region at the north of Spain, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and France. It is defined formally as an autonomous community of three provinces within Spain, and culturally including a fourth province and a small portion of France.
Basque Country is one of the world's top gastronomic destinations, with key gourmet centers in San Sebastian, Hondarribia and Bilbao.

Cities

• Vitoria-Gasteiz — the capital of the autonomous community
• Bilbao — largest city of the region
• Balmaseda
• Getaria — top-notch fresh seafood at this fishing harbor
• Guernica (Basque: Gernika) — a thriving commercial town with great historical and cultural significance for the Basque people
• San Sebastian — the provincial capital curved around a dramatic moon-shaped beach hedged in by cliffs
• Hondarribia
• Portugalete — suburb of Bilbao with a beautiful old town and port
• Zumaia and Zarauz — glorious sandy beaches, not far from San Sebastian

History

Under the Franco regime all languages other than Castilian Spanish were severely restricted. The Spanish constitution of 1978 established the provinces of Araba, Gipuzkoa, and Bizkaia as the Basque Autonomous Region. The Basque Autonomous Region (Communidad Autonoma Vasca) has a great deal of autonomy from the national government (including the autonomy to recognize Euskara as an official language of the region), but this has not satisfied all factions of the Basque community.
The Basque people have had a stormy relationship with the nation of Spain, and for decades there had been incidents of violence made in the name of self-determination and/or independence. ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna -the Basque terrorist organization) announced a permanent ceasefire at the end of March of 2006, but has since reopened hostilities, killing two people in 2007 with a car bomb at Madrid airport, and in the summer of 2009 detonating bombs in Burgos and Palma de Mallorca.

Language

The official languages of the region are Basque (Euskara) and Spanish. Spanish is the most spoken language, but there are signs in Basque as well. Practically everyone will speak fluent Spanish, Basque is less widely spoken. 700,000 out of the Basque country's population of 2,100,000 speak Basque. From the region's location, you might expect this language to be a blend of Spanish and French, but Basque is unrelated to either of them or any other language in the world because it was developed in isolation from neighboring peoples.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Basque_Country

Here is a sign with Basque written on the top & Spanish on the bottom (very different!!)

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/betta_design/sets/72157603532324907/