One of the things we didn’t do last trip was to take the funicular up to Artxanda for a panoramic view of the city. The sun was shining strongly this morning so we decided to correct that error. It really is a spectacular view from up there. The city spread beneath you, to the left inland and the mountains, to the right you can just make out the coast and the Atlantic and behind you the airport with it’s attractive terminal. There’s an inevitable row of letters spelling out both Bilbao and Bilbo, just in case you’re on a ten day whistle stop tour of Europe and have forgotten where you are. There’s also a monument to the fallen of the Spanish Civil War, in the shape of a cast iron thumb print, silhouetted  against the sky line.

Descending in the funicular (and taking in the dire warnings about what wasn’t allowed) we made our way via tram to the old part of Bilbao and the covered market. Renovated quite recently it has some excellent stained glass. We wandered round the narrow streets and tiring quickly, we took the tram back to our nearest stop to the hotel.

After a sun induced siesta, we felt refreshed enough to find a restaurant for this evening’s meal and very good it was too. So good we’re returning tomorrow…