Euskadi 2018 - Part 1

July 2-10, 2018.

It's that time again!

Time for me to post about a recent trip, even if it's one I make every year now.  It's always a long time coming, but it's so much better for me to make it at least once a year instead of once every who-knows-how-long.  I promised my best friend, and myself, two years ago that I'd make this a regular thing, and I will keep that promise.

I booked the tickets in March or April, about the same time I booked the tickets to the Philippines, after talking to my best friend about the dates, and when she confirmed they'd work for her, I booked them, and when the time came, off I went.

My flight left at 10 PM out of JFK, so I'm not really counting that day as a travel day, since only about 2 hours were actually covered, fewer if you count in the time difference that inevitably occurred within two hours of flying east.


July 2-3.

I landed in Madrid at about 11:45 European time, got re-acquainted with Adolfo Suárez/Barajas, realizing that it's relatively user-friendly if you just completely ignore what it says on your boarding pass since this airport does not work that way.  You have to check the departure screens to know where exactly it is that you're flying out of in the airport, because your boarding pass will not give you correct information, if it's printed on it at all.  This wasn't my first time in Barajas, but it was my first time truly realizing this, and then just accepted that fact that it's so typical Spanish.  There's already a system in place, but they'll create their own simply because they can and you just need to do what they say because that's just how it's done.  Because Spain is different, of course.

Anyway, my flight to Bilbao didn't even have a boarding gate yet, so I found somewhere to sit while I waited for flight info to appear, and just enjoyed listening to Castilian Spanish again.  I can understand virtually all Spanish accents with no issues and I have no issues with communicating with anyone else who speaks Spanish; it's a non-issue.  But Castilian Spanish just makes me so undeniably happy when I can just listen to people speaking it around me because I live in the US and it's just not something I hear very often.  It reminds me of home and I love it.

I'll just skip past the rest and get to when I landed in Bilbao finally, at around 2:45 since it's only a 45-minute flight from Madrid, and once I got my checked bag and saw that my best friend was waiting outside for me it was wonderful.  I'm in a long-distance relationship with my best friend, and have been for the past 18 years, so y'know.  We headed to her place where she lives with her husband, and got a bit settled in her guest bedroom, and before heading out to a choir practice we went for a walk around Algorta, the section of Getxo where she lives.  Getxo, I will say, is kind of hard to explain.  It's a municipality, so it's more like a conglomeration of towns all incorporated into one city hall.  And some of those towns are pretty big, which make Getxo an actual city.  It's divided into districts, and the entirety of Getxo has six Metro stops, giving it almost as many as Bilbao, and it's technically the "Bilbao Metro" or "Metro de Bilbao".  It's also where most of the "upper class" or at least "upper middle class" live if they don't live in Bilbao proper, especially in the Neguri district.  My best friend lives in Algorta, and while I grew up in what was technically Leioa on the other side of the highway, I went to school in the district of Romo.  Which is where we met, because even though she lived in Algorta, on the other side of the city, her parents were teachers and directors at the Romo school.

So we walked and chatted for a bit before she had to leave, and then I walked around and wandered some before heading back to get some rest.

Ahhh, home sweet home.

The Puerto Viejo, or Portu Zaharra.  At least part of it.  This is actually the oldest section in Getxo, from back when it was a tiny fishing village.

Another angle of the Puerto Viejo.  Algorta expanded in the late 19th century when Bilbao did because it has the entrance to the city.  Getxo expanded with it.

Typical Basque architecture, and this isn't even the "most" typical.

Ah, Algorta, when you can see the sea from just about any angle.

Panoramic view a bit further down, where nearly the entire Arrigunaga beach is visible.

When I got back "home", my best friend's husband had just arrived from work, so I sat up and chatted with him until she got back, after which I went to bed.

The drive from the airport to Getxo.  Bilbao begins at the bottom, around where it says "Deusto" on the map.

My little walk

June 3.

I woke up rested, and took advantage of the relatively clear morning to walk out to the tip of La Galea, which is the point where the cliffs in the pictures earlier end, before meeting up with my best friend and husband in Bilbao for lunch.  It had been years since I'd been out that far, and since it wasn't really threatening rain (yet), I figured I had some time before I had to get to the metro.

Of course the views were breathtaking, because we're talking about Basque coastline here, which is formed from limestone Karst formations crashing into the sea due to erosion, making for some very unique landscapes and coastlines.  There's a reason Game of Thrones decided to film a good chunk of the latest season in the Basque Country is all I will say.  It's very otherworldly.  And this is the part of the world where I spent some formative years of my childhood.

It's so green because it rains all the time, true story.  But look at that landscape.

The old fort at La Galea.  It's technically closed to the public, but I know people hop the fence.  That tower is covered with graffitti.

Ah, yes.  This is home.

Looking towards the other side of the harbor into Zierbena.  It's about an hour's drive out there.

A better look at some of the Karst formations.  Basque beaches are small, surrounded by cliffs, except when they are actually cliffs.

I managed to make it into Bilbao with time to spare.  My best friend and her husband meet up every day for lunch in the Doña Casilda Iturrizar park (or just Parque de Doña Casilda, sometimes even El Parque) since she works at the university complex right next to the San Mamés soccer stadium (literally, she could probably watch matches if the timing were right) and he works at the Torre Iberdrola right next to the Guggenheim, and the park is about equidistant.  It's also probably one of my favorite spots in Bilbao, in the same way a lot of New Yorkers love Central Park.  It has this beautiful colonnade that I was completely fascinated with as a kid and I haven't outgrown that.

The Torre Iberdrola, Bilbao's skyscraper, where my best friend's husband's works, from the park.

The colonnade in the park

One of the main entrances

The colonnade is in two halves, which encircle the fountain.

During lunch, my best friend and her husband brought up this coffee place that's right by his office that opened within the past year or so.  It's run by a Chinese guy whose parents were some of the first Chinese immigrants to Bilbao who opened up a Chinese store (in Spanish, they're called "los chinos" because the owners are [almost?] always Chinese and they're basically like a dollar store) and made a good living.  Their son, Daniel, went to business school, decided to open up a tea shop, and brought his sister in.  So Matcha Bubble Tea (link in Spanish, and fun fact, my best friend and husband were in there when the author of the article was doing the interview) was born in the brand-new (within the past 10 years) business district in Bilbao around the Iberdrola Tower.  And the coffee was supposed to be legit, and we should go check it out to see if he's working, since he's the one who makes the best coffee.  They'd been going pretty much since the place opened, so were able to explain all the changes the restaurant had made, including when they started offering food.

All the accolades the place has received are warranted, because Daniel makes a mean cappuccino.  He takes his time, probably a lot longer than what many people would like, but he creates a true work of art.

I'm not normally a basic b*tch, but here I am.

My best friend's husband had to go back to work, so the two of us wandered around Bilbao some more before she had to meet up with her competitive dance partner.  We walked along the Arenal and the Casco Viejo for a bit and then I stayed behind to wander, which is what I do.

The Teatro Arriaga

Bilbao City Hall, with a Jorge Oteiza scuplture in the foreground.

My walk ended up taking me down past the Guggenheim, and I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't planning that.  It's just one of the most photogenic spots in the city.

Isozaki Towers with Calatrava's Zubi Zuri (White Bridge) straddling the Nervión.

Underneath the Zubi Zuri.  Fun fact: up until about 8 years ago the floor of the bridge was tempered glass because Calatrava, being from Valencia, didn't understand Bilbao's rain.  So people were constantly slipping on the bridge when it was wet, which was often.  So a layer of what's essentially black astroturf was put on it avoid further pratfalls.

The Salve Bridge, with the Guggenheim Bilbao right next to it.

Underneath the Salve

The river looks especially nasty right now because it's more of an estuary (where the sea water meets the fresh water river) and Bilbao had had a lot of recent rains (more than usual, even for Bilbao) so all the flotsam had been dredged up from the currents.

I got down here right as the fog was turning on, and oh, boy.  I won't bother posting more pictures than what are already up, but wow.

Facing the Guggenheim and Puppy by Jeff Koons from Iparragirre Kalea

After my jaunt around the oldest and newest parts of Bilbao (Casco Viejo or Zazpikaleak being the oldest and the area around the Guggenheim being the newest, or at least most recently developed inside the city itself), I headed back to Algorta.

I really enjoy walking.