If you read my previous post, you know about our unexpected change in our journey to Spain. Despite the hiccups, we made it to Bilbao when expected. We collected our bags and went to the Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao. Once we got our party of five together, our first stop was a plaza filled with pinxto bars. Rather than plop down in one restaurant for dinner, people walk around the plaza trying pinxtos at different stops. We had wine with our pinxtos for a reasonable price. Drinks and a pinxto for five people was only around $35.

First Full Day in Spain: I woke up at 4 am! Why??? Even in Spain, my body clock game is strong. I had a breakfast sandwich from Scala, across the street from our hotel. Fresh bread, jamon, an egg. YUM. This fueled me for our tour of San Sebastián, located just one and a half hours away from Bilbao. The first stop was at Itzurun Beach where an episode of Game of Thrones was filmed. We saw cool layers of rock called flysch at this spectacular spot. As we continued to make our way to San Sebastián, we continued being amazed. La Concha Beach, works of art by Eduardo Chillida, Old Town (including a teacher protest/parade), and of course, pintxos. In Bilbao, we had a wonderful dinner at a Basque restaurant called Markina. We shared all the dishes. Great dishes made with fresh ingredients. I loved the hand-peeled tomatoes served with EVOO and salt and pepper. So simple.

On our second day in Spain, I still woke up at 3:30 a.m. We visited Bertiz for breakfast where I got an avocado toast and a Basque tart for only 5 euros. We explored Bilbao on foot and found Bascake where we had the famous Basque cheesecake. It was deliciously soft and silky. It was sweet but not overly so. We found more pintxos for lunch. Then, we headed to the Guggenheim Museum and admired the building from the outside and the exhibits inside. After our art stop, we walked across a bridge and headed to Gastronomia, our site for our cooking class. We learned to prepare a few pintxos and tapas dishes. We enjoyed preparing new dishes while learning about Basque culture and ingredients while sampling Basque wine and a floral gin.

This ended our time in Basque Country. I loved the location of our hotel. Bilbao is a very walkable city with lots of restaurants and shops. Living Hilo Style in Bilbao and San Sebastian, Spain.