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.