For the Bank Holiday weekend, Smee and I went on an eating fest in Spain. What we specifically wanted to do was overdose on pinxtos. Now, don't you dare confuse pintxos with tapas or refer to pintxos as a type of tapas - I find that offensive! We originally only wanted to go to San Sebastian but it appeared that it is not well serviced from/to London. Weird! There were more options for Bilbao which is located just over an hour from San Seb so we decided to hit the two cities in one shot.
From Bilbao airport, the Bizkaibus A3247 takes you to the city centre in about 30 minutes for less than €2! There isn't very good signage when you exit the airport but head towards the right and there should be a small sign or at least a small crowd. After checking in to Hotel Ercilla (don't let the modern exterior fool you, the room are in dire need of renovation) we caught the metro to the Old Town.
The Kukuxumusu shop.
Mmmmm... jamon legs.
The 'problem' with Spain is that it's just tooooo relaxed at times. They take their siesta seriously. People shut up shop and the streets become deserted. If you didn't know any better, you'd think it was a public holiday. Smee and I were hungry so we searched for 'anything open' and found Berton. Our first of many pintxos stops to come!
Pintxos on display. You are allowed to just pick them up and pop them into your mouth. If prefer a plate just ask for one. The custom goes that you walk into a bar, grab a pintxo or few, order a drink if you want and when you're done, tell the waiter how many you had and then pay for it. The honour system works! Please don't be a tightass tourist and rip off the owners. You'll ruin it for everyone! People don't tend to eat heaps of pintxos in any one bar, most of the time it's just two or three and then you bar hop.
Jamon tortilla, scallop (I think, can't remember) on bread, grilled prawns and jamon croquettes.
There's always the chance that the pintxos on display have been sitting there for hours. You just have to make a judgement call and take the risk. Most bars however also offer a hot, cooked to order pintxos selection and the menu is either written on a board or printed on a menu card.
What the hell!?!?! Foie a la plancha (grilled foie gras) for just €2.70!!!!! The Basque Country totally kicks ass.
Making our way to the main market, we saw some feet and hands in a hedge.
On the banks of the estuary, we saw some interesting machines. We realised they were for exercising! That's pretty cool.
Yup back in time for the market to re-open.
Little piglets with no eyes on display. Oh those poor little piglets. I feel sorry for you..... even though I know you are very tasty and have will have awesome crackling skin after you're roasted.
Outside the very famous Guggenheim Museum.
Yes, this building is certainly a masterpiece. A giant spider. Hey! This used to be in the Tate Modern turbine hall!
Smee and I got confused about the location of the entrance and ended up walking around the entire building. Disappointingly, it was about 30 minutes to closing time by the time we found it so we didn't go in.
I had a feeling the giant puppy was telling us 'Here is the entrance!!'
We found a supermarket in our local metro station and stocked up on some basics. It was very tempting to buy a jamon leg.
Dinner time rolled around and so what to do? Pintxos bar hop, of course!
First stop - Bar Jvantxv. Don't be put off by the scrunched up serviettes on the floor. It's the locals way of saying 'This place is good.' It felt weird to litter at first, but then Smee and I got into the groove and starting taking great joy throwing our used serviettes on the floor.
Jamon and some spread on bread. Baby eels (angulas) on top of some salmon and bread. Although it's not real eels anymore, it's surimi-based.
Next up, Bar Bvsterri.
Smee had seen some young locals in Bar Jvantxv ordering a red wine/coke mix over ice and asked them what it was. Luckily for him, they actually understood English and told him it was kalimotxo and so we ordered a glass each. It sounds like a weird mix but it works! It totally WORKS! I don't usually drink coke at all but I couldn't help myself but order myself one again at Bar Bvsterri.
Octopus with paprika. An egg and jamon bocadillo.
Our final stop - Bar Sotero. More bread-topped pintxos. Even the cheap house wine was great. It's bit more white bread than I would usually eat but we have plenty of time to correct for that with some a la carte items from the pintxos city of San Sebastian. :D
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