My Sister Meagan, my bestest Lizi and I went
on a cross-country road trip this past month (about 3 years after graduating
from higher education we have made the cliché journey to extend our knowledge
of our country, or, in our case, knowledge of national parks, places to eat,
places to drink and lots of bookstores). There were some pretty fantastical,
insane, gorge places we planned to spend serious time in. Boise, Idaho was not
one of them. This was simply a mid way point from Cali to Yellowstone. Little
did we know how awesome Boise would be. The city was wonderful and clean and
small yet big, old and young. There were statues of Lincoln, bikes, fountains,
green belts and an amazing Basque district.
Idaho State House |
The
Basque community hails from a farm rich area between France and Spain. This culture
is traditionally made up of farmers and sheepherders, thus the abundance of
lamb on most menus. They also have the unique history of females holding much political
and cultural power and decision making, as historically opposed to their neighbors
(yes!).
We
went to Bar Gernika, as it was directly across the street from the hotel. We
would later learn that this was our dear friend’s Uncle’s bar! This small bar
right at the start of the district served amazing Basque food. We ordered a variety of lamb and sausage
sandwiches and an appetizer of croquetas, which none of us had ever had.