Bordeaux & Bilboa

To say we were at Bordeaux was a real stretch as we has a two hour bus ride into the city center. The vineyards and chateaux we passed looked lovely and similar to those around the world. There were miles and miles of them and small homes of the workers who support them. I took some photos as we passed by which hopefully will be clear enough to paint from.

Of course the first thing was to grab a bite and a glass of wine!! It was a sunny day mostly so we enjoyed sitting in an open air cafe. Bordeaux looks a lot like Paris as the architecture was of the same era. It is situated on a river and has many impressive buildings facing the views. They are still working on updating some of the old war related buildings along it as well. We were jealous of the Regent ship, much smaller than ours, docked right on the river. How nice!!!

We enjoyed walking around the city, peaking into churches and shops, savoring the Frenchness of it all. The mirror pond in front of the palace was a big draw for visitors. You can see the photo of us standing in the inch deep water looking as if we walked on water if you check Facebook. We ended the visit as we started with a glass of wine..Bordeaux of course!!!!

Next we sailed into Bilboa, Spain docking in Gexto. A shuttle was provided for the 30 min ride into the city.
We were all surprised to find this city as large as it was and tucked into the mountains near the coast. It is a lovely area and the day was sunny once again.

Our first stop was to the Guggenheim museum which is a focal point of the city. It sits on the river with a very contemporary bridge nearby. The outside is made with titanium plates and limestone in a very dramatic shape. There are sculptures outside all around it. Except for the parking lot area, which we also walked through!!! It was very beautiful and very strikingly contemporary. If we had more days here we would have spent time inside but chose to move on to the city itself.

The hop on hop off bus is a great way to get around and see a lot of the cities without walking. We boarded at the museum and rode around to the other side of the river and the old town. This section was considerably more picturesque with narrow streets and lovely squares. It reminded us of the old section of Barcelona. Again it was time for a stop at a nice cafe on the square. Only coffee and hot cocoa for us this time.

We continued around the area then planned to get on the HoHo for a ride to the finicular to ascend the mountain. Unfortunately a protest waa blocking the streets and held up the bus so we walked to the next stop. It finally arrived and we hopped on for two stops. What what!!!!! It didn't stop!! So we missed the mountain.

As we were hungary we decided to return to the ship but found a long long line for the shuttle. Menzs ended up returning and we stayed and had nice lunch with some Basque beer, then attempted to get on the HoHo for the finicular again. Reading the map got us walking in circles and we ended up back at the line which was even longer by now. A taxi was in order! And fortunately one was there with a gentleman asking for a share just as we walked up. Money well spent!

It was nice to see Dennis and Dale enjoying the hot tub when we returned. We sat nearby and had that glass of wine!!!

A buffet dinner and a show topped off by a fun game ended a very nice day!

George will be posting photos today as we catch up on this sea day. It is rocky sailing with a very windy sea. I'm sure we'll play some cards this afternoon as we sail toward Lisbon.