A wet day in Bilbao and a modern day Gaudi.

I've never heard of Bilbao, Spain. That is until two friends told me about it when I asked for ideas of side trips from Barcelona. (It is hardly a side trip, for it is a 6 hour train ride away...). They told me I should check out the Basque Country of Spain, which I have also never heard of. It's unique, they say. It got its own culture, its own language, its own cuisine. Apparently, it is also part of the route of the popular pilgrimage tour Camino del Norte, yet another thing I have never heard of, until this dude from the hostel interrupted my conversation with a very nice Canadian girl to tell us he's been walking this route. I guess he wanted us to be impressed by it. But I digress...

The Basque Country is indeed special as an autonomous region in Spain. In fact, there is also a French section at the southern border of France. Interestingly, both this part of Spain and the Catalonia region at Barcelona and two of the riches part of country. The Basque is likely known for its natural beauty. It has stunning costal cliff sides and rolling mountains. I will likely see none of this, for I picked the two rainiest days of my trip to spend here somehow. But the Basque is also known for it's amazing cuisine, something that the rain cannot deter me from. In fact, those Pintxos that I mentioned before are essentially the Basque's versions of the Spanish Tapa. More on this later, however, as there'll likely be an entire blog just on food. But today, it was sight seeing in the rain.

Bilbao is the largest city of the Basque region. By large I mean it is really just quite small. I took me probably around just an hour to walk it. It is totally doable in a day. In fact, any extra days here should be used to explore the nearby region. Like San Sebastián, about an hour away by bus, which I am going tomorrow. Or the stunning seaside cliff point San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, which I sadly will have to miss, but sits only about an our away by car if the weather were to be favourable enough for me to consider renting a car and going. It is also a popular wine region. And, if it serves your palette, historically also makes this sour cloudy natural cider (Sidra Naural) that I am drinking now. It's not the sweet cider that I'm fond of. As I offered it to others around the hostel, we all agreed, "it's different".

But perhaps what Bilbao is most known for, is the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Deigned by CANADIAN (sorry, did I cap locked that? My bad...) Frank Gehry and completed in 1997, it is a stunning, in your face piece of architecture likely not unlike the impact Gaudi had back in his days. In fact, I think I see amazing similarities in the two geniuses (their devoted followers would likely barf at this remark, but I don't know any better...). Large curvy panels of titanium fish scales forming soft lines, blending in with effective use of window walls and limestone, this building seems more symbolic of a Gehry design than any others. In fact, I think he went on and designed many similar looking buildings after this one. Many felt that the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao had a lasting effect on the way a creatively designed iconic building can jumpstart the revitalization of a neighbourhood. In fact, they called this the "Bilbao Effect". Interestingly, this is one museum where the museum design itself was actually more interesting than its exhibits. Instead of paying the 13 Euros to see pieces of art work from artists I've never heard of, I decided to take a quick nap on one if its indoor benches. And it was wonderful.

I spent the rest of the days getting lost in the streets of Bilbao. Bilbao is a beautiful city, but of course it's buildings would come alive much better had it not been pouring. I eventually gave up on walking and tucked into a busy looking place to grab me a handful of Pintxos at 1 Euro a piece. I think I ended up trying every single one they had there, washing the down with some sweet vermouth. It as a nice quiet day in a sleepy little city, but Bilbao has its charm.

(On coming to Bilbao from Barcelona via train. Spain has a pretty good train network, and the process of getting a ticket turned out much more modern than my experience last year in Poland. The national network is run by a company called Renfe. It even has a handy app that you can download and search for train tickets. Unfortunately, my Canadian Visa card wouldn't authorize on the app, so I had to use a desktop computer to get it instead. But once purchased, like a plane ticket, you get an email version of it which is simply scanned at the station. The trains were mostly comfortable, although I got stuck in one of these "table for 4" and had to keep my legs from kicking over to the family of three sitting surrounding me. The trip took about 6 hours each way, and the stations were relatively central so most of the hostels in Bilbao should be within walking distance. And you even get to watch a Hollywood film in Spanish. :) )

Barca! Barca! Barca!

After days of exploring Gaudi and parts of the Gothic old city, it came time to have a much rather non-religious, but equally cathedral-like experience, especially for millions of international fans alike.

Welcome to Camp Nou.

Too bad I had to settle for the next best thing. The epical moment would have been to nail tickets for la Classico, the referred name for the ultimate sports rivalry game, Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona. Ironically, la Classico is actually to take place a few days after I leave. Had I planned this better, I would likely be there cheering, singing their anthem via lyrics on Google, and soaking it all in. But no, there are no home games during this stretch. So I had to settle for the so call "Camp Nou Experience", a 25 Euro ticket designed for hungry fans like us to experience the next best thing. I was lucky enough to take in this experience with my new Moroccan friend Amjad (who happened to be a dedicated Real Madrid fan, and happily did numerous frowny and thumbs-down faces in front of every Barca logo he saw). But we both felt that this was 25 Euros well spent. Perhaps better than many of the tourist attractions we paid for here. Laura, still in love with her Gaudi, of course rolled her eyes at us.

But to be honest it was well worth a visit. I'm not a dedicated soccer fan. I know very little of the legacy behind Camp Nou or even the legendary FC Barcelona. My earliest exposure to such a historic stadium actually came from my much loved Anime comic "Captain Tsubasa". You see, Captain Tsubasa was a comical childhood soccer prodigy in Japan. In the later stages of the comic, he grew up, and like many of his contemporaries, went to Europe in search of his soccer dreams. When he arrived and visited Camp Nou, he looked around the gigantic stadium, and felt he was always destined to play there. Of course, in comic book fashion, he made the team. I had wanted to visit the real stadium ever since. Of course, the hero of the modern day is a little man known as Messi. He is probably a little over-celebrated here, to be honest, for throughout Camp Nou we actually saw very little reference of other prominent players who had dedicated their crafts here as well, such as Ronaldo (the less pretty one), Ronaldinho, Neymar (who many would said did nothing here), the biter Suarez (I might have spelled his name wrong but I don't care about him enough to check), and other pillars of their team like Xavi, Iniesta, and of course Pique. It's pretty much all Messi all the time. I didn't mind it. I love the little man. I only wish he had the chance to win the World Cup once (I don't give Argentina a chance this year to be honest).

But about the visit, yes it was worth it. You have plenty of time to soak it all in at your own pace. Looking around the empty seats with the iconic colour from pretty much all angle of the stadium (although all from one side, of course, as not the entire stadium was open to the public). It actually felt smaller than we both thought. It felt rather intimate. There seems to be good sight lines everywhere. The best are probably the blue middle tier seats. Being above the field, you take in all the action and the formation, while feeling the ever presence of the crazy crowds. In the lower bowl, sure you are closer, but in certain areas you actually miss the audience, which is part of the experience in a live match. We utilized a lot of imagination that day. We sat at various seats. Looked around. Imagine the crazy, singing crowds. Imagined a goal. Imagined a victory (for Amjad, he imagined a defeat). We visited the press box, the visitors lockers where iconic players would change, shower, and pee at. We roamed around the numerous trophies on display in the museum, we posed in front of the 5 gigantic Champions Cups that they won (Amjad would repeatedly remind me that Real Madrid had 11...). We looked at old sneakers and jerseys, all in the state of mid-decay. We were real fan-boys for the morning.

No I never got to experience the thunderous crowd. But it's alright. When I see Barca games on TV now, I would remember being right there at the stadium, having touched some of the very chairs my idols sat at, and pretend I had witnessed a match just the same.

Yes, Laura, it was 25 Euro very well spent. :P

(A note on travelling around Barcelona. It is rather easy. Barcelona has a pretty fantastic metro network. Stations are relatively close together and well connected. Lines are easily labelled in colours and letters, such as L1, L2, etc. I would definitely consider getting a multi day pass. My 3-day one costed just a little over 20 Euros. But it freed me from having to ration my rides selectively. If you stay shorter, there's a 10-strip ticket that I think cost just a little over 10 Euros. Laura used that, and when she left after her 3 days she handed me her ticket with 5 rides left. The metro also serves the airport, but you'll need a dedicated airport ticket, at 4.60 Euro. The Metros are generally in good operational state. Trains are clean and stations bright and well marked. Barcelona is also a pretty easy city to walk in. Mostly flat with wide streets and many dedicated bike lanes and clear traffic and pedestrian signals. I took the bus once. It seemed pretty easily. Of course, nowadays with Google map and a data SIM card, you can pretty much go anywhere unresearched. So, I would definitely consider having data here).

Gaudi Gaudi everywhere...

It is pretty much impossible to be in Barcelona and be not even a little bit remotely inspired, for Barcelona, at least on the part of the tourism industry, is pretty much built on the backbone of its favourite mad genius of an architect Gaudi. You might not necessarily be fan, or even like any of his stuff, but you can't help but appreciate his efforts. And, if you happen to actually LIKE his stuff, then it is very easy to simply fall in love with him here. Gaudi is everywhere. Well, not his buildings, but the imageries of his buildings, and his name. Millions flock here simply to whiteness his masterpieces in person. Many goes home with sore necks from having to look up so much in awe, but usually full of appreciation of what this man had though of. No, I cannot say that his work is all that applicable or functional in today's world. But like many astonishing artists in the past. It is the very fact that their work do not fit the mould, that their ideas pushed the envelope of what we could accept, that they become great. Had he not tried, man would not know what a building made to reflect the flow of water would look like (Casa Batllo), or what simply could become of with a cathedral over a hundred years in the making and every little piece inside well thought out.

The one thing that really stuck with me about Gaudi was that not only was his ideas unconventional and creative, they were almost always made with function as a core criteria. In his beautifully crafted Casa Batllo, curvy wooden air vents were intended for warm or cool air to flow effortlessly from room to room. Window panels were made with various shaped glass such that natural light directs more towards the needed areas of the room and not wasted. The dual inner courtyards, intended to provide bright areas for the rooms not blessed with an outside view, had blue tiles that goes lighter in tone as you go down because light is expected to be dimmer further down. Each beautifully golden brass door or window handle were crafted in such a way that fits your hand perfectly when you grab it. That is, if you are right handed and with hands somewhat as small as mine. Gaudi's work seems to be a perfect example of trying to merry art with function. Whether he succeed or not is a topic of discussion, but you cannot deny his creativity in trying.

Perhaps his legacy is always going to be tied to the yet-to-be finished, over a hundred years in the making, Cathedral La Sagrada Familiar (took me forever to remember this name) (they are set to finish it finally by 2026, to mark the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death; and for those who wonder why we still credit him for this unfinished business, it is because the work is continuously done based on his drawings and designs, for he knew long before that he wouldn't live to see it completed). Indeed, it's a legacy well-deserved. I've been lucky to have seen may iconic places in the world, and more often than not I've felt somewhat disappointed when I actually get there (the Effel tower wasn't that romantic in person; the leaning tower of Pisa looked way smaller than I thought it should; and the Towel Bridge in London simply looked like a toy bridge...). But at the Sagrada, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes the outside is exquisite. But we know that already from the millions of photos that populate the Internet and Instagram. But the inside is really where his genius shines. (As an aside, go for the fast track ticket online with a set entry time and get the Audio Guide, but you can save the 7 Euros and skip the "Towers", for they weren't really anything exceptional, unless you feel you MUST see it). The inside of the Sagrada was simply magical. Looking like the inside of a spaceship (I've never actually seen a real spaceship...), it looks nothing like any Cathedral you have ever seen. Gaudi's use of natural sunlight with thoughtfully tainted windows brought an array of beautifully coloured lightrays inside depending of the time of day of your visit. The giant columns, surprisingly bare compared to the usual churches, were meant to look like giant trees of the forest. One of my favourite features was that the windows carried a blue tint on the East side, while the ones on the West side were bright in yellow, orange, and some red. It gave the inside of the Cathedral a rainbow of colours that were consistent, pleasing, and dynamic. Sore neck and all, it would be hard not to walk away being at least a little bit impressed.

A word on being a tourist in Barcelona. Don't try to go see things on a whim as most backpackers plan to. Despite being in the so-called SHOULDER SEASON in late April, Barcelona is incredibly busy! Most major attractions (such as the above mentioned Sagrada Familiar and Casa Batllo, or other popular sites such as Park Guell and Casa Mila) are usually "full" by the time mid-morning hits, which means even if you "line up" you wouldn't get in. Reluctantly, I had to go online the night before to get e-tickets (conveniently sent to my iPhone and scanned at the entrances). The tickets are usually VERY time specific (ie. 17:15 entry and they are VERY strict about it). But getting tickets online usually saves you a few Euros anyway. While it does make you feel less spontaneous about your day, if you do this you might actually get to see the places u wanted to see in Barcelona, especially if you only have a limited time here. (For those who are interested, I would definitely say yes to Sagrada Familiar and Casa Batllo, while Casa Mila was interesting but less impressive, and honestly don't pay anything for Park Guell. Skip the mosaic lizard that you've seen already in pictures and just spend your time exploring the beautiful garden that is free to all outside the "paid zone", and, at the time of writing, most of the paid area is under renovation anyway, which would completely defeat the purpose.) (On another side note, Barcelona ISN'T really accessible. Park Guell, for example, requires quite a bit of uphill walking to get there, although parts of it aided by an outdoor escalator if you go to the Vallarca metro stop instead. And many of the sights, such as the towers of the Sagrada, required LOTS of narrow downwards spiral stairs to get down). And of course, you can most definitely count on getting a sore neck after.