DAYS 11-13 - BILBAO

And so to Bilbao, where the weather wasn't awfully kind but where we walked the town,

took the local trams

visited the Bellas Artes gallery, the Maritime museum and the wacky Guggenheim

(where others of the external exhibits make you want to dance!)

and the Vasco, or Basque, museum 

with another reminder of the Guernica oak

One afternoon, we took the funicular - many folk use it to commute

 
but it also gives a terrific view over the city.
  

And, after all of that walking, we certainly didn't go thirsty or hungry... The Basque call their tapas pintxos ("pinchos") - they're universally yummy

though of course we spread around our patronage to find the best!

DAYS 9-10 - GIZABURUAGA and day-trips to Guernica and the coastline

North to the Biscay coast and the marvellously-named Gizaburuaga

where we'd booked another apartment, this time attached to a farm

We made a Monday market-day trip to Guernica. It was also on a such a market-day in April 1937 that bombs dropped onto the townsfolk; not that you'd know it from the bustling energy these days of the market - though there are of course still many reminders, not least the ceramic facsimile of Picasso's painting on the street wall near to the parliament building

where stands the oak tree (in Basque, the Gernikako Arbola - symbol of Basque freedom and ubiquitous on buildings, flags, street signs, stationery) . 

As commonplace as the oak-tree is the ikurrina flag, seen here on a townhall of a coastline fishing village called Lekeitio

one of many pretty villages dotted along the way to our lasy stop, Bilbao

DAY 8 - VITORIA-GASTEIZ

Next stop was Vitoria-Gasteiz, founded by a Vizigoth king in the 6th century

though more recently it was the site of a battle between a French army under Joseph Bonaparte and Wellington, whose victory assured the eventual end of French control in Spain (in the main square, the below Monumento de la Independencia commemorates the battle).

It's a warren of arches and cobbles, and even crenellations and a draw-bridge with some mean-looking spikes)
 

with both some grand, sweeping squares and touches of historic detail

DAYS 4-7- LABASTIDA, LA RIOJA

Further South from Amurrio, we headed deep into the Rioja

to a lovely little top-floor flat (with a modest kitchen to conjure up tomato fish casseroles with ingredients from the excellent seagood counters, as I explored various Riojas and D tried out the local sidreria from cider houses called sagardotegi) in a converted winemakers' palacio built on the mid-1700s,

in a village town called Labastida, which dates back to the early middle ages.

 

We spent our days out and about in local towns and villages

admiring the surrounding landscape,

dominated by row upon row of vinyards, like green corderoy
 

which ultimately of course led to a wine-tasting

Apparently I was in good company - spot Her Maj behind me, sniffing a glass of white...

DAYS 1-3 - AMURRIO

We've split up our nearly-fortnight to have a few days staying in one place and do some day trips around that region.  After landing in Bilbao late-ish on Saturday night and picking up a our little Smart dodgem-car, we made it 40-odd kms south to a small town called Amurrio where we'd organised through Airbnb a self-contained flat running the top floor of the fabulous farmhouse of charming Pablo.

Erm - interesting decor...

but all very nice indeed, and with a great private patio.

Amurrio a pretty little old place to wander

 

and we happily spent our days visiting other outlying villages

in this area of the Basque (though we crossed occasionally into both Navarre and Castille)

and bumbling around beautiful countryside, under sunny blue skies.