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Bilbao, Spain — A Lovely Surprise

Mike and Liz make it to Bilbao in good time and check into the beautiful Hotel Lopez de Haro in Bilbao. Unaccountably, we’ve been upgraded to a fabulous suite. There is a fairy following us on this trip, giving us bigger, nicer things along the way, and we don’t even need to ask. Our traveling partners, however, haven’t arrived. Where can they be? They left the villa an hour before we did, and….? So, we go for a walk on the riverfront. The river is spanned by art-y bridges with green space on both sides, and a light-rail train running alongside. It’s a beautiful day for a stroll.

Then, back to the hotel to see if the wanderers are there, and they are — hair standing on end. So far, they’ve 1) gotten into an argument with Lovely Lori, their GPS, who was relentless in trying to send them down a closed road, 2) managed to find Bilbao on their own, 3) returned their rental car to the wrong place, 4) retraced their steps to return their rental car to the right place, 5) picked up a new rental car that’s the size of a postage stamp and tried to cram all of their stuff inside, 6) chased all of Jane G’s papers down the street as Jane L obliviously sheds them as quickly as they can be picked up by helpful Spanish men trailing behind, and 7) saved Jane L from being run over by someone who was trying to park while Jane was stooped over in the parking spot (i.e. invisible).

Lunch and a beverage are next on the agenda so everybody can calm down. Then on to the Guggenheim for some and to rest for the others. The giant dog of flowers outside the museum is wonderful, as is the museum building itself. Inside, we are lucky enough to see both an exhibit of David Hockney works and a major installation by Richard Serra. The two couldn’t be more different one from the other. Mike is riveted by the fact that Hockney now does all of his work either on an iPad using Brushes or on video camera.

We gather for dinner in the hotel restaurant and have a great meal. The Menu of the Day offers good selections for all. Both the guidebooks and specific people along the way have turned up their noses at Bilbao, dismissing it as “industrial.” We find it to be a clean, modern, pretty city well worth the visit. There is plenty to do here, great places to walk, and good food to enjoy. It appears to be thriving and the people friendly.

We hug each other in the lobby as when the morning comes, there will be only four of us remaining. The G’s go home early in the morning. Adios! We will miss you!

Bilbao, Spain

 

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One comment

  1. Jane G
    #1

    Laugh out loud commentary and the pictures are fabulous. Mke I didn’t get how big the metal sculpture was when you told us about it. Wow!

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