Idaho’s Beautiful Hidden Gems- The Basque Block and Botanical Garden

Join us on this week’s episode as we explore two hidden gems in Boise, Idaho; the Basque Block and the Idaho Botanic Gardens!

Posted by Jess

Two of my favorite parts of our trip to Idaho are in this episode- the Basque Block and the Idaho Botanic Gardens.

Hidden Gem #1- The Basque Block!

I’ll be honest, when I first read about the Basque Block in Boise while researching the trip, I wasn’t excited about seeing it. As a result, I almost skipped going there. I am not usually the one who enjoys trying different ethnic foods, and my research said downtown Boise was hard to navigate. Thankfully, I overcame my hesitations because it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip, a true hidden gem in downtown Boise!

The Paella Demonstration- the hidden gem you can smell for blocks!

I ended up missing the paella demonstration because I couldn’t find a parking spot quickly enough. That was unfortunate, because it seems very informative. Every Wednesday, rain or shine, the Basque Market cooks paella from start to finish on their patio. I was able to see the finished product and it looked delicious! The recipe is also on their website so you can always give paella making a try at home, too!

Basque Museum of History and Culture- a key resource on all things Basque

After watching the paella demonstration for a while, I ventured into the Basque Museum and Cultural Center. This hidden gem is a great representation of the history and culture of the Basque people in the Idaho area. Did you know that Idaho has the largest concentration of Basque found outside of Europe? The museum includes all things Basque; the wagon that was used by the Basque shepherds in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s; a genealogy tracing the roots of the Basque people from Spain to where they are today and even a tour of a boardinghouse that the shepherds stayed in during the winter months when they brought the flocks in from the fields.

The food- a most delicious hidden gem!

Perhaps my favorite part of my visit to the Basque Block was lunch! I ate at the Basque Market, mostly because it was starting to get a bit late, and I still wanted to go to the Botanic Gardens. I’m glad I did. I ordered three different types of croquetas, the Basque meatballs, and the chorizo with Piquillo pepper cheese spread. Every morsel was delicious. Before I left that morning, I promised I would bring some home to Danny. I had a really hard time fulfilling that promise! However, I did manage to save some to bring home to him, along with some fresh chorizo sausage and other treats that the market had for sale.

One special treat during lunch was the visit I had with a member of the Basque community, Leandra. I really enjoyed hearing stories about her childhood. Her grandmother ran one of the boardinghouses on the Basque Block. She grew up watching her family cook 3 meals every evening to feed the Basque shepherds they had living with them. While waiting for their meals, there was lots of dancing and singing amongst the shepherds, which would be really fun to watch and participate in. She was very animated and happy tell me all about her childhood and all things Basque. As a result, she was one of my favorite hidden gems of the Basque block!

Hidden Gem #2- The Idaho Botanic Gardens

After my amazing lunch at the Basque Market, I drove a bit away from downtown Boise to the Idaho Botanical Garden. On the way, I drove by the “newer” Warm-Springs area of town. This area where the wealthy people who originally settled the Basque Block area moved, thus allowing the Basque to move into the area.

A Plethora of Plants (some of them hidden gems in themselves)!

The Idaho Botanical Garden was beautiful! It was also hot. So hot my phone overheated and shut itself down and my camera wasn’t super happy either. Consequently, I only got a few pictures and a bit of video footage.

One of the things that I liked most about this garden is that it had gardens with plants that would work for nearby areas. As someone who lives and grows in Wyoming, I am always on the lookout for drought and extreme cold tolerant plants that would survive here. I learned about multiple plants that I never heard of but would grow in our windy part of Wyoming.

In addition, the gardens bills itself as a living museum. It includes over 10 unique gardens, most of them started by the inmates at the former Idaho State Penitentiary that used be located on the garden grounds. These gardens include an English, Rose, Meditation, two Native plant, drought resistant, vegetable and a children’s garden. One of the most unique features was a Firewise Garden, which included plants that are fire resistant or can protect themselves from fire damage. All of the gardens were well taken care of, and the plants included easy to find and read labels helping visitors identify them.

The “Penn” next door- an unexplored addition to my bucket list

One hidden gem that I did not visit this time was the old Idaho State Penitentiary. This historic building borders the Botanical Gardens and much of the land that the garden sits on today was previously used by the penitentiary. I found it interesting that former inmates planted many of the plants in the gardens, which have continued to grow and flourish under the care of the employees and volunteers at the garden.

Idaho, the ultimate hidden gem

This was one of the last days of sight-seeing during our Idaho vacation. If you want to see the other days, check out our other Travel-A-Long Adventures, Behind-the-Scenes Blogs, relaxing Drive-A-Longs, and our Top 5 Tips and Tricks. We loved the whole trip and weren’t ready to come home at the end. There are very few states that I call true hidden gems, but Idaho is definitely one of them. I highly recommend you take a look at visiting sometime soon. Happy Travels!