Day 1:
After arriving in Bilbao and surveying our airbnb, my daughter and I walked to Old Town Bilbao for Pintxos—fun! So many different things to try, and ending with cheesecake and cafe con leche. A delicious evening in Bilbao.
Pintxos in Bilbao
Day 2:
Playas de Arrietara y Atxabiribil in Sopela
With several beaches just a short bus ride away, we chose to visit Playas de Arrietara y Atxabiribil in Sopela. (It was about a 30 minute bus ride after taking the metro across the city.) I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of tortilla and fresh orange juice at a cafe up the hill from the beach, then relaxed on the beach, watching the wind surfers. Wind surfing is very popular there! My daughter, in the meantime, took a surfing class, which is popular there, as well.
Then from there we walked for 15 minutes or so to Porto Village (Puerto Viajo, in Getxo) where we sampled pintxos at a cafe. Walking around afterward, we happened upon a music and food festival, where I chose a bacon, pimentos, and goat cheese sandwich from one of the food trucks offering deletable and different looking foods. The bacon in Spain is comparable to what we call “Canadian bacon” in the USA. The sandwich was very tasty! The weather was perfect, and there were lots of people—many families, and many people and families with their dogs (so many dogs!)—enjoying the music and the day.
Pintxos in Porto Village
Slideshow:
After the bus ride back to Bilbao, we walked to our airbnb, stopping at a market for bread, lunchmeat, and cookies; then at a meat and fruit market for fruit. The worker there, who was from Morocco, gave us a Moroccan pastry to sample, filled with a nut spread and spices, very different and good. From my research, it appears to be called briwat.
Then after showers and sandwiches—and Moroccan pastries— we were off to the theater! We had purchased tickets beforehand to see a production at the beautiful historic opera house, the Teatro Arriaga de Bilbao! The theater house was built in 1890, designed by architect Joaquin Rucoba. It was rebuilt in 1985 after severe flooding. We were seated at the edge of the curved balcony. Leaning up to peer over the balcony and looking around me at the detailed beauty of this theater, I felt as if I’d been transported back in time!
We saw the production of Double Murder by Hofesh Shechter Co.
After the show we walked back to our airbnb through the pretty city with its old rock walls; the bridge over the river; beautiful cathedral; and pretty Spanish homes and buildings with flowers on the balconies.
It doesn’t get dark until around 10:00 in Spain. I did a little research to find out why: Spanish time, apparently, is a historical anomaly. Spain (except for the Canary Islands) is in the “wrong” time zone! This is because in 1940 the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco changed the Spanish time zone to match Germany’s!
Slideshow:
The next day we took a bus to Irun to begin our week on the Camino de Santiago North route from Irun to Bilbao! We successfully completed our hike (which was an amazing experience!) and relaxed as planned for a few more days in Bilbao—our first day spent in celebrating at a Bolivian restaurant and sampling traditional butter buns at a bakery (see post “North Route: Irun to Bilbao”)
Day 4:
Gaztelugatxe
We took a bus to Gaztelugatxe (after a short metro ride, about a 30 minute bus ride). Gaztelugatxe is the island which is ‘Dragonstone’ in Game of Thrones. It is said that John the Baptist visited this island. There are 231 ancient stairs on the island leading to a chapel at the top dedicated to him. The island itself is accessible by a man-made bridge. Only a certain number of people are allowed in a day so we only got to observe from overlooks and the nearby beach.
The nearby beach at the Bay of Biscay—just a short hike away— was beautiful, and uncrowded. We’d brought snacks, drinks, and sandwiches…it was a nice day of relaxing oceanside!
Day 5:
After breakfast in the airbnb, then a few (blissful, for my daughter) hours spent shopping secondhand stores in Bilbao, we went to the La Ribera Market, which is, with 10,000 square meters, the largest closed market in all of Europe. It is even listed in the Guinness Book of Records! We chose several different pinxtos for lunch there, including the Basque dish ‘bacalao pil-pil’, which is cod fried or baked with garlic and olive oil; mine was served on bread, with the long toothpick—recognizable on most Basque pinxtos, it seems—through it.
(example of a Bacalao Pil-pil pinxto)
Then on to the Guggenheim!
The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is a contemporary and modern art museum designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. It was built in 1997, and it immediately turned Bilbao into a popular tourist destination which still draws many tourists today. The curves on the exterior of the building were meant to appear “random” and were designed to catch the light, according to Gehry. The interior is designed around a large, light-filled atrium with views of the surrounding hills of the Basque Country.
Jeff Koons’ The Puppy at the Guggenheim museum is an icon in Bilbao. The Puppy is more than 40 feet tall. The breed is a West Highland White Terrier. It’s a permanent exhibit. Twice a year, in May and October, the plants are replaced with fresh seasonal ones—pansies in the fall and winter; and begonias, impatiens, and petunias in the spring and summer. The engineering? The puppy is anchored to a concrete base. A stainless steel structure is covered with a layer of turf, wire mesh, and a type of “geotextile” fabric which stimulates plant growth! There are 5 levels of scaffolding, and a network of pipes that feed and water the plants every day.
The Puppy is found in every souvenir shop in Bilbao on keychains, purses, postcards, tea towels, and t-shirts!
Mamam (the French word for “Mother”) is a bronze, stainless steel, and marble sculpture by Louise Bourgeois of a spider. It is over 30 feet high and 33 feet wide. It includes a sac containing 32 marble eggs! This sculpture is also found at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas in the United States, as well as other museums around the world.
There are both permanent and traveling exhibits in the Guggenheim. An interesting maze of curves to walk through awaited us on the first floor. The mazes were interesting to look down upon from the second level, as well. The museum has three levels. Among exhibitions which stood out to us were Andy Warhol’s Marilyns and Jeff Koons’ Tulips.
Day 6:
After souvenir shopping, and churros and chocolate, we went for our scheduled 2 1/2 hour walking tour of Bilbao. It was interesting and fun!
This is the “Fountain of the Dogs,” created in the early 1800s to look like, as you can see, heads of lions. No one knows why it was then called by the locals, “fountain of dogs!” A little brainstorming here: what do you think?
It is said that the fountain was originally used to wash animals that were to be sold in the nearby market. Today it is in use to fill water bottles of grateful tourists!
Slideshow:
After our walking tour, we found a meal of the day in Casco Viejo, the old-town part of Bilbao along the river with traditional taverns and cafes as well as La Ribera Market and Teatro Arriaga de Bilbao (see previous posts) and modern shops and restaurants.
The meal was elegant! A cold tomato bisque—fun to try— was served before the meal. We ordered lasagna, which was very tasty with thin and delicate lasagne pasta, vegetables and meat; a steak-soup dish; chicken with French-fried potatoes; fish; and to finish the memorable meal, a Basque yogurt dessert and delectable apple pie, with, of course, cafe con leche.
Slideshow:
We walked around the city, including visiting the Acuna Cultural Center, a multipurpose center in which events are held, also housing interesting art, a gym, and restaurants. We went to the rooftop to look around; and had drinks at a terrace restaurant/bar there. Then back to the airbnb to pack for our next adventure. Tomorrow we will say good-bye to Bilbao, but will take our memories—and a few souvenirs that we’ll jam into our already cram-packed backpacks—to remind us of this week in Bilbao!
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