Day 2: Madrid to Bilbao (by Shirley)

The four of us drove away from the Madrid airport with our own Fannette successfully negotiating the morning traffic with the help of our navigator, Clarita. We had all donned jackets because it is a cold, wet day in Madrid. After exchanging dollars for Euros ($1 = 1.46 E), our pockets were full with 68 Euro. Off we went to Bilboa? Balboya? Oh, yes, Bilbao. But not right away – our Peugot (standard drive, diesel chariot, a nice car, nice size) had us stumped on how to open the trunk. No switch on the dash, no button on the key holder, and our suitcases were sitting in the cold, wet weather. Peggy spotted a rental car attendant and directed Clarita to "grab that man". She did! And he simply walked to the car and lifted the latch on the back of the trunk. Four embarrassed tourists, but problem solved.

The four of us left the skyline of Madrid and headed north towards the hills, overcast with low lying clouds on a very nice, four lane divided highway. Climbing into the mountains the temperature became frozen on the vegetation. Descending into the valleys, fields were green with spouting wheat bordered by vineyards not yet alive. The autovia is a marvel of highway engineering – and we began to see hope for the construction mess in the DFW mid-cities, if indeed the Spanish are doing the work. Throughout the countryside are scattered small villages, each with modern construction while allowing old structures to remain standing in their dignity.
We pulled off at Lerna to take pictures of the two church town – got too close to a passing van, too low in the topography to take pictures and drove through some mud. Driving back to the main highway, we needed a pit stop, spotted a bus station and drove through the gate just as a long autobus wanted to enter. We did finally stop at a high place on the autovia and got our pictures – through the webbing of a goat fence. Oh well, this gave our pictures "character" and "perspective".

The Burgos area was surrounded with many large wind turbines – none in operation. Don Quixote, where are you? Lunch at a truck stop just before Burgos and the turnoff to Bilbao. Here we spotted a church in a distant village with Gaudi-like features. And more wind turbines turning, this time. Quixote must have been here! The hills have become more mountainous, craggy with several tunnels cut through them on what was now a well-done toll road. Nearing Bilbao we drove through parque land on which the sides of the hills had been reforested. And there, spanning the entire overpass of the autovia was a restaurant. Needless to say, we took a looksee. Clouds had turned to rain as we entered Bilbao. Clarita with her map reading skills and Fannette diligently evading traffic accidents, got us to our hotel, The Tryp.

Downtown Bilbao is beautiful. The buildings large, well-kept and the streets very clean. After showers and a short nap (we'd been driving for 3 after a 6 hr flight), we set out to locate the tram, a small electric train which loops around the inner downtown area. After almost buying tickets to ride bicycles (in a downpour), we finally were assisted by a native in learning how to get tickets from a self-operated kiosk. We took a dry run to locate the Guggenheim and other interesting sights. The day ended with tapas and wines, followed by a light supper. What a way to enjoy a beautiful metropolitan city which still retains the feel of an older European style!

Bilbao as seen from the tram in the rain