Jim and I are very fortunate to have previously spent a few days in picturesque Bilbao (in 2015, with Teal & Tori and Emma & Nooks), and we feel very lucky for this opportunity to visit the city again, this time with Betty as our willing travel companion! As we stroll along the Nervion riverside to the famous Guggenheim Art Museum, buy fresh veggies in the Mercado de la Ribera (Market), siesta in our pleasant apartment in the “Casco Viejo” (Old Town), and try out tasty pintxos (tapas), it brings back fond memories of our trip here with the ‘kids.’ And there is so much MORE to explore, which we are hoping to see with Betty during the next few days (the Museo de Bellas Artes, the Bizkaia Bridge, Getxo, to name a few).
Of course, while we are here, we three have to hike along the portion of the Camino del Norte that passes through Bilbao, so that was our first activity for this morning .... up a million stone steps from the old town to the Basilica de Begona, and then wending our way back down to the riverside and the market (where we tried out a pintxo of deep-fried bacon —makes a great hiking snack— and bought fresh cucumbers from a stall).
After siesta, our tour of the Museo de Bellas Artes did not go quite as we expected — after paying for our entry and enjoying the two temporary installations on early Basque photography and works of the Spanish painter Zuloaga, we were dismayed to learn that we could not view the museum’s permanent galleries, as they are closed on Tuesdays — and today is, indeed, Tuesday! What?! Why didn’t the ticket saleslady inform us of this when we paid to get in?! Well, at least the galleries are open tomorrow and actually have free admission from 6:00 - 8:00 pm! So, we shall return!
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