Back From Bilbao

A wonderful weekend in Bilbao. But cold, even for Northern Spain at this time of year. A dusting of snow, but much sangria and fine Spanish wine was drunk to compensate for this burst of winter. The point of the trip (a break from the thesis aside) was to visit the Guggenheim en route to my Guggenheim Grand Slam. More on this later.

But I also really enjoyed a morning wandering the Casco Veijo - the Old City. The Catedral de Santiago dates from the 13th century and is surrounded by meandering streets and the buildings are dotted with hanging flower baskets and pretty balconies. The Mercado de la Ribera is the largest covered market in Spain and we watched fish being scaled and peppers being dried among the crowds of Saturday shoppers. (Photograph of the Mercado along the bank of the River Nervion above.)

In addition to the Guggenheim, we also checked out the Museo de Bellas Artes, which houses a good collection of Spanish artists from the 12th to 20th centuries. Modern Bilbao was just as interesting as the older part of the city. Every metro station has a unique entrance - these worms dotted the city streets. And Bilbao is certainly a dog friendly city. In fact, I have never seen so many dogs in one place in my life - perros everywhere.