Saturday, March 8, 2025
This is going to be a LONG post about a GREAT
first day in the city of Bilbao, the largest city in the Autonomous Province known as the País Vasco or Basque Country with a population of 347,000 human beings.
By comparison, Gijón, the largest city in the Province of Asturias, is inhabited by 269,000 people and an untold number of dogs.
Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain with an overall metropolitan population of 1,038,000 souls.
The city was founded in the late 13th century by Diego López V de Haro. Because of its location as a port city, Bilbao quickly became a commercial hub for northern Spain.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city grew into one based on heavy industry.
Today it has morphed into a beautiful destination for tourists like myself.
The Basque people are fiercely proud of their heritage and unique language known a Euskara and have tried over the many years to separate from Spain to preserve their unique customs. The Basque culture was heavily repressed during the Franco dictatorship of the mid-20th century.
My day started quite early as I had a 7:15 a.m. bus to catch at Gijón's Alsa Bus Terminal which is a ten minute walk from the apartment. The trip to Bilbao would take four hours.
I would be riding in a 99%
Bacteria Free conveyance
This was indeed the right bus to board
It was a comfortable drive through lush green countryside that afforded beautiful views.
I was able to catch some sleep along the way which would be a huge plus as this good day wore on.
Finally, we arrived at the modern
Bilbao Intermodal Transportation Center
Bilbao Athletic's Stadio San Mamés
was nearby
Needless to say, Bilbao Athletic
has a huge, rabid fanbase
Iribar played Goal Keeper in over
600 games during 18 seasons
with Bilbao Athletic
More fanbase love in the neighborhood
surrounding the stadio
Azkuna Zentroa Alhóndiga Bilbao
When erected in 1909, this huge edifice originally housed Bilbao's wine and oil warehouse.
It has been a Society and Contemporary Culture Center since 2010.
I entered and was fascinated by its artsy, stumpy support columns.
The blue one was nice
Weird bricks
Enter the dragon
A government building
"V is for Vendetta"
Beautiful colors
Euskara on the left, Spanish on the right
Just a random, awesome building
on the way to finding my hotel
somewhere in Bilbao's Casco Viejo
Columns
Lions
Exactly!
Reflection
WOW!
I was sorely tempted and vowed to return after finding my hotel that was now near at hand.
When I did return in about an hour the half dozen churros and cup of molten chocolate were perfect!
The Teatro Arriaga
Just a few blocks past Bilbao's music center, I finally found my quaint Pensión Basque Boutique Hotel located amid a warren of narrow, confusing streets in Bilbao's oldest neighborhood.
It is a nice room outfitted with ear plugs
They were wisely placed in the room because of the intense
nightlife in the streets below that was raging when I finally went to bed.
Once settled in my room, I headed out to see more of this beautiful city.
There were big demonstrations
for Women's Rights scheduled for
today throughout Spain
Catedral San Antón dating back
to the late 1300s
St. Paul and his Sword
St. Peter and his Keys
I tried to enter but was repulsed by the 10€ entry fee but I had a plan.
I asked about the Catedral's Mass schedule. There was one scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. this evening with no entry fee attached.
I would return under the cover of darkness.
I heard this lady's voice resonating
from the back of the Catedral
She was easily worth the donation
of a few coins of the realm to her cause
Long story short, he is considered
a good luck charm at Christmas time
This tale is based on Spain's long standing agricultural history.
The story goes that this farmer took a dump on his fields to fertilize it and insure a good crop and it worked for him.
Work's for me too.
A random church
HUGE Pintxos are Bilbao's answer
to the smaller Spanish tapas scene
They were both DELICIOUS!
Bilbao loves colorful socks!
A plaza that would be packed at
night with revelers I'm sure
The Basque Flag
Loving the traditional Boina
this man is wearing
Another random church . . .
. . . with a cool crest
A refreshing fountain along my walk
along the Rio de Bilbao Promenade
It would be a long walk . . .
. . . with art . . .
. . . and architecture along the way
An interesting foot bridge . . .
. . . that curves . . .
. . . known as the Zubizuri
Interesting proportions
More river front art
Getting close to my goal
Nice lapel pin
This HUGE spider signaled
my arrival at . . .
. . . Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum
It was designed by American architect Frank Gehry and opened its doors in 1997 as a museum of modern and contemporary art.
All titanium sidings
The outside of this museum
is a work of art to be sure
The Puppy is . . .
. . . a symbol today for both the
Guggenheim Museum and Bilbao
I entered only to find . . .
. . . a HUGE shuttlecock!
Badminton anyone?
Small art in a big space
would be the norm
The museum offered nice
looks of the river front
A fellow visitor who was happy
to pose as a human art form
Some of us entered this 20' x20'
mirrored room for about two minutes
Here I was feeling a bit like
Alfred Hitchcock doing a cameo
in one of his own movies
It was an interesting experience
Modern art
Tulips? Lollipops?
Bold colors
One of 150 Marilyns
I'm getting this feeling more
and more everyday
Art is in the eye of the beholder
Unfinished work
St. Peter being crucified
St. George and the Dragon
GREAT story if you ask me.
The Slaughtering of the Innocents
A 93 year old man
St. George again
Tarot Cards from 1500 A.D.
St. Margaret of Antioch
Maybe she was dating St. George.
With that cleft chin, it may be
Kirk Douglas' Mother
An even bigger space with small art
Édouard Manet, 1862
Spanish Ballet
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1893
Paul Gauguin, 1889
"What do you mean you're
not coming to practice tonight?"
Pablo Picasso, 1905
Pablo Picasso, 1904
A fun moving, changing color show
Mazes
Brazilian art is enjoyable
to this aficionado
I like the brightness of these works
The Baptism of Macunaíma, 1956
Nice horns!
Multicultural Brazil
A big woman
We haven't been on a cruise in
a long, long time
The shuttlecock from a
different perspective
Someone please put him back together!
Another HUGE room with speakers
all around blaring crowd noise with
only that one small speck of art in
the distance begging for a closer look
It was a small TV screen displaying
a tiny, ongoing soccer game
The Guggenheim Museum was both a delight and a bargain with only a 7.50€ admission price for the Senior Citizens of the world.
One last look at Frank Gehry's masterpiece
I was neither of these but was
indeed getting hungry
A discus thrower?
A children's carnival across the river
Grand old architecture
The beautiful entrance to the
Bilbao Train Station
Looks like an archangel protecting
the Casco Viejo
What does he have in his hands?
A sensible fashion look if you ask me
Two Basque men window shopping
Ball Street
The Virgin of Massachusetts
The streets next to my hotel . . .
. . . were starting to fill up with
diners, drinkers and carousers
A map of the Casco Viejo
Church art is . . .
. . . always of interest
Oh look . . .
. . . President Trump responding
to a question about NATO
One of the Casco Viejo's beloved
vagabonds from days gone by
They were starting to get LOUD!
Those ear plugs are going to come in handy later.
Mexican food
A nice mural around the corner
from my hotel as it started to rain
Back to my room to pick
up my umbrella
Oh boy!
The Catedral de San Antón
after attending the 7:00 p.m. Mass
A Pilgrim
Father's Day in Spain is
only a few days away
OLD!
Great woodworking
Not sure who this
Catedral saint might be
A golden shrine
I'm hungry.
Pintxos it is!
More pintxos
OH GOOD LORD!
I was on the Route of the Pintxos
1973 photo of Bilbao's soccer team
My final bar of the night for Pintxos
GOOD TIMES INDEED!
I was back in my room at about
9:00 p.m. feeling a bit tired
for some reason
Oh, I see why now
Absolutely!
A GREAT first day in Bilbao, what will Sunday be like?
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