The Pintxo Adventure

Left Gijon around 11am and drove towards Bilbao. We were amazed by the change in landscape and vegetation compared to other parts of Spain. These mountains are incredibly lush and spotted with occasional farms. Some parts even reminded us of the hills of the French Alps. Halfway through our trip, we exited the freeway to find gas and in our search, we stopped at a look-out to appreciate the view where the mountains meet the coastline. When we looked over to the ocean below, our perceptions of Spanish partying were confirmed once again... Part way down the cliff was a dance club that was not only packed with people but the music was so loud we could feel the vibrations. It was 2pm on a Wednesday.

Reached Bilbao and checked into our hotel. With some stroke of luck, we were upgraded to a junior suite! The best part is the view... Straight to the Guggenheim. After unloading our bags, we went for a walk to check out some of the hotel recommended pintxos bars, the Basque version of tapas. The city is more beautiful than we imagined. It's filled with amazing old and modern architecture, lots of social activity and topped with a gorgeous riverfront.


At the first pintxos bar, Bitoque Albia, we had two glasses of wine and three pintxos - a gourmet burger with melted cheese and a tomato/onion sauce, goat cheese round on top of a roasted red pepper, sprouts and a toast and the last was turkey salad on a baguette. All were very delicious. The restaurant had a hip, funky vibe, almost channeling New York. The best part... It was all under €9!

Continued on the pintxos quest to the old city across the river. There we walked the medieval, cobblestoned streets of Bilbao.


We visited their main church.


Then bought dinner provisions at an alimentacion. We found another popular pintxos bar where we had jamon iberico filled mushrooms on toast. Yum!

On our way back to the hotel, the streets were filled with people and all lit up with Christmas lights.





After crossing the river, we followed its banks back to the hotel, but not before stopping at the Guggenheim to appreciate its grandeur.





As we were walking by the museum, a sudden roaring caught our attention. We quickly spun around, and we saw five different powerful flames shooting up from the reflection pool. This obviously captivated Martin's attention, and we had to wait for a second round of them to go off again. "Afterburner roaring flames," direct quote from Martin with a huge grin.


Enjoyed dinner in the room and took in the view of the Guggenheim from our bed.

- Martin & Kate

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Location:Av de Abandoibarra,Bilbao,Spain