Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

Hola! This Saturday just gone consisted of a last minute booking to spend the day in Bilbao with fellow English teachers in Burgos. Bilbao is the capital of the Basque country in the north of Spain – an area filled with it’s own unique cultural heritage.

One prominent example is the Basque language – very different from Castilian Spanish! Although not as widely spoken in the Basque region as Catalan is in Catalonia, it represents a strong sense of national identity for the Basque people – many of whom want independence from the rest of Spain.

The weather reached 20 Degrees Celsius in Bilbao – a huge (and pleasant) change from cold Burgos! I even ditched my jacket and jumper for just a t-shirt. The city, although heavily industrial, is still very beautiful to walk around.

Before meeting the others a friend and I visited the Basque Museum (or Euskal Museoa/Museo Vasco!). It was small but showed different artifacts of traditional Basque living – mainly pastoral and marine! For only 3 euros it is worth popping into, and is located in the old town which is never boring to wander around.

This I was pleasantly surprised to see, as it’s an exhibition I had previously seen in Brazil. It’s a small world!

The Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art: we didn’t go in, as people say unless you’re mad for modern art (which I am not), it’s only the outside that’s worth seeing. And entry is 13 euros, which is expensive compared to the other museums. However the exterior certainly is impressive!

After we travelled on the funicular to see the whole city from above. We caught it just as the sun was beginning to set, so it was beautiful!

Before catching our return coach, my travelling companion mentioned an ice cream shop called Nossi-Be that sells not only strawberry and chocolate ice cream – but ice cream with fish and cheese flavours! I had to try. I went for a scoop of violet and a scoop of cod. The violet tasted fine, the cod tasted like cod. Very difficult to decide whether it was okay tasting or gross. What made me unable to finish was that the cod ice cream has a chewy texture – which I don’t think is good for any flavour! So I would recommend a taste, but maybe not a scoop!

Bilbao was certainly beautiful, and definitely a city worth visiting. It’s small, so a day or two would be enough. I wish we had been able to see more, there are a few things unchecked off my list, such as the Fine Arts museum and the Basilica, but I’m happy to have an excuse to return.