Wes Arrives and We Explore Bilbao

Sunday, May 14, 2017--Bilbao, Spain

My bus arrived at 12:25 at the Bilbao bus station.  I walked to the front of the area to see if Wes had arrived yet, and he was walking toward me having just arrived at the same time.  So we headed out walking toward the apartment where we will be staying here.

Pablo, the apartment owner, was waiting for us when we arrived.  He was very helpful with information and suggestions for our visit.  The apartment is huge and beautiful. 

As soon as Pablo left, we went out to explore so that Wes wouldn't fall asleep too early and spoil his chance of a quick adjustment to the time change.  We walked across the bridge into the old part of the city.  It has narrow streets and they were filled with people here for a big futball (soccer) match tonight.  Most were outside bars drinking and enjoying the beautiful sunny weather with very nice temperatures.

Although it was Sunday (meaning that the shops were closed), we walked down Gran Via, the major shopping street of the city.  We were headed to the Museo de Bella Artes which Pablo had told us to see today because it is free on Sundays after 15:00 and because a very good Renoir exhibit there is closing tomorrow. 

It still wasn't 15:00 when we reached the museum, so we wandered through the area.  Bilbao is a former shipbuilding city that has been quite wealthy over the years as evidenced by wonderful expensive-looking apartment buildings all over the city.  In wandering, we came to the Guggenheim Museum which we will see on another day.  Wes was hungry because he had missed breakfast on his flight into London this morning, so we sat at an outdoor cafe across the street from the Guggenheim eating a kebab with fries and a drink. 

We returned to see the exhibits at the Belle Artes Museum, and they were great.  The Renior show was a huge one of mostly small- to medium-size paintings--landscapes, portraits, scenes of children, scenes of families, scenes of bathers, etc.  But the rest of the museum had exhibits with paintings and sculptures by many famous Spanish and Basque artists from Pre-Renaissance times to the present.  And another special exhibit called Different Trains which was a video about the exportation of Polish Jews to Nazi Concentration Camps and accompanied with music by the Kronos Quartet was interesting.

Leaving the museum, we walked in the Parque Republica de Abondo.  It is a very nice city park that had many people sunbathing, visiting, sitting at sidewalk cafes, etc., and even some young men doing acrobatics on the lawn.

From there, we headed back to the apartment taking another route both to get to the old town and going through the old town.  Pablo had given us a bottle of Basque white wine--4 Lau Teilatu.  We poured the wine into glasses and sat on our balcony looking at the nearby buildings and watching the passing people.

At 21:00, Wes took a melatonin tablet and went to bed.  I will head there soon after writing this.