Hotel Bilbi Bilbao

Having disembarked the Pride of Bilbao, following our two day mini-cruise (the highlights of which were DVD horse races, bingo, Geordies on the lash and two memorable dining experiences at Langans Brasserie), we faced the delights of industrial Bilbao, which proved to be a fitting introduction to North Spain. Undaunted we headed to ...

Thursday, October 15, 2009<br><br>Bilbao, Spain <br><br>We've traveled for about 18 hours now and will arrive in Bilbao in a matter of minutes. Our trip from Albuquerque to Washington was pretty uneventful and, in fact, because of tremendous tailwinds made it about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. The flight from DC to Munich was pretty uneventful as well (with the exception of about an hour of mild ...

We drove from Madrid, got a bit lost trying to find Lurdea. We thought it is a name of a village but it is not it is just the name of the Hotel/Casa Rural.<br><br>The place is amazing. Located in the hills above Bermeo, with magnificent view of the ocean. It is clean (like really clean) and has the air of a relaxing boutique hotel.<br>

Bilbao, the capital of Viscaya in the county, with the nice weather and climate that is milder than in most other parts of the peninsula, rarely falling below freezing in winter or rising above 35 degree C in summer. <br><br>One of the best features of this place is the collection of Museums that exhibit the artifacts that well ...

... close to the modern port. One of the things that always makes me happy when returning to southern Europe is joining the locals in their evening paseo. The morning rain had stopped by now and there were plenty of folk walking along the banks of the river. <br><br>Back to town for some pintxos and more paseo. Great people watching in the traditional bars, and the pintxos are amazing, but I wasn't too hungry after the lunch. <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br >

Urghh long, long bus journey from Valencia. Sleeping tablets helped, but what didn't were the rude Spanish couple behind us who persisted on banging on the back of our seats all journey. They seemed angry that we were using the recline function which we had paid, and were entitled to use...<br><br>Anyway, arrive at about 8 or something where we got ...

... spider that you can stand under and "Puppy" which is a huge dog at the entrance covered in flowers. For me the Dali's were the highlight of the Guggenheim especially the clothes he designed with Schiaparelli and his jewllery. The other highlight, apart from the food and wine, was the Belle D'Arte gallery with Spanish artists includinbg Goya. We stayed 3 nights in Bilbao and caught the train to Portugalette to see the world heritage sight of the suspension bridge built in 1890.

The building looks tiny from the street. Its been a bit cloudy and it reflects the non steel limestone surfaces quite a bit. I don´t hate it as much as I had hoped, but I can´t say I like the limestone...oh sorry, I´m speaking of the Bilbao Guggenheim of course. I just needed a bit of a ranting session. Well, being in Basque country is...great. I don´t speak ...

Once I had arrived back at San Mamés after looking at the Guggenheim there was about an hour and fifteen minutes before kick off. The gates didn't open til an hour before so I stood around for fifteen minutes then went in the stadium. The game itself was a good one, Joseba Garmendia headed in the only goal after 17 minutes. Espanyol ...

... refinished and we were lucky to see it in such good condition. Our guide´s name was Carlota, and she was teeming with excitement and joy at the ability to show us the sights of her hometown. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and it was great to see someone who was so utterly happy and proud to be hosting visitors to her city. The next sight was Burgos Cathedral, where lies the remains of El Cid ...