Bilbao, Spain and Biarritz, France

Day Two: Biarritz, France and Bilbao, Spain

Well we went a little off of the original plan...but that's because things never work out as planned. SO there are only two buses daily to get to Biarritz...one that leaves at 9 am and the other which leaves at 2:30 pm. The original plan was to get up at 8 am and catch the 9 am...but as we got to sleep a little late the night before it just didn't work. So, instead there was more exploring of San Sebastian until we got ready to leave. The travel was really beautiful because it was right along the coast the whole time and you always had a view of the sea. When we got o Biarritz we were told that there were no buses leaving the next day (when we wanted to go to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim) and the only bus remaining left in 3 hours. So the 3 hours I spent in Biarritz, France was really nice....anything along the coast was just breathtaking o see. By the time we arrived in Biarritz it was about 10pm and we had no hostel (place to sleep). We spent the next 2 hours running around the city trying to find somewhere to sleep while it seemed to be getting colder by the minute. As we were doing this we are right in the middle of Carnival...a grand party all around Europe where everyone dresses up in costumes and parties all night. Despite the cold people were wearing every kind of costume from surfer to Buzz Lightyear. It was pretty interesting. By the time we found food and were inside its already 1:30. Maybe time to rest up for tomorrow....

Day Three: Bilbao continued...

This is one of my great days of culture. First thing first, I had to find another hostel for the night. Once that was done off to the Guggenheim which, truth be told, was not as impressive as I would have thought. Outside it is very elegant and looks huge but it seemed like there weren’t really that many exhibits (and add in the fact that the 3rd floor was closed for renovation. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. there were a lot of interesting pieces but when I thought of the Guggenheim I thought it was more. After this we explored Bilbao...the thing abut Bilbao is it has personality but its not the kind of city you´ would show to your friends. Especially in comparison to Biarritz and San Sebastian it is kind of on the other side of the spectrum. Its rich in culture as there are tons of museums an places to eat but as for sight-seeing this is really not the place. We ended up going to another museum (because it was raining heavily and he only thing that was open) but were pleasantly surprised because it was pretty good. (Museum of Fine Arts). Next Paulo had to catch a bus back to Valencia (classes start now) and I went back to the hostel. AT this point I have figure that I have seen enough of Bilbao and start planning my next leg of the trip.