The highlight of Bilbao, we had heard, is the Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Gehry. The museum is closed on Mondays but the shore excursion team arranged an opening for those on tour.
During our visit there was also a press conference at the museum for a new exhibition devoted to the work of Spanish artist Juan Munoz, somewhat limiting our time in the museum.
Even if you don’t get to visit inside the museum, it is an interesting part of the downtown landscape, and Jeff Koons-en’s topiary “Puppy” sculpture outside the museum is worth the visit. The tour also included a walking tour of the old city downtown.
Once to free-time, we broke off from the tour and enjoyed exploring the shops and cafes. Churros and chocolate — stick pastries served with a cup of molten chocolate for dipping and drinking were delicious, as is the coffee con leche.
Our guide had pointed out the subway station in the old city (Casco Viejo). Bilbao has the newest subway system in Europe. It also connects up with a tram system downtown. It was a 1.45 Euro ride to the Gobela station, located in a beautiful and wealthy hillside neighborhood that overlooks the port.
There are beaches near the port and a gorgeous walkway, as well as a lot of restaurants.
We found Bilbao a delight with many more attractions than the Guggenheim. The port provided a free shuttle to downtown, and the city is clearly working hard to attract more cruise ships.
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We stepped off the shuttle bus in Gijon with no expectations and armed with a map and Frank’s detailed port briefing. The port provided a free shuttle to downtown. We quickly found the beach and the 6 kilometers of sea walk. It was a sunny spring day and the locals were out in force. We made it about 2 kilometers when we came across the Alaskan Café. Having strong ties to Alaska we had to stop for a café con lecher and a photo op. The waiter graciously pointed out the best places to explore and we headed onward. After another few kilometers of walking we stopped in the Vinoteca Laurel for a glass of wine. Along with the wine they gave us simple tapas, bread with a slice of Spanish ham. We ended our day by having a 3-course daily special lunch at El Pimenton. While the waiter didn’t speak English, he used expressive signals to convey the menu beyond our limited Spanish. One of the first courses was a local Asturias specialty of Fabes with clams. Faba beans or “fabes” are large beans often cooked in a stew with sausage. The second course was delicious fish or beef. All washed down with terrific house wine.
These locals in this port were friendly and the city was easy to navigate with perfect weather, making for an ideal port call.
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Ah, a relaxing day at sea after a night and morning of sound sleep. The gentle rocking of the ship, combined with our new jet-lag cure – drinking two wang-wangs in the Crow’s Nest late into the evening during the first night of the cruise.
We did arise in time to enjoy the wine tasting. While missing Ferdinand, our favorite Sommelier from last summer, we enjoyed meeting Sean and participating in his first tasting class. Later, Janis visited the salon, getting a terrific haircut from Denise.
Rather than the traditional Captain’s welcome party, there was a Captain’s toast starting at 6:15 pm, followed by the production show “Europa”. The Prinsendam cast is larger than before and the 10 singers and dancers put on a high-energy show with flamboyant costumes.
Before traveling to Europe we purchased wine and soda cards. Then, onboard, we discovered a generous friend sent us another wine card. We will not be thirsty on this cruise.
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