Bilbao

^famous pintxos

~ Day 1 ~

I got into Bilbao midday. I opened to my eyes to so much rich greenery -- I was shocked. I found the green even richer and more lush than I was used to in Oregon! Probably because the green was a lighter green than I was used to. Also, with the cloudy grey skies, the green really popped. Anyways, I dropped my stuff and walked around the main city of Bilbao. Despite the rain concerns, thankfully it only slightly sprinkled here and there. Highlights from walking around:

Bilbao was much smaller than I expected, so I finished seeing most of the city within this first half day. I even picked up a book for bookclub: Shadow of the Wind. It's very good so far -- I definitely recommend! I was only going to read a couple chapters...but I'm now halfway through!

I got dinner at a Greek place. I know that the typical thing to do is get pintxos ASAP, however during this trip I was really feeling sick of Spanish food and while pintxos are unique, I was willing to wait another day to try some. So when I found this place, I couldn't resist! It always hurts me when I see the prices and I think of how cheap food was in Greece...but this place was really nice and yummy so I couldn't truly complain.

~ Day 2 ~

On my second day, I explored old town: Casco Viejo (below is Plaza Nueva). There was also a small market happening around the square. I saw lots of little trinkets and books for sale, in addition to fútbol trading cards!

There, I had my first taste of pintxos! I got a fish and egg pintxo (fish on accident...I thought it was just egg) and a pork sandwich -- which was DELICIOUS! They were also very savvy and asked me "if I wanted red or white wine". I was planning on not having any wine, but when they posed the question that way, with only two options, my brain freaked out and I just chose one! The wine wasn't that great...but the food was!

^My lunch

^if only I liked seafood...all of the seafood pintxos looked amazing!

After, I walked up this hill to the Basical de Begoña. It was worth the walk up, as the church was a rewarding sight after climbing the hill, and it had a nice resting place in the back to enjoy a little peek of sunshine!

After resting for a little, I made my way down the hill. I passed another church, San Anton and the Mercado de la Ribera.

^Sadly it wasn't open for me to go inside the market, but the building outside was still quite a sight!

^views on my way out of Casco Viejo.

Next I headed to the Funicular, which was a little cable car that took you up this big hill (for 3.5 euros round trip), for some amazing views! Of course...you could walk it...but I wanted to take a ride in the little car! It was worth it, you climb quite a bit of elevation and the views at the top are amazing! You can really see how colorful, healthy and gorgeous the landscape is from above!

After descending, I made my way to the Guggenheim museum. I had heard a lot about the modern art museum. However, I was a little skeptical simply because art museums aren't my favorite thing. However, I thought the Guggenheim museum AWESOME. There was so much interactive art - I loved that.

^Richard Serra, "The Matter of Time". Explored space and time in this HUGE area with 5-7 different sculptures. You could walk through them and interact with them. The most amazing thing to me is that these huge structures are self standing. They are not anchored to the ground in any way. The artist calculated all of the different shapes in order to make sure they could stand on their own.

^I could be wrong, but I believe this was by Esther Ferrer: "Intertwined Spaces". It was another cool interactive exhibition. You entered these white feathers, and then you close your eyes, enter, and walk through. It only takes about 10 seconds, but you feel all of these feathers around you. Then you exit and look behind you and the feathers are black.

~ Day 3 ~

Today I took a day trip to San Sebastián. However, I will write a separate post on San Sebastián.

I came back late from San Sebastian and went to this healthy, yummy sandwich place. I had pintxos in San Sebastián, and I was really down for something with vegetables that wasn't fried!

That night, I met some nice people from the West Indies. We talked and hung out for awhile. There was a bit of a language barrier, as they spoke fluent French and not that much English or Spanish. However, we were still able to communicate and had a lot of laughs! I'm really glad I met them!

~ Day 4 ~

On my last day, I ended up getting pintxos! They were so good! I got an egg sandwich and a jamon and egg sandwich. I wasn't planning on it. I actually wanted to stop at a local cafe, but because it was a holiday weekend, most places were closed! I tried going to a pintxos place I found online, but it was also closed. Right next to it was an open bar with the pintxos I ended up getting that was also well reviewed, and I'm so glad it I ended up there.

^SO YUMMY!

After, I started making my way to the Maritime museum because I knew it was free on Tuesdays. On my way, I saw a bunch of groups protesting the government about laborer rights and salaries.

I finally made it to the Maritime museum. It blew away my expectations. I kept thinking how Grandpa Lou would have really liked this museum. I also really liked how they used Playmobile for some boat scenes.

The exhibit that really got me was this set up that gave an overview of the evolution of Bilbao from an industrial city to the urban and advanced city it is now. The music especially got me...it was the most emotionally eliciting music; it really got my heart pounding. And it wasn't just me.. After the little video, I heard two-three other couples complementing the video and upstairs, I heard another couple humming the music. And the place is small so you could hear the music even after you left the exhibit for quite a bit...I felt like I either needed to watch the video again or leave asap because it was really getting at me.

I walked and observed the exhibitions they had outside afterwards. They had some boats on display (below. Athletic Bilbao fútbol stadium in the background).

There was also this cool exhibit to acknowledge the role women had in Bilbao. According to the sign I read, women would tie ropes around their bodies and help bring in ships. Amazing.

Then, I walked down the river, enjoying the sun and the warmth.

I spent the rest of the afternoon by the river reading in the sun. I was only going to read a couple chapters like I said and walk some more...but then I got pulled in! It's really cool to recognize places that the author references due to my being here in Spain (even though it takes place in Barcelona and I haven't been there or recognize those references).

^pretty nice view for reading (Teatro Arriaga)

It was really great to spend that last day in the sun by the river - it definitely left a good impression of Bilbao before I left.

As I mentioned earlier, everything was closed for the holiday weekend, so I was worried about finding food for the way home. Eventually, I did find food at a bakery chain. With some beautiful, sunny views imprinted in my mind, I boarded the bus and started my journey home through the green mountains.

Pintxos

Beautiful, lush