It Rains in Bilbao Too!

Last night we finished with tapas or pintxos at Enbata in Hondaribbia. We watched the rain ebb and flow while we drank lots of wine. Lee quit before the rest of us, but we managed to run up a tab for 14 glasses. Good thing the servings are small here. We got back to the hotel somewhere around 11:00 and we all slept well.

Monday morning and it is raining in Hondaribbia, surprise. Down for breakfast around 10:00 am and then out into the rain to visit a shop where they marionettes are made. They are beautiful. We bought a couple of his finger puppets and will give them to Anika and Avery. We also found the local library with an exhibit of cartoon art telling the history of Navarre. I'll post a few pictures when I get them transferred.

Off to Bilbao! When I planned this trip I thought we would make day trips each day. It did not work that way for us, but we have had a great time in Hondaribbia. Last night I announced that we were going to Bilboa today, even if we just saw the Guggenheim. We left here in rain and wind and rain and arrived there in wind and rain. We park in a parking garage close to the museum, and this was an outstanding parking garage. They had lights over each parking spot; red if it was occupied and green if it was available. No driving up and down the aisles to see if a spot was available, just glance down the aisle! It was also very clean and had toilets on each floor.

We walked out into the rain and headed toward the museum. Not many people around I thought, must be the rain. By the main entrance we stopped to look at a sign and discovered...closed on Monday! Did Colby think to check this? NO! And last night, Sharon asked me if I knew when the museum was open. I said, more or less, "Of course it will be open!" Pictures will follow, I will NEVER live this down! The museum design was impressive and what we saw of Bilbao it is quite modern, clean, and attractive, but don't go there on Monday, except for July and August!

Off to lunch to dry off and warm up. We went into the nearest cafe/bar and had pintxos. It was not a great place but certainly did the trick. We talked about what to do next and pretty much came up with going back to the hotel and drinking. Back to Hondaribbia we go! By the way, driving on the toll ways in Navarre is very expensive! Each way from Hondaribbia to Bilbao and back was about 12 euro. Only about 100 kilometers each way. The highways are nice, but, come on.

And here we sit at 5:30 pm drinking wine. At 6:30 we headed for a local gallery - which I thought opened at 5:30. It turns out it was closed on Mondays also. Northern Spain is lunes cerrado. I give up! It turns out most restaurants in Hondaribbia are also lunes cerrado. We were able to find a place, not great but we all left happy. When planning a vacation in Navarre, beware of Mondays. Even the local church was closed today and I needed to confess.

Tomorrow we head east, destination Sitges. We are planning stops in Pamploma and Zaragossa then drop off the ladies and luggage in Sitges and drop the car in Barcelona.