Our study-abroad program gave us two free weekends in a row in the end of November, so for the first one my friend Jemma and I decided to take a last-minute trip to Bilbao, Spain. Bilbao is in the Basque Country, situated on the northern coast of Spain. Although it is only a six-hour train ride away, being in Basque Country (or País Vasco in Spanish) feels like being in a completely different country. While the majority of Spain is quite dry and flat, the landscape around Bilbao was mountainous and green. The people in Basque Country speak a completely different language, called Basque. It is one of the only languages in the world that is not based on another language. It is 100% unique, so knowledge of a romance language gets you absolutely nowhere. This was quite a challenge for us when we first arrived, but luckily our Air BnB host also spoke Spanish.
After a six-hour journey on two particularly horrible Renfe trains, Jemma and I arrived in Bilbao at around 8pm. We trekked up to our Air BnB (literally, because Bilbao is built partially up a mountain) and got settled. It was a cute Air Bnb; definitely not the nicest one we have stayed in (the lack of hot water was definitely not ideal), but it was fine for the two nights we were there.
Our host wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the restaurants nearby, and since we were exhausted and starving, we decided to attempt to order pizza to be delivered. We somehow managed to navigate the website of a nearby pizza place in Spanish, and 20 minutes later, hot cheesy pizza and a bottle of Rosé were delivered to our front door, along with these crazy good potato wedges with some sort of spicy sauce. This was a delicacy, because it is nearly impossible to find spicy food in Spain. We spent the night enjoying our pizza and watching Elf.
The next morning, we woke up and walked to the Guggenheim Museum, which was only about 10 minutes away. The Guggenheim is an extremely famous art museum, and there are four around the world. The most famous two are in New York City and Bilbao. The Guggenheim is sort of the symbol of Bilbao. It is known for it’s incredibly unique, spectacular architecture. It was absolutely breathtaking to stand in front of.
Every hour, in the big water pool in front of the museum, a fog machine releases a ton of fog, so it is nearly impossible to see even a few feet in front of you when you’re in the thick of it. This was happening when we first arrived, which was a bit overwhelming but still really cool.
Once it died down, we were able to appreciate the spectacular sculptures outside the museum. The two most notable were the giant spider sculpture (passionately hated this) and Puppy, which is a giant dog made of flowers. In the winter it is just green, but in the spring and summer the whole thing blooms.
We spent about half an hour just exploring the outside of the museum, and then finally decided to go inside. When we walked in we were immediately greeted by the sound of an orchestra playing classical music. There was a concert going on in the middle of the museum, with an orchestra and a Soprano, which could be heard all throughout the museum.
Unfortunately, the second floor was under construction, so we could only go to the first and third, but there was still plenty to see. The art was absolutely incredible. We tried taking pictures, but Jemma got caught and was reprimanded by a security officer, so we decided not to risk it anymore.
The Guggenheim was one of the most impressive places I have ever been, and I would highly recommend it to absolutely anyone and everyone!
After spending a considerable amount of time at the museum, we walked across the street and got lunch at a cute restaurant called Suasan. We got coffee to start, and then shared some cheese croquetas. I had a chicken caesar wrap, which was super yummy.
From there, we walked across town to a Funicular. A Funicular is like a little mini train type thing that takes you up a mountain. It only cost one euro each way, so it was a super cheap activity.
The ride was really fun, and at the top were the most INSANE views of the city. You could even see as far as the ocean on one side. The air was the freshest air I have experienced in years. It was so beautiful and calming and serene, and we stayed up there for well over an hour just enjoying life.
We rode the Funicular back down and then walked back to our Air BnB to freshen up. Later that evening, we took the Metro to Casca Vieja, the historic part of downtown, to explore and eat.
I just need take a second to talk about the Metro system, because it was the CLEANEST METRO I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. Coming from New York City, the Subway has given me pretty low standards, but I swear I would’ve eaten straight off the tracks of this station. Everything was shiny and spotless, and the trains themselves were extremely high-tech and perfectly clean. Since it’s a smaller city the trains don’t run very often, but that was the only downside. We were very impressed.
Casca Vieja was beautiful. We wandered down towards the river and happened upon an Oil Festival, which was incredibly random but also kind of cool to walk through. There was a long row of stands all sampling different types of olive oil.
We walked through, and at the end, there was a stage with a Flamenco dancer performing. We stayed and watched this for awhile, because she was absolutely amazing. We fell in love with Flamenco when we were in Granada, so we were thrilled to be experiencing it again. The music is beautifully haunting, and the dancing is indescribably captivating. The energy from the dancer vibrates through the entire audience, and it is really spectacular.
After the show, we continued wandering around and found the main Plaza of the city. It was nothing like the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca, but it was still cute. Pinxchos are extremely popular in Bilbao. Each restaurant has a massive display of tapas at the bar, so we hopped from restaurant to restaurant trying different ones. After we were full, we took the Metro home and ordered some wine from the same pizza place as the night before. It was a perfect, relaxing end to the trip.
The next day was a bit hectic getting home, and we came extremely close to missing both of our trains. One of the men who works at the second train station we were at asked us which train we were trying to go to, and when we told him, he started shouting “Corre! Corre! Corre!” which means “Run! Run! Run!”
Needless to say, we ran, and thankfully made it just in the nick of time.
I’m so glad we decided to go to Bilbao. It was kind of a last-minute decision, but it was one of my favorite places that we visited in Spain because it was just so unique. I would go back in a heartbeat.
Idly Wild 