MikeT

While I also visited Barcelona and Sitges, the only thing I can really add in terms of new info is that Montserrat was both a disappointment and a marvel. Disappointing because it was overrun with tourists, but still an amazingly beautiful place.

After a week in Barcelona and Sitges, I took a one hour flight on Vueling (for about $30) to Bilbao. I'm a huge fan of contemporary architecture and design, so Bilbao seemed like a great spot.

I stayed at the Sheraton Bilbao (on Starwood points). It's a lovely, contemporary hotel with great service. I was upgraded to a corner room with an amazing view of the river and a great bathroom. I loved the automated black-out screens.

I mostly used the Tram, which travels along the edge of the river into the Casco Viejo. There was a stop near my hotel and includes a stop at the Guggenheim. It's very very efficient, reasonably priced, and a great example of creating light rail. In parts of the city, the rails are embedded in grass to give it a park feel.

Bilbao is definitely a "second" or maybe "third" tier European city, but still worth a visit. The Casco Viejo has a dark, mysterious feel but at night because the center of nighlife. You are literally walking down a dark narrow street and you turn a corner and find people celebrating at bars and restaurants.

The Guggenheim is a design marvel and I loved the area around the river where designers have built contemporary bridges to complement older structures. I wasn't crazy about the Guggenheim's collection, although I will say that some of the galleries had a "take your breath away" impact when you walked in, even if the art was a little uninspiring.

What impressed me about the city is that they have taken urban renewal and design seriously. It reminded me of efforts in places like Cleveland and Pittsburgh in the U.S. in terms of trying to revitalize the image. There is a lot of really beautiful contemporary design and architecture in the city, something you don't see as often in Europe.

I strolled through the downtown area (near the train station) and happened on some nice shops and restaurants. I was a bit under the weather, so I don't really have any great food stories to tell.

Well, I have one. I found that my basic Spanish didn't get me very far in Bilbao. A lot fewer people spoke English, so conversations were a challenge. I went into a restaurant in the Casco Viejo where I could only make out a few things on the menu. I ordered the evening meal of the day.

It started with sausages and other organ meat. I assumed that was the first course, so when they brought out an egg dish, I assumed that's what I had ordered for the main course. No, it was also part of the first course.

Completely stuffed by the sausages and eggs (and wine), they brought the main course which was a fish dish swimming in butter. I could barely finish half of it.

The dessert was a basket of walnuts and a nut cracker, plus assorted cheeses and dried fruit. That was definitely the highlight. Well, that and the cider which was poured from vats in the wall.

Would I recommend Bilbao? I think if you've done the great capitals of Europe, it's a nice alternative to see something different. If you like contemporary art and design, it's a must. While it doesn't rival other great cities in Spain, it is a city that works and I was glad I included it in my itinerary.

Dukey

Thanks for posting this report...very interesting and helpful.

BTW, did you visit the art museum at Montserrat?

MikeT

I did. They have a nice, small collection. I will say my favorite exhibit at Montserrat is the audio/visual are which takes you on a tour of Monastic life. Very interesting.

Dukey

Yes, I found it interesting that the Montserrat museum actually had several works by American (US) artists.

artlover

MikeT,
Thanks for reporting back re. Bilbao. We've been debating going for years now and your report helps. I've heard the collection is only so-so.

Dukey, I don't recall the Americans at the museum in Montserrat. Do you recall who they were.

And Mike, I agree about Monserrat being overrun with tourists (felt the same way about the Louve last visit), but I guess we're part of the "problem", huh

MikeT

Artlover,

I am a big fan of contemporary art; I try to go to MoMA in NYC as much as I can. I thought the collection at the Guggenheim wasn't terrribly "accessible," although there are some interesting collections of contemporary Europeans I wasn't that familiar with.

The art to see is the amazing building. I will also say that they give each person a guided audio tour as part of the entrace fee and the guided tour was quite informative and made the unfamiliar art and artists more accessible.

Robert2533

It's an interesting report, but lacking in depth. Bilbo is far more then what you experienced. A little more research would have open up the experience a little more in what is truly an amazing city, a center of Basque culture and cuisine. Hopefully you will do a little more research and pay the city another visit.

Dukey

Artlover,

I KNEW someone was going to ask that question! Unfortunately, I do not remember for certain but I am pretty certain there was a Singer Sergeant.

Robert2533,
I am sorry but I completely disagree with your assessment. This report is as &quot;in depth&quot; as it is possible to be for someone who actually visited and reported on what he <b>actually saw and experienced</b> IMO.

If your own report is better then perhaps you would be kind enough to bring it to the top so we can all read it.

NEDSIRELAND

I agree that Bilbao is a fascinating City to visit: Frank Gehry's Titanium Masterpiece housing the Guggenheim, the 'Casco Viejo,' called that because the rio Nervion's course causes it to be shaped like a helmet (Casco).

I was disappointed you didn't mention la Begonia Cathedral or the 3-story Mercado on the river adjacent to the Casco Viejo. The market is a delight to stroll thru: I promised myself that my next visit to Bilbao I would have a kitchenette so I could buy and cook some of those delightful morcillas and chorizos.

MikeT

&quot;This report is as &quot;in depth&quot; as it is possible to be for someone who actually visited and reported on what he actually saw and experienced IMO.&quot;

Thanks. My idea of vacationing isn't a non-stop whirwhind of every highlight but instead focusing on a few things that I know I personally am interested in. I did go into the market in the Casco Viejo and found it interesting, although I've been in similar markets all over the world,

mikelg

You entered a cider house in the Old Town, and had the fixed menu. The fish was cod, the egg thing was a cod omelette and the sausages were chorizo and the organ thing was &quot;morcilla&quot;, made out of blood, vegetables and rice. We donīt use butter to cook, everything is cooked on olive oil.

MikeT

&quot;The fish was cod, the egg thing was a cod omelette and the sausages were chorizo and the organ thing was &quot;morcilla&quot;, made out of blood, vegetables and rice.&quot;

Now I know. Thanks. The chorizo and morcilla were delicious. The combination of a slightly queasy stomach and too much food did me in. My mistake completely.

Olive oil, of course, makes sense. The was swimming--no pun intended--in some sort of oil and I wrongly assumed it was butter. The cider was delicious.

cova

It was probably &quot;bacalao al pil-pil&quot;. In the way it is cooked, moving all the time, the fish &quot;jelly&quot; mixes with the olive oil and generates a sauce of a texture similar to melted butter. I like it, but not the best thing with a &quot;weak&quot; stomach.

Hi Mikel, nice to see you around. I hope weather is not too hot in Bilbao now.

Rgds, Cova

artlover

Dukey, I think you're right! Now that you mention it, I recall seeing a Sergeant!

mikelg

Hi Cova, itīs been a long time...

Sunny and nice in the mornings, rain and storms in the evenings, almost every day. From hot and humid to warm..and humid.