Bilbao

On our only day in Bilbao, we woke up early to take photos of the Guggenheim and beat the crowds. I had always wanted to visit this museum and see Frank Gehry’s masterpiece. We walked along the river up to the museum and enjoyed the art and sculpture around the museum. We crossed the river to get even better shots:

As we over did it and still had time, we sat for breakfast in the park next to the Guggenheim and ordered coffees, juice, and breakfast sandwiches. This was fun as we got to see one of the fog sculptures activate.



After breakfast, we entered the museum which had a cool design and allowed you to view the architecture outside:

We first went to the room where they had monumental Richard Serra sculptures. I had recently seen some of his work at Dia Beacon in New York. I didn’t originally realize you couldn’t take photos, so here’s a few before I heard on the audio guide you couldn’t:

We went to all the galleries, viewed the Jenny Holzer exhibit, and the permanent collection which included a Basquiat, Cy Twombly, and Rauschenberg. Here we’re in front of a Jeff Koons:

Then we made our way to Jeff Koons’ “Puppy” which is similar to the one that was erected in Rockefeller Center a few years ago - here are a few photos including one of us trying to pet it:

We then hopped into a cab and headed to the old town. Here’s a photo of Saint Anton bridge which is right next to the Mercado de la Ribero:

At the market, we divided up and bought different pinxtos and shared them all together for lunch:

In Bilbao, you can actually walk around with drinks, so we took ours to go and walked on the original 7 streets in old town and over to the Cathedral of Santiago:

We then headed to Plaza Nueva or Berria for some coffee. Everything has two names as the use of the Basque language is very strong and prevalent. The plaza was hopping as folks chowed down on pinxtos. A photo of the plaza below:

We then walked through the city - we probably would have visited more churches if it wasn’t for the midday closures due to the siesta. Here’s a photo of the train station:

And the town hall:



At one point, we sat on a bench and snacked on some olives as we overheard a concert in the park that was across the river. We also managed to see a few pilgrims who were walking the Camino. Mary Ann said they must have just started as they look new!

We then walked back across the Nervion river on the Zubizuri bridge:

Then we got more drinks and walked passed the Guggenheim and back to our hotel where we rested. SunTransfers picked us up and took us to the airport. We had some dumplings and salad as we waited for our flight. Our flight was about an hour, but we were delayed about 30 minutes. SunTransfers picked us up again and dropped us off at Tryp Madrid Chamartin which is a Melia hotel. I had picked this hotel as it’s across the street from the train station - I had originally planned a half day in Segovia to see the aqueduct. Due to the train schedule options being out of sync, full, or expensive, we are planning to enjoy Madrid for our last day in Spain!

Beautiful Views

Today we enjoyed a hotel breakfast with panoramic views of San Sebastián!



Afterwards we spent hours lazing by the pool before our check out time. It was very relaxing, and the Thomas sisters remarked how they missed the walking. Because we’re on a mountain top near the ocean, you just see water all around the edges of this pool deck!

We eventually got ready to check out and headed to our lunch at the world famous Arzak - a restaurant that’s been in the family for 4 generations! Mary Ann and I ordered the tasting menu and Tresa had vegetables and a beef dish. The service was phenomenal and the energy of the restaurant was delightful as they were accommodating and friendly. We got to meet the father - daughter team that run the restaurant today and the sommelier who has been working at the restaurant for over 30 years. Here are some photos of our experience:

After lunch, we took a taxi to the bus station and waited for a bit as we were early for our bus to Bilbao. We tried to get on an earlier bus, but it was sold out. So we waited in the cafeteria and watched many people clad in all white and red scarves headed to Pamplona for the San Fermin festival where they watch or run with the bulls!

The bus to Bilbao is just a little over an hour and the scenery was quite lovely:





We arrived at a busy bus station where we almost didn’t get off as I had to convince Mary Ann and Tresa we indeed were in Bilbao - they had slept through our single stop and the signs all around us were in the Basque language. The city was hopping as there was a music festival and since there was a massive taxi line, we opted to walk the 1,200 kms to our hotel, Meliá Bilbao and get some steps in. We have definitely dropped in the number of our steps since completing our Camino!

The hotel clerk pointed out the elevator was panoramic and we had a beautiful view of the river from our triple room. The elevator just looks out into the lobby, but we do have a nice view - here’s a photo from right before we went to bed:

We enjoyed a few drinks in the terrace area outside our hotel and relaxed before our day in Bilbao!