Bilbao

The first thing one sees debarking from the Madrid train is the Bilbao Rail station, naturally, but I didn’t expect this welcome. Spectacular!

After dropping my kit in the hotel which was about a mile from the rail station, I went for a walk-a-bout. As is typical in most ancient European cities, there is the river which gave the first inhabitants life.

A few open plazas.

Ancient churches/cathedrals

Balconies for air

Unique foliage

Narrow streets

There is a small Basque history museum to tuck into.

Bears and wolves were once a problem in the Basque area

This building could not fail to catch one’s eye!

There is a very nice fine arts museo in Bilbao.

I’ll start with a painting whose author is not known is The Money Changers

Paul de Vos gives us The Concert of the Birds

Joaquin Sorolla’s Young Woman, Seville

Jose Maria de Ucelay – Conversation Piece

Jose Arrue – Peasants

Nemesiu Mogrobejo – Death of Orpheus

A wooden Madonna

Quintin de Torre – Christ of the Decent

The Rowers by Manuel Losada

And the martyrdom of St. Agatha by Gaspar de Palencia might be the most disturbing of all paintings I’ve seen depicting a saint’s death.