If Paul were being honest, the whole reason he planned this little northern Spain getaway was to make it to Bilboa. And, more specifically, to make it to the Guggenheim Museum. He has tried twice to see the Guggenheim in Spain and both times he never made it. We were determined that this attempt would be successful.
After a quick bus ride from San Sabastian we checked into our AirBnB in Bilboa. It was a nice little apartment that had everything you could ever need except, as I would find out later, a large supply of hot water. But who wants hot showers anyway? The location felt a little sketchy, but it was really close to everything and everywhere we wanted to go. And off we went, exploring the city, which of course means finding as many playgrounds as possible.
And let me tell you something, Bilboa is full of playgrounds! Nora was in playground heaven. And her parents were in cafe-right-next-to-playground heaven. Spain, and Bilboa specifically is doing it right. There is a playground on every corner and a cafe right next to each one. Mom and dad can enjoy their wine while little Timmy and Jane play away. Hey, Houston, are you listening?!!? Anyway, our final playground stop of the day was the Guggenheim Playground. We didn’t know it at the time, but this playground would become a daily ritual. There are worse.
The other thing our apartment was lacking was a washing machine, but hey, that’s Europe. We started day 2 in Bilbao started with a trip to the laundromat ($13 a load!). We also took a river tour, which I remember almost nothing about except that it was cold and there was a lot of talk of architecture, but mostly just that it was cold
Boat tour. Before we got cold.
The absolute highlight of Day 2 though was finding a Mexican food restaurant (De Boca Madre). An actual, real deal Mexican restaurant! I can’t tell you how happy these Texans were to get to enjoy queso, guac, and beans (and margaritas!). We were walking on sunshine leaving dinner.
For Day 3 we decided to take a little trip to the beach at Playa de Sopelana. The trip started a bit rough when we realized we had not got off at the nearest train stop and had to walk 30 minutes to the beach. Luckily, our little family has become expert at walking. For a beach trip, the weather was a little cooler than I would have liked, which meant I spent my time on the beach laying very still on my towel and not moving. Paul and Nora braved the water. I swear, those two feel no pain when it comes to the freezing ocean temperatures over here. We watched a surf competition while we were there and took a nice long walk. Thankfully Nora didn’t seem to notice the fully nude men also strolling along the beach (whoopsy, mom fail not checking into the beach clothing requirements). Notwithstanding the aforementioned naked old men, the views at the beach were stunning. The cliffs falling right into the ocean were far prettier than our at-home Gulf Coast views.
As always we forgot the “nowhere serves food before 8:00 p.m.” rule in Spain and couldn’t find anything open for dinner while we walked the long walk back to the train. Will we ever learn?!?!
Day 4 and we finally made it to the Guggenheim (or The Guggie as Nora has affectionately named it). And it did not disappoint. Okay, that’s not true, it did disappoint Nora, who very early on declared that art museums are BOring. And to be fair, I can see where she’s coming from. Obviously, the adults loved the exhibits, especially me since I am a big fan of modern art, but the Guggenheim really isn’t a place for kids, which meant that we had to cruise through much faster than I would have liked. Oh well, she really was, and always is, a trooper. She lets us drag her around to all kinds of places that I’m sure are no fun for kids. Which is why we spend so much time making it up to her at playgrounds.
Day 5 was all about exploring. I went out for a run along the river early in the morning. *Side note – I used to run almost every day. Ever since moving here though, I run less than once a week. It’s sad, really. And I can’t explain exactly why I quit running. I guess for one, I have fewer babysitters to watch Nora while I’m gone and two, if I’m really being honest, I just haven’t made the time for it. Running used to be a priority and now it’s been pushed aside. But when I run these cities we visit, I’m always reminded of how much I love it. I love seeing new places by foot while I run. I’ve always felt like I get a better feel for a city and its people when I run. Bilboa was no exception. I loved my morning run and all I saw.
After some schoolwork with Nora and a little daily work for Paul, we set off to explore. First up was a ride on the Artxanda Funicular up to the top of Mount Artxanda where we were greeted with a panoramic view of the city. It was a really cool view and a gorgeous afternoon for it.
Thumbs up!
Just a few minutes away we found a couple of playgrounds and Nora had fun being a kid, I even got to show off a little of my balance beam skills. After taking the funicular back down we walked over towards Old Town, where we found another playground and Nora had a BIG accomplishment. She did the monkey bars for the first time by herself!!! Afterwards I asked her what made her decide to try it (after years of avoiding the monkey bars) and she just shrugged and said, “it looked like fun.” We were all smiling ear-to-ear.
Day 6 was a rain day. It rained ALL day. We hung out at the apartment having a very lazy day. Nora and I binged Netflix’s “The Worlds Most Amazing Vacation Rentals.” We are both totally hooked. Also, how do I sign up for that job?!?
Day 7 was our last full day in Bilbao before we were heading to the wine country. We spent it, I’m sure you’ll find this shocking, going to playgrounds and doing more monkey-barring. Once again, Spain does it right with wine cafes right next to their playgrounds!
Not sure if you’ve picked up on the theme of our Bilbao visit – playgrounds and wine!
Bonus day in Bilboa – we actually went back to Bilbao a few days later for 24 hours. It was a bonus day! We started by dropping our luggage off at a luggage locker. First off, I didn’t really know that was a thing, but secondly, it’s sooo nice that it is a thing. Dragging your luggage around waiting for check-in is a total nightmare. After that we headed to the Guggenheim playground, which was a bit eventful as Nora climbed up the slide to be greeted by a giant moung of human sh%t. I mean, really?!?! Surely there are other, more convenient places to take an outdoor shadooby than the upper deck (no pun intended) of a kid’s slide! Literally a hazmat crew had to be called out to clean the playground. As you can imagine, that whole adventure led to some questions from Nora.
From there we went for a walk up the river and stopped at a little floating cafe (*note, and I should have explained this earlier, I do prefer to call these places cafes, while the are probably more accurately described as bars) and stopped to have a little snack and drink. The service was terrible and so we all went a little stir crazy sitting and waiting but thank goodness mom always keeps a pack of Uno in her purse!
After that, we checked in at an amazing AirBnB/hotel-thing and it directly overlooked the Guggie. After weeks on the road at various apartments, this little place was a total gift. Seriously, if you plan to travel to Bilbao ever, hit me up and I will send you the information.
View of The Guggie from our living room window.
The apartment was so nice we decided to stay in for the evening and enjoy ourselves at home. But before putting Nora to bed, we decided to take a nighttime walk to The Guggie and across the neighboring bridge. There was a jazz band playing outside and Nora and I couldn’t help but dance the night away. After we put Nora down, Paul and I settled in watched the Astros playoff game from his computer. Go Stros! Okay, so I’m writing this two months after playoffs, so obviously I know how it ends up, but still, go Stros!
Well, this is definitely the longest blog post to-date. But Bilbao really deserves even more. As I’ve been typing this, I’ve realized how much I actually loved it. Paul and I talk a lot about how much we enjoyed Spain. Who knows? Maybe there is more Spain and Bilbao in our future.
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