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| Basque, Spanish and European Union Flags |
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| That's where we are, right in the Biscay Bay |
At the north coast of Spain, along the shores of the Bay of Biscay,
lays Bilbao. In former times, Bilbao was a centre of industrial activity; today
the city has re-invented itself as a cultural hotspot and utterly livable city.
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| Main Modern Shopping Street in Bilbao |
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| Theatre Square |
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| Central Square with Playgrounds and Restaurants |
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| Balconies and more Balconies... |
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| The River... |
The decisive initiation of this re-invention started with
the construction of the now world famous Guggenheim Museum, which is an
architectural jewel made of glittering glass, gleaming steel, and without a
straight line in sight. Best of all, the organic touch, the towering flower
puppy, give it a lovable touch.
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| Promenade along the Guggenheim |
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| Iconic Pregnant Spider |
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| Guggenheim Façade |
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| Lovely play of light and shadow on Guggenheim Exterior |
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| The Puppy - not yet in full bloom |
Due to the large amounts of money flowing into the city from
earnings of this singular building, Bilbao was able to undergo a massive
re-construction, beautification and modernization process, preserving historic
buildings as well as the entire ‘casco viejo’, old town. High tech
infrastructure makes negotiating the city easy; there are trams, articulated
buses and metro nets, as well as bicycles for rent. No graffiti in sight!
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| Ingredients for Tapas |
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| To the sound of Mendelson's Wedding March I visited this Cathedral |
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| Anti Bull Fight Poster... |
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| Cathedral Ceiling |
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| Buskers |
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| Simon Bolivar, the South American Liberator, lived here...only place where I saw graffiti |
Either by luck or by gifted town planning it all works
perfectly together. The city is pure pleasure: wide tree lined avenues,
pleasant promenades along the river frontage, and parks around edifices like
the Guggenheim, romantic corners in the old town, majestic cathedrals, inviting
open air restaurants, tapa bars, Avant Guarde architecture and bridges, and an
ever lively street scene where Spaniards, Basques and expatriates and visitors
make for great people watching.
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| Statues on the Theatre |
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| Fashion galore...even for the tiny tots |
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| Basque dancer |
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| After the ceremony in the Cathedral - the Happy Couple |
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| Basque Musician |
The most agreeable thing to do then in a city like Balboa is
go out there and mingle. I had visited the Guggenheim during an earlier visit a
few years ago; this time around I wore a few more millimeters of the soles of
my shoes and explored more of the city scape itself. As the weather was perfect
for strolling, it was just as perfect for taking a tapa break in one of the
many well frequented ‘holes in the wall’. Actually, being a Saturday, there
must have been a soccer game somewhere, as the alleys were filled with
revellers celebrating whatever team’s victory, and many of the tapa bars had
not a single table available, so much so that patrons mingled out of doors and
bounds to sip their wine seated on anything available: curbs, fountains, low
walls, window sills – whatever. North American liquor control agencies would
have had a fit, and concerned parents would have been outraged at the display
of public indulgence in alcohol. Local kids seem to grow up without any
traumatic effects and levels of health and safety seems actually better than in
our NA over regulated nanny state society.
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| Artistic interpretation of the scene around El Globo |
I finally found a little tapa bar, El Globo, where I
savoured fresh white asparagus gratin…after all it is asparagus season here.
Reluctantly one returns to the ship, as a port like Bilbao tempts to stay and
linger.
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| From this.... |
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| ...to this, just in a day.... |
