Blogs from Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, Europe - page 4

MADRID - Tuesday 28th May Have been wandering the streets feeling both excited and apprehensive. I think I have just realised what I have done. Here I am, on my own, and I don't speak the language!!!!!! Madird is extremely lively and busy - there is some evidence of the financial sitution - some homeless people sleeping on the street - one with a cat (and it's litter tray!) and a demonstration outside a bank - seemingly about BANCO FRAUD from the placards - I could hear them before I could locate them as they were blowing whistles! I walked further than I had planned along the Calle de Mayor - had actually missed the Plaza Mayor totally! But this, of course, led to much better things to see - the beautful Jardines de Sabatini - ... read more

all had reasonable kip on ferry but lots of snoring mentioned by all Breakfast was nice as sea was flat and calm so great crossing, and all well. We had bikes parked on bottom of ship deck 1, so we all had the fear of riding up wet ramps, to get out of the hold, etc. We all made it but back wheels spinning to meet the front was a worry. Set off after passport control, border officer looked at my passport and nodded ok, which is a worry as had my helmet on, but hey Ho. In formation we left the quayside but Goodey was having problems with loading his sat nav, for the hotel in Bilbao, mile down the road he pulled in, thought he had a puncture but his sat nav was telling ... read more

Bilbao is just 2 hours away by bus and, with a long weekend to enjoy, we decided to return to the city and see some more of it. Much to our annoyance, the weather got gradually worse as we got further from Pamplona and closer to our destination! We had booked a room at the Ibis Bilbao Central as it was only a few Euros more expensive than staying in a hostel. Our first challenge was getting out of the bus station though. That was more hassle than we had imagined as there are no signposts or even a proper map that we could see. As you would expect, we went the wrong way first, but soon realised that it couldn't be the right way, and before long we were trudging our way along a "slippery ... read more

Si, si, si! We have arrived in Spain!! We took a flight from London Heathrow to Bilbao ahead of starting our new jobs in Pamplona. Having never been to the North of Spain before, everything was very new to us. Even the language is going to take a bit of getting used to, but it is getting easier by the day. On arrival we took a taxi to the NH Deusto which was rather a nice way to begin. It's just a shame our room had such a crappy view of someone's washing hanging out instead of Bilbao's spectacular scenery. After checking in we headed straight out to some nearby tapas, or should I say, pintxos, bars. Wow, we had forgotten just how nice Spanish red wine is!! From take-off at Heathrow to the bar took ... read more

Seeing Guernica was amazing. The city is a symbol of freedom of Los Vascos and it is very sacred. I enjoyed the lecture that took place there today. Even though we weren’t there long and it was very small I felt like I learned a huge portion of the culture that I didn’t understand when I studied Guernica by Picasso. After that we had lunch near by at a restaurant in the OMA Forest which was beautiful scenery. I have to say all the hotels and restaurants we have stayed and eaten at have been beautiful and so nice. I’m glad we get to experience the best of the best before we are traveling on our own and staying in hostels. When we got to the Hotel in Bilbao we had a review session for ... read more