Lisbon to Bilbao

After seeing Lisbon for a few days with friends (walking the streets of Bairro Alto filled with steak from Café de São Bento and gelato from Gelateria Nannarella, taking a tram into the hills of the Alfama District, and zipping from Praça do Comércio up Avenida da Liberdade on electric scooters), I took a train north for a short solo trip.

The streets of Porto were exciting; after a metro ride into the city center, I walked around, making sure to explore Livraria Lello, the São Bento train station, and the Porto Cathedral as well as admire Liberdade Square and the various churches populating the city with ornate architecture. Just as the daylight was starting to fade, I walked through the Ribeira riverfront before crossing the Luis I Bridge and sitting down in the Jardim do Morro to admire the sunset over the river and city with a crowd of picnickers listening to live Fado music. I wasn’t expecting such a perfectly timed city walk, but I would definitely recommend it. To complete my Porto experience, I had a francesinha (typical sandwich dish from the area) with a glass of Port wine at one of the best restaurants in town.

I woke up the next morning with the intention of going to Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, but I wasn’t able to get in and instead walked around a little bit more before catching my train north to Santiago de Compostela. I switched trains in Vigo, where I picked up a snack and tried to learn some Galician. The countryside was beautiful, especially with the inlets and hills on the coast. In Santiago de Compostela, I wandered around and inside of the Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was under construction inside, but the Pórtico de la Gloria adorning the Praza do Obradoiro was incredible. This is the end of the Camino de Santiago, which I hope to do this summer. I explored the Cathedral Museum and then headed to Mercado de Abastos de Santiago to get a small version of a Tarta de Santiago and some Polbo á feira (traditional foods). I meandered my way through some parks and residential areas to get to the bus station, where I got on an overnight bus east to Bilbao.

The bus ride lasted all night, and I was able to sleep a little bit between listening to music and watching the movie playing on the TV screens. Many of the travelers were headed back to where they started the Camino de Santiago near the French border. We arrived in Bilbao early in the morning, so I walked to a nice hotel, dropped my bags off, washed my face, and walked across La Salve bridge to take the Artxanda funicular up to a viewpoint of the city as the sun rose. From there, I walked across the Zubizuri, grabbed a coffee at a local shop, and strolled the neat avenues and well-manicured streets of the city. I made sure to get to Azkuna Zentroa (a cultural center), Casilda Iturrizar park, the Guggenheim Bilbao, Plaza Nueva, and Mercado de la Ribera. I ate my way through Casco Viejo with pintxos (small local snacks) and “basqued” (pun intended) in the architecture and put-together vibe of the city.