Well we knew it could happen and if it did, the north coast would be the place. We awoke to a lowering sky and no sunshine in sight. But we are adaptable so we had breakfast, grabbed our rain jackets and headed out into the city.
We started with La Ribiera market, a large indoor food market similar to Pike Place in Seattle but much more modern, all gleaming steel and glass. Apparently it has been rebuilt several times after flooding – it sits right on the river. Once we had our fill of fish smells, we headed back out to the old town.
We wandered many of the same streets in old town that we had traipsed before but the daytime vibe was very different. More shops open along with the bars (!) and people everywhere smoking cigarettes. So. Many. Smokers. We really were not prepared for the prevalence of it in Bilbao. Maybe it’s the concentration of the urban setting but for us it was a tad overwhelming.
Eventually it was time for some culture so off to the cathedral we go. We took the audio guide that came with our ticket, which we don’t usually do. And we were promptly overwhelmed by historical and architectural details that I couldn’t really process and now can’t remember. And that is why we usually don’t bother. Our ticket also included a visit to San Anton’s church where we eschewed the talking stick and just wandered the building. Much more our speed.
By now we were hungry and though it was very early for lunch, it is never the wrong time for pintxos. We headed to Ahoan, a pintxos bar on the Plaza Nuevo that has a large variety of GF options (the owner is also Celiac) so I got my first real pintxos experience. An assortment of 5 offerings on the amazing GF bread they offer here. Add a glass of txokoli and the experience was complete!
A tad more wandering after lunch led to the beginnings of a blister so quick stop at the hotel for a plaster and then we were off to enjoy some street art. We found a few interesting pieces but nothing like what we have in Aberdeen.
After enjoying art on the walls, it was time for art in a museum so off to the Guggenheim we go. We generally aren’t good with modern art – nearly got chucked out of a museum in Ottawa! – but we continue to try to learn. As usual we were mostly confused or underwhelmed. Except for the Barbara Kruger exhibit. We were quite sure what to make of it at first , especially the bits in Spanish and Basque, but as we spent more time in the exhibit, the impact was pretty incredible.
After our last dose of culture, it was time to get to work: cooking! We joined a mother and daughter from Portland to learn how to make pintxos (not really hard) and drink txokoli (even easier). We learned that Bilbao txokoli is not fizzy but the version from San Sebastián is. We learned tips for poaching shrimp, making mayonnaise, and other things that Mikel our Basque chef-teacher thought relevant. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to have told him about my GF status so there were a few things I had to pass on. But I did get delicious Basque cheesecake for dessert instead of the bread pudding I didn’t really want. So score one for me!
Highlights of today:
- Lots of walking! 23k steps for just over 11 miles. Very sore feet.
- A very urban experience compared to most of the trip. After Bilbao we are in much smaller places – hopefully with better weather!
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