Bilbao/Bilbo (Baggins?)

I woke up in San Sebastián feeling sore but I passed it off as stemming from the walking and sun from the day before. But after a serpentine hour-long bus trip to Bilbao, I lost my cookies. I don't know if I picked up a bug somewhere or ate something off, but I am pretty sure I didn't contract meningitis or any other serious disease. Still, I felt weak and sick to my stomach enough that it put a damper on Bilbao, or Bilbo, as it is called in Basque. (Speaking of good food under other circumstances, though, there's an excellent bakery inside a gourmet grocery store called Don Serapio, which is at Calle Sancho el Sabio 22, near the bus station in San Sebastián).

We had reserved a double room for 35€ at an agroturismo casa rural in Bilbao, curious about how these accommodations would be compared to the windowless hostel rooms we had been paying 40€ for. When we called the house managers, they assured us we would have nearby public transportation, since they were only 1 km away from a metro stop. What they neglected to mention is that it was a kilometer straight uphill.
Now, the accommodations were lovely, and the views remarkable (see picture above), but I was not in the best shape to be chugging up the mountain with my backpack. We took a few wrong turns on the way up, which complicated matters, so I was very grateful to see our quaint room. I would recommend the casa rural experience to everyone. Obviously it's easier if you have your own car to get around, but it is still possible to stay in a casa rural in various Spanish provinces that is located within a metropolitan zone that has fairly good public transportation. In our case, we found that a bus to central Bilbao passed by within a block of the house.

After a quick shower (with the most reliable heated water I've experienced yet in Spain, my apartment included), we were off to the city. Our first stop was the Museo Vasco, which has many ethnographic and archaeological exhibits pertaining to Basque culture and history. There was a lot to digest, but some of the lessons we took home had to do with traditional Basque sports, religion, and fishing techniques.

We were also lucky to catch a special 70th anniversary exhibit on Gernika. It included historical film footage of the bombing and its aftermath and a tapestry version of Picasso's Guernica. Next we checked out the Guggenheim, with all its quirky architecture and modern art...I recommend the documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry if you have the time. Still, this museum is getting more and more expensive, which concerns me.

I have to admit I repented many times for having brought an old edition of my guidebook, LP. It was outdated on many basic points for Bilbao, understandable considering the ever-growing city that it is. It's my fault for not buying at least the guide with 2006-current info. Additionally, one of the city tourist information offices had moved from the address we had and the other was closed when we got there. Luckily, we were able to call a hotline and get information on transportation options to Gernika for the following day.

Souvenirs from the city:

• Kukuxumusu postcards depicting Basque culture
• small flag of Euskal Herria
• t-shirt with four ancient Basque runes
• wooden box with Basque symbol of the four elements
• glass with Guggenheim sketch design