Bilbao, Here I Come

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Today is the day I traveled to Bilbao! I took a bus from Madrid to Bilbao. It took close to 5 hours to get to Bilbao. I took the metro (underground) to the bus station...I had to haul my luggage around which was tough because i had two rolly suitcases. At the bus station, I met this cool guy from Africa...he spoke English, but I still had trouble understanding him because of his accent. His name was Simon, but he pronounced it see-moan. On the bus, I sat next to a girl named Ainara, who was from Bilbao. She also spoke English and was very helpful. She gave me lots of good information about living in the city. She was traveling back from getting her masters degree in music from a university in England! She plays the viola! We got to take a pit stop in a town called Lerma. The bus ride from Madrid was beautiful. I got the very front window seat. The farther north we drove, it was greener and more mountainous!
When I arrived in Bilbao, I went to a hostel that was recommended to me, but it was full :( So, I was walking down the hill to go to another hostel and a group of 5 handsome rugby players and one girl (that were staying the hostel that I was leaving) from France lent me a hand carrying my luggage! Their accents were dreamy! Tomas was the one who knew the most English, so we talked along the way and he told me about their rugby team. They helped me get to the tram, which I took to get near the other hostel. It was so nice of them to carry my bags for me and show me where to get off on the tram.
I have been staying at hostel akelarre for the past few nights. (www.bilbaoakelarrehostel.com)--i would recommend this hostel if you are traveling in Bilbao.
On my way to the hostel, I ran into a girl that I knew from facebook (she was in the group of people who are doing the same program as me). She called out my name and I stopped and we were like..."oh, you are the girl from facebook!" I ended up going to dinner with her and a group of people from the hostel. I got tapas (appetizers). Except this time, there was one that was like a mini sandwich with tuna and ham. In Bilbao, the tapas are called pintxos (pronounced pinchos). A lot of slang here comes from the Basque language (an indigenous language) since this is the Basque region.
Dinner was fun!! I have met so many people from different parts of the world!