Wearing:
Sunglasses - Monki
Top & Bandana Scarf - Bik Bok
Pants - Zara
Welcome to my first post on my travels in the Basque Country (and get ready for a long-ass post). The first destination we got to explore was Bilbao(with theexception of the first night spent in Biarritz, France). Bilbao is an old industrial city known for its old town and of course the Guggenheim museum. The city is quite large so I would recommend renting bikes for the day (10 e) since it's an easy and a fun way to explore the city. On the first day of our stay in Bilbao we went to the Guggenheim museum. The museum does not only contain a diverse array of exhibitions but the building also is an architectural wonder in itself. One tip that I could offer for those traveling in August is that go on a Monday to avoid the crowds, since not everyone knows that Guggenheim is exceptionally open on Mondays during August.
After a day in the museum we spent the night drinking sangria and restaurant hopping, eating pintxos, (the basque term for tapas).
On the second day we decided to make a day trip to the Urdaibai natural reserve. The views were breathtaking and I will publish a photodiary of the trip because otherwise this post will literally become a book and ain't nobody got time for that. However, the reserve wasn't exactly what we expected, since the tourist guide we read showed a picture of woods and a tropical waterfalls. So imagine our surprise when we get there and suddenly the trail takes us basically to countryside with houses on the road. In addition to this the trails were very badly marked and we got lost. Of course I found some comical relief in the situation because I found it so hilarious that we had expected to be hiking up adventurous forest trails and here we were lost in the countryside, eating our packed lunch next to some barn. At that point I was relly feeling the name Urdaibai which to my childish ears naturally sounded like 'Ur-DIEBYE'. On the brightside though, we did end up walking for 4 hours straight and spent up the day hiking like planned. I would say that the place is not worth a full day trip since only a part of the park was inhabited and the trails are lacking. However, we did find a super beautiful part of the reservation, and most of the pictures I took are from there. That part was definitely worth seeing, so if you wish to take a train there, I would recommend getting off the train at Forua, as the stop is located right next to the most beautiful part of the reservation. The trip by train takes approximately 54 minutes.
At night we went to the area near Guggenheim and ate at a restaurant, which served Spanish dishes. The paella we ordered tasted better than any paella I've tasted so far and the restaurant served local rioja wines in the menu, which one simply must taste while visiting the Basque Country.
On the last day we decided to rent bikes and ride 22 km (one way) to the Playa de Sopellana, an amazing beach full of surfers. The great thing about it was that you could ride the subway back to Bilbao with your bike. We did not survive the trip without any complications though but I think at this point of knowing myself, this shouldn't be a surprise... You see, after 7 kilometers suddenly the petal (yes, the PETAL GUYS) falls off. At this point we had been biking for almost 40 minutes already and we still had 15 kilometers ahead so biking with only one leg wasn't really an option. Now in hindsight I do wonder though if someone has set a guinnes world record for biking with only one leg... Anyways, the guy from the bike rent shop ended up coming down with a taxi and brought us a new bike. See, some saviors do not come with a white horse but a taxi and a rentable bike. That's it for Bilbao. You sweetie pies will hear from me in the next post.
Favorite restaurants:
Charlie (pintxos/tapas)
Larruzz (the paella there is incredible)
Places to visit:
The old town of Bilbao
Playa de sopellana
A roof top terrace called La Terraza del Yandiola
Activities:
Rent bikes
Cayaking down the river
An organized river boat tour of the city
Adios y Besitos,
J
