Bilbao: A Travel Inspiration Guide

Bilbao is nestled in a small valley centered on the northern coast of Spain. Upon arrival we set out to take advantage of what the city had to offer, primarily its endless variety of mouth watering pintxos and ample room to meander around its charming alleys and little squares decked head to toe in cascading flowers and arching trees.

First stop, the Guggenheim Museum. The clean, geometrically lines covered in a shiny bronze-gold sharply contrast the old town just a short walk away.

What started as a quick stroll through the streets turned into a long leisurely walk around town, which quickly helped us to work up voracious appetites.

Pintxos are individual two-bite portions of food, somewhat like tapas but even smaller and native to Basque country (northern Spain). Though it often took me four bites to get through one. Perhaps this was my attempt to savor every last bit.

My little moment of happiness in Bilbao came when I realized that the bartender at the first pintxos bar was not ignoring me on behalf of my work-in-progress Spanish skills, but rather had a very orderly system of first come first serve in an overwhelmingly chaotic bar. How he kept track of everything was a skill to be envied. When it finally came to taking my order, we joked a little in spanish and he was so kind as to bring our order over rather than having me wait at the bar while the kitchen worked their magic.