Spain - we made it

Monday 8th May

Well, yesterday was a day I hope not to repeat. We had a long drive from our place in France to our current accommodation in Ermua, Spain - half way between San Sebastian and Bilbao. The first part of the drive was quite easy through the minor roads and highways in France. As we approached Bayonne, which is in France and almost on the coast, Dora warned us of a traffic problem and re-routed us through what we were guessing was the burbs of Bayonne. The road was OK but very winding so very slow. 

No real idea of when we passed into Spain except the phone told me how much my data was going to cost, and then all the road signs were different. Ok so far. But then we came to San Sebastian and Dora took us right through the guts of the town, not once, but twice. Seems like some of the one way streets have become one way the other way since Dora did her exam. And the traffic now was really heavy. Following the coastal highway (not motorway) was heavy traffic, twisty roads. Some places the gps screen looked to be full of roads and it was sometimes hard to work out which road Dora intended us to take.

Anyway, arrived safely, didn't get lost and didn't kill each other.

Now the hunt for food. Lots of bars in the area but we're not too sure what the go is with food. We ended up finding dinner at Hanigans Pub - an Irish pub in Spain.

Tuesday 9th May

With the horrid traffic yesterday we decided that the car would stay in the car park and we would bus it into Bilbao. There is an express bus from here and only 3.50 euro each. Arrived in Bilbao, map in hand and promptly set off in the wrong direction. Compass on the phone to the rescue.

We wondered through the old part of Bilbao - which is not really that old compared to places in France. Very different style of buildings; much more modern. The housing density is incredible. Ground floor is all shops, then on top of that there are 4 or 5 floors of apartments.  This seems to be the same across the whole of the city. We took a break and had churros and coffee, but mistakenly did not order them with the chocolate. Tomorrow we will know better.

He knows where he is going. Come on dad, keep up!

One of the streets in the old town. 

The cathedral  - there should be a second tower on the right
but apparently the ground is too soft to support it.
The cathedral is on the Santiago de Compostela walk.

The theatre.

Found that the city had a hop on hop off bus so did the tour of the city. Plenty to see. There is not one architectural style in Bilbao, there are hundreds of them.

This dog sculpture sits out the front of the Guggenheim museum
- 12 metres high and covered with flowers.

One of 8 bridges that cross the canal that runs through Bilbao. 

The Guggenheim museum.

Another of the bridges.

The Tour de France starts in Bilbao this year.
The tourist information office didn't have any information about it.
We will be long gone by then.

Enjoyed a lovely lunch in the old city. Very cheap for a drink, 2 courses and coffee. 

Next we took the 'Melbourne' tram (again very cheap) around to the Guggenheim museum. The museum is a really different building said to not have one straight wall. Quite amazing.  As for the art inside! I knew after 5 minutes that this was really not my thing. We thought they had some old masters inside but this was really about a few local artists and nothing grabbed me at all.

Very unusual atrium - don't think the photo shows it to best effect.

This was some art installation with messages scrolling up in red neon lights.

Looking down into one of the galleries.
Reminds me of when Claire was little and we went to see an artists work
and she commented that he wasted a lot of space on the paper.

This was the only piece I liked. It is tulips.

Home time. Found our way to the bus terminus on the tram but when we got off, no sign of our green buses. We wandered around the block for a bit, then stood on the corner for a good 20 minutes scratching our heads. Finally asked the driver on another bus and he pointed out the big red building just there that was the bus station. Not quite the end of the experience - having found the building, where do we buy tickets, and where are the buses?

Now back at the hotel and ready for dinner. Hanigans again I think - too tired to explore further.

10.30pm. Not Hanigans. The soccer is on and the pub was full, so it was just kebabs from the fast food joint and they were good.