Bilbao Trip Summary

After very little travel due to Covid-19 it felt so good to get on an Iberia flight to Spain.  One of the things that British Airways / Oneworld did during Covid was to extend frequent flyer status levels while people couldn't travel so thanks this this I still have my silver medallion status.

For Kája and I, this was our first trip together.  Who knew if we would travel together well or not?  Kája is used to Ryanair, so it was a nice surprise for him when we arrived at the airport and got to move to the front of the queue and he had his first airport lounge experience.  

Bilbao was great!  Neither of us had been there before and visiting the Basque Country has been on my list of places to see for years.

On Thursday we did a free walking tour of historic Bilbao.  Our guide, Marina, was excellent.  

We enjoyed walking around and checking out the local sights.  It was especially nice enjoying the 30℃ (86℉) weather which was way warmer than in Brno.  

On Friday, we went to see the Vizcaya Bridge and did some walking around in Getxo and Portugalete.

On Saturday was our half-day tour which included stops at San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Bermeo, and Guernica.

You can't visit the Basque Country and not enjoy pintxos, which is the Basque version of Spanish tapas.  Both are small snacks but pintxos are usually served on top of bread with a toothpick holding things together.

On Saturday afternoon we came across Basque folk dancing in the centre.

I'm not sure what I did that there's no sound but you get the idea.

Later we took an hour-long boat cruise along the Nervion River which gave us another view of the city.

Halloween seems to be catching on more and more across Europe.  

I think only in Spain will you see kids go trick-or-treating in pubs.

Of course, Saturday night wasn't just for kids.  

There were plenty of adults out as well.

We had a great time in Bilbao.  We definitely want to return to the Basque Country and next time we'll check out San Sebastián.