Sunday, March 9, 2025
A sunny day in Bilbao, perfect for adventure and the non-stop eating of Pintxos in País Vasco!
I left my boutique hotel after a good night of sleep thanks to the ear plugs that they kindly provide to their lodgers.
When I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and took the ear plugs out, the party in the street was still in full force. Basque people know how to have fun, LOUD FUN.
Let the strolling begin!
Blue is a great color in Bilbao
Café con Leche and a Croquetta Pintxo
made for a wonderful breakfast pairing
Lorenzo Múgica was such
a dedicated teacher . . .
. . . that the city renamed the school
where he taught in his honor
Diego María Gardoqui
was born in this house in 1735
He served as Spain's first Ambassador to the fledgling country of the United States of America in 1785.
Additionally, the business that he ran in Spain sent materials to help the American cause during the Revolutionary War.
Magnificent buildings all along
the river walk
Rivers must have bridges
Did anybody catch sight of
a dragon by any chance?
Murals on the ceilings of . . .
. . . arcades were a different
but nice touch today
The Mercado de la Ribera
This beautiful public marketplace is closed on Sundays but I'll be back at their doors at 8:00 a.m. on Monday when they open.
The Camino is seemingly everywhere
The Salt Tax Revolt of 1631-1634
This violent Revolt occurred in opposition to King Phillip IV's taxation policies on the then highly valuable commodity of salt.
In 1634, the Revolt ended when the King's men finally rounded up the six ringleaders of the conflict and summarily executed them on the exact spot where I took this photo.
The 16th century
Iglesia de San Antonio Abad
This old church had at least one old statue
The view across the river from the
Iglesia de San Antonio Abad
Sturdy looking old bridge
A bank building
Powerful looking edifice
that is now an office building for
all sorts of professional workers
Huge tile work
País Vasco is as politically
active as their neighbors in Asturias
See what I mean?
Armed anarchy is to be feared
So are these desserts, so I said,
"NO, GRACIAS!"
Sometimes I amaze myself.
I saw a sign saying that the Museo de Pasos, where they display the huge Passion Week floats that the Penitent groups carry around the city, was just 100 meters up a side street.
I had to go see it!
The BVM greeted me warmly
Candle lighting is . . .
. . . a MUST on these huge floats
Christ's Passion Week in a nutshell
How did Tommy Trojan get in here?
There were about 30 of these
small biblical scenes on display
The lighting on this one was perfect
He died for our sins, so I've been told
Silver bird of some sort
Why is this man laughing?
Violence is a biblical staple
Some of the Penitent uniforms
were also on view
I liked this look, clean and neat
Next up was a long walk up a steep hill on a hot day.
Getting close
Meet you at the corner of Virgin of
Begoña Street and Battle of Lepanto Street
I took the uphill climb slowly but after about 25 minutes, I arrived at my goal.
The Basilica of Begoña
dating from 1620
The Basilica had a nice entryway
I was hot, tuckered and in need of a place to sit out of the Sun.
When I entered the Basilica, Mass was in full swing with the priest preaching his sermon which sounded strangely like the one I heard last night.
I figured that my best bet to meet my personal needs was to find a seat in the back of the Basilica and participate in the ritual.
After the Mass ended . . .
. . . a refreshed me was back
in full tourist mode
It really was a beautiful church
The Holy Ghost was in the
House of the Lord
An ancient baptismal font
Now this was interesting
Basically, since 1900 A.D., it promises anyone 100 days of plenary indulgence for your sins every day to the faithful who kiss this cross and then pray an Our Father with a contrite heart.
Sounds much easier than confession to me.
An important day in Catholic Church
History, I'm sure
On the other side of this colorful
building the Sociedad Deportiva Begoña
was hosting a series of youth soccer games
The old entrance to a cemetery
Part of Loren Brucker's vast
retirement portfolio
It was MUCH easier going
down this hill than up it earlier
Water is such a good thing
A Gothic church spire just
appearing because it can
The Casco Viejo streets were
starting to fill up again
If only it was this easy . . .
You should know of my love
of heraldry by now
I turned a corner and found
this wonderful street musician
What do you think?
Bilbao Athletic had a game tonight
against Mallorca that ended 1-1
Who would have ever guessed a tie in a soccer game?
It was Athletic Bilbao's tenth tie in 27 games this season.
It was appealing but no
The Plaza Nueva
Only in a city dating back to the year 1300 could a square built in 1826 be called "new."
Time for a round of three more
excellent Pintxos and a caña
My view while dining
The Plaza Nueva had an
active soccer in full swing
I need a new Basque style boina
They appear to be much bigger and floppier than the Asturian version of these Spanish berets.
This store was closed today, so I'll need to drop by on my way out of town tomorrow to purchase one.
After making such a serious
fashion decision, I needed
two more Pintxos
Other than the surprise one last night that turned out to have its main ingredient be a breaded and fried pig's ear, all the rest have been great!
Weird head at the train station
Beautiful stained glass homage to
Bilbao's rich industrial heritage
also at the train station
Proof that Bilbao is officially a city
Now that was different
Pasta sounded so good to me
but I kept walking
No idea what happened here during
the time frame listed but it must
have been quite important
I just liked it
A strange looking fellow
John Adams
The Second American President
What was this statue of him doing in Bilbao?
As it turns out, Adams is held in high esteem in País Vasco because, in 1787, while writing in defense of the then new United States Constitution, he said this about the Basque people, " . . . this extraordinary people have preserved their ancient language, genius, laws, government and manners without innovation, longer than any other nation in Europe."
I'm not quite sure how this statement gained the support of the people back in America for the Constitution but the Basque people sure love him for it.
My view while resting on a bench
Spain's #1 Department Store
Lots of ladies on a Sunday afternoon
just sitting and swapping good stories
More heraldry
More temptation but, again, "NO"
This currently dry fountain has
been here sine the year 1800
The noise beneath my widow
was starting to build
In the evening, I went out one more time.
If I had hair, I'm not sure that I
would want to trust it to this
Apocalyptic Barber Shop
Oh look, they serve Pintxos!
Really good ones too!
This bar serves Pintxos too!
The yellow ones are cod and looked too rich for my taste.
Instead I ordered these two,
I'd pounced on the foie gras one
before I could get out my phone
to take this photo
As it turns out, I love foie gras way more the breaded and fried pig's ears.
The shrimp one was good as well.
About three weeks ago, Laurie sent me the following photo from our backyard in Camarillo.
We had a raccoon in the back yard
Not a big deal, we have had raccoons as temporary tenants several times over the years.
She made sure to keep Toby, our cat, in the house for safety's sake though.
Today she sent me another photo of the fauna inhabiting our back yard.
It was a large BOBCAT!
Holy Mother Of God!
Laurie and Toby both stayed in the house this time.
I need to get Laurie to a safer spot soon, but where?
not as many steps as yesterday but
that uphill climb to the Basilica was
TOUGH!
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