Our Final Day in Spain

I suppose it is a message that we have overstayed our welcome. For the first time in 15 days here, rain is in the forecast. The only things in our suitcases that have gone unused are our raincoats and umbrellas. We don them to head out to see more of Bilbao.

We walked along the river about a mile to the Guggenheim Museum. 

On the way we found these women.

We the got to the most famous museum created by a hockey player.

The computer designed museum bears a striking resemblance to the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. There is good reason for this. They were both designed by Frank Gehry.

Of course, what Gehry is best known for his love of hockey. His greatest creation is his "Cross-check" chair.

He also designed the World Cup of Hockey trophy.

The museum itself here has some really crazy stuff in it. Here is the best piece I found which is made up from mangled car parts.

The art in the museum is very thought-provoking. The primary thought provoked for me and Jo was that Tucker could be given some finger paints and a canvas and create a magnificent piece of art that would fit in perfectly here.

There was a Picasso exhibition which showed his typical odd and distorted art.

Outside the museum is a famous giant puppy covered completely in pansies of different colors. 

Unfortunately, when we were there, all of the pansies were being replaced.

We then walked to the funicular. On the way, we came across this auto mechanics shop.

Then it was up to the top of the mountain overlooking Balbao.

Then it was back to the old town.

On our way back to old town, we saw another church . . .

. . . and city hall.

Then, Jo went out shopping and I worked on this blog.

We packed our things and headed out for our final dinner. We found a tapes bar nearby. Jo and I have very different philosophies about ordering food. I point at things despite the fact that I have no clue what they are. Jo interrogates the staff to determine the ingredients of each which is a challenge when they don't speak English.

(By the way, it never did rain today.)

Post Script

It was a great holiday. A week with our very good friends and an abundance of laughs. We got a lot of exercise and enjoyed very good food and drink. The scenery was outstanding. The weather was perfect every day.

Spain, like much of Europe takes hiking seriously. Well kept and well marked trail are everywhere. 

Things move more slowly here and that is a good thing. Sitting at a restaurant at home is in and out fast. Folks here are patient. They take their time to savor food, drink, company and cigarettes. They are much more stylish. They wear cool shoes (probably because unlike most Americans, they can see their feet when standing up).

Jo and I agreed that LaGuardia was our favorite town; that our castle in LaGuardia was our favorite hotel; and our favorite beach and hike were in San Sebastian. Our greatest laughs were with our good friends.

It was a great trip and it will very nice to be home.

Off To Our Last Stop - Bilbao

We drove through mountains which reminded us much like heading west out of Denver towards the ski areas. We made it to the Bilbao train station and returned our Kia which served us reasonably well.

On our way to our hotel, we made the obligatory stop at the tourist office. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel and toured the old city. Jo and I agree, once you've seen one old city, you've kind of seen them all. Beautiful narrow streets with shops and cafes and well done graffiti. Jo found more of what I call "tourista trapas."

We went to Bilbao's huge indoor market. The selection of meats (including stomachs from some animal) and seafood was incredible. There were dozens and dozens of vendors. The presentation was beautiful. The selection was so abundant it seemed inconceivable that any of these foods can be sold within several days.

We again stopped to watch people go by at the main plaza. We planned out our last two days in Spain.

Bilbao reminds me of Pittsburgh (aside from the fact that Bilboa dates back many more hundreds of years). Bilbao was a steel and industrial city. It rediscovered itself when industry died out. 

We then checked into our very funky two star hotel: The Caravan Cinema. A camper and movie vibe.

A brief nap and then back to the old town in search of food. We found a great family-ownes basque restaurant. On the way back to our camper movie hotel, we stopped at a place for a beverage and the server was wearing a BMW M T-shirt. He has a newer M5 and I showed him a pic of mine. We are now lifetime friends. Then back to our hotel.

Good night.

The Best Hike Yet

It hopes of redeeming ourselves after eating wonderful food day after day after day, we decided to put on our hiking boots. We walked about a mile to the base of Mount Ulgia to the east of San Sebastian. From the trailhead, we climbed and climbed and climbed. Our sweat and tachycardia paid many rewards when we reached the top.

Looking down on San Sebastian and the beach on which we will be spending the afternoon.

Our hikes with our good friends were beautiful, but this hike was the most beautiful of all. It alternated between lush green forests and breathtaking beautiful ocean scenery.

We walked along an ancient stone road built by Romans.

We saw no signs of humanity aside from ancient ruins.

(Jo refused to allow me to further venture out on this old bridge). 

I wish the grandkids were along to enjoy the nature walk.

This last picture is of a four inch  long slug.

We came across a beautiful castle on a hill which also served as a lighthouse.

This hike was considered "moderate," but the National Park Service would undoubtedly call it "difficult." Our six mile walk ended up being an eight mile hike because we took a wrong turn following another main trail with the same red and white markings.

We descended into the fishing town of Pasaia. Call us lazy, but we decided to take the bus back to San Sebastian (the red line below is our bus line).

After our hike we treated ourselves to a fantastic lunch.

I am truly blessed with such simple tastes that I enjoy McDonald's and Jack's Pizza as much as any fine dining in any country. (I'm not so sure Jo agrees.) Call me gauche (as some in our family do), but I wouldn't have it any other way.

On our way back to the hotel, we walked along the beach boardwalk and saw this beautiful sand art.

Our next stop was this beautiful beach with very fine warm sand.

We went for swims and enjoyed the beautiful warm day.

It was nice to get another video call. Anna called again, this time with Jackson because he was home from school not feeling all that hot. He told us he was reading a book about the Hindenburg (I wonder how many kindergartners read books like this.)

After the beach it was back to the hotel and unsuccessful attempts to get the sand out of our hair (but we really didn't care). 

Jo had made reservations a week before to a very traditional old restaurant in the Old City. We had octopus and fish under the hanging ham hocks. 

It was a great day. We then headed back to the hotel to watch an episode of Suits. We watch it because it is exactly like life in big law firms.

Leaving LaGuardia

On our last night here, we found Fodor's review of our hotel:

"WHY WE LIKE IT: 

It doesn’t get much more romantic than sleeping in an immaculate castle within a dreamy walled village from the middle ages. The food is good, the bar is beautiful, and one of the most idyllic and delicious wine regions in the world is all around you for the taking."

Another massive and fantastic breakfast and we were off to Pamploma, but not before we bid goodbye to Javier, the best hotel proprietor we have ever met.

Here is the main square in Pamploma.

The bull run starts in this square.

We just happened to be here for the abbreviated quarterly running of the bulls. For 25 Euros (and signing a lengthy release in Spanish) I was able to participate. I may be accused of lack of courage, but I stayed on the side as you can see from the photo where I am looking back to see the bulls. They unevently passed me by seeming more interested in goring others.

Finally, Jo found a cornucopia of tourist traps to buy the grandkids gifts.

Then it was off to the seaside town of San Sebastian. 

Once again, we watched people go by from an old town cafe.

Back to hotel to rest before heading out past our normal bed time for dinner.

We headed out for dinner at a  fashionably late (or early if you are a Spaniard) time. The pintxos (tapes) bar was fantastic.



On the way back to our hotel we stopped at much swankier hotel for a nightcap.