Another wet and miserable day, which isn’t to say that’s typical of Bilbao, just this unseasonal weather. Luckily we had planned to spend time indoors today rather than walking around. We caught the tram away from the direction of the Guggenheim and, getting off near the San Mames soccer stadium, we walked to the Azkuna Zentroa which we’d paid a brief visit to last year. We took more time to explore on this occassion and I managed to find the space where you can ‘see’ the bottom of the swimming pool and the strange silhouetted figures bathing above your head. It’s a little strange…

We took in various art installations, all thought provoking. A large group of children were trying out various high tech toys (including some sophisicated robots) in the main ground floor area and we had a quick whispered tour of the two floors of library and study areas. It’s a wonderful space, all tied together with huge squat columns, each with a differing design. It’s a monument to designer Phillipe Starck’s concept and imagination and one of Bilbao’s hidden gems.

The rain hadn’t lessened any by the time we made our way to the Museo de Bellas Artes where as luck would have it, it was a free entry day. It’s an interestingly laid out museum, where, rather than theme rooms chronologically or by subject, they group works of art together around a word or emotion. We were rather fatigued by the time we’d walked round the ground floor, so had to leave the first floor till next time.

Getting slightly lost on exiting the museum, we managed to find the tram stop and made our way back to Persuade for a last minute shirt shop. After resting in our hotel room for a couple of hours, off we went to Porrue for our last meal in Bilbao.

Last meal? Oh yes, we drive back into France tomorrow, sad to leave Spain but not the weather….