Richard & Rhonda in Europe

Days 51 to (a really long time after we left Australia) - 04 to 08 July
We left Bilbao on 4 July and took a short flight to Madrid. When I say we, I mean Rhonda, me and Rhonda's suitcase. Mine didn't make it to Madrid - but it eventually caught up with us in Dubai (via Frankfurt) - naughty Iberia Airline.
Our flight into Madrid gave further evidence of the poor attitude of Spanish women when it comes to behaviour on flights. The photograph below was taken as we were landing (the wheels were down and we were about to touch down).

Let's not worry too much about safety during landing

The girl in the aisle seat had a cup of coffee, and her friend in the next seat had her tray-table down, with an open can of Coke Zero and a cup of tea. Our experience of Madrid Airport was also underwhelming - the 'lounge' that we had access to was frankly a dump. Our departure couldn't come soon enough. Thankfully we arrived safely in Dubai - thank you Emirates - and were soon in our hotel room, at the Crowne Plaza Deira. Very comfortable.

Lovely room

A bed has rarely looked so comfortable

We had decided, when planning the trip, that we would have a look at Dubai for a couple of days on our way home. It's amazing. The buildings are incredible and there is quite a lot to see. We'll definitely have to go back again for a closer look. Our three mistakes, in order of importance, were:
1. We went to Dubai during Summer, and it was uncomfortably hot. Far better to go during the cooler months.
2. We went during Ramadan, which meant that all the coffee shops and restaurants were closed during daylight hours. Dubai still caters for tourists as you can order room service in your hotel, and there are some food courts open in the bigger shopping centres - but it's not quite the same as just being able to get a cup of coffee when you feel like one.
3. We only went for two days, which simply wasn't long enough.

During our time in Dubai we managed to do the following: visited the Dubai Mall (the biggest shopping centre in the world); went on a dinner cruise; did a half-day sightseeing tour of parts of the city; went back to the airport to get my suitcase (Emirates won't deliver baggage for other airlines - I still blame Iberia); went back to the Dubai Mall; had dinner at a Thai restaurant (organised for us by Sharon, our stewardess from our first Emirates flight) and watched a water fountain show.

A sign inside the Dubai Mall - yes, they have an ice rink, aquarium and underwater zoo, waterfall and other stuff here

That's the outside of the Aquarium - it's very big and contains all sorts of fish, including rays and sharks

Yes, that's a gold-coloured Lamborghini

A Ferrari, just in case you don't like Lamborghinis

The sign outside the food court at the Dubai Mall

One of the food outlets inside the food court - they could sell food, but they couldn't display it, hence the green curtain

The Dubai Mall Waterfall - impressively huge

Close up of the 'divers' (they were human sized)

Me channeling my inner diver

Beautiful chandeliers in one part of the Dubai Mall

Rhonda found the Nespresso shop

A boat similar to the one on which we had dinner

Our dinner companion - Alvaro from Sao Paulo in Brazil - a lovely guy on his way back to Brazil after working in China

Glimpse of the Burj Al Arab - a 7-Star hotel

Better view of the hotel (from the internet - it was very unclear, almost misty, when we were sightseeing)

The Atlantis Hotel, at The Palm (the man-made island shaped like a palm) (from the internet - we couldn't get a clear shot)

Very impressive 'bling' at a gold market we visited

More gold bling

The Ritz-Carlton in Dubai - not the most impressive-looking building, but it's enormous

The Burj Khalifa - the tallest man-made structure in the world - we shot this a short distance from where we had dinner

The fountain show is starting

More 'water bling'

Reaching a climax

Eventually (thankfully) we had to go home, and rarely has Canberra looked so good. Even though it is winter in Australia we felt very much 'home' when we saw the wind farms at Lake George.

Sunrise from above a foggy Lake George as we flew towards Canberra

Our vacation is over, and it has been a remarkable experience. We were truly privileged to have been able to indulge ourselves on such a long holiday. The experiences we had, and the wonderful people we shared them with, will stay with us for a long time - or, at least, until our next trip away.

Days 43 to 51 - 26 to 04 July
Bilbo (that's the Basque spelling, the Spanish spell it Bilbao) should not be confused with Bilbo Baggins (sorry for the gratuitous Lord of the Rings allusion). We flew in from Heathrow, and Rhonda noticed a Spanish girl on the plane putting on nail varnish.

She just had to varnish her nails

Bilbao is a pretty city with a lot of very interesting buildings. We'll show you some of those before covering Rhonda's two excursions.

View from our hotel room

Nice reflection in the glass cladding on this building

A nice church in the foreground and Bilbao's tallest building in the background

Another impressive building, just up the road from our hotel

Theatre in the old part of the city

A square in the old part of the city - shops around the quadrangle and apartments above

Another quadrangle

The centre of the old city

Rhonda was unimpressed that they couldn't spell her name properly

Another narrow street in the old city

An old wine warehouse in the new part of the city - they preserved the exterior and built brick cubes inside

Inside the old wine warehouse - the brick cubes stand on pillars, each of which is unique

Better view of a couple of the pillars

Close up of another pillar

We didn't notice at first, but there was a glass-bottomed swimming pool between two of the cubes - if the glass cracks they'll fall about 50 feet

Interesting building, only a few years old, which included examples of most architectural styles found throughout Bilbao

Could almost be a Parisian sidewalk

Interesting butcher

We looked in the river one day and couldn't believe how many fish were just swimming lazily along. They look like carp and were quite big

An outdoor music venue in the old city

The front of the Guggenheim - simply awesome

The back of the Guggenheim - an amazing site up close

Some art outside the Guggenheim

A large dog, covered with flowers, at the front of the Guggenheim. It's sniffing the tall building

Funny how the dog just seems to keep growing

Interior shot in the Guggenheim

Another interior shot

Me standing in one of the very few places inside the Guggenheim where visitors are allowed to take photographs

Indicates a spot from which you can take a photograph, but only of the artwork directly in front of the spot

Indicates a spot beside an artwork on which you can stand to have your photograph taken

Michael Jackson and Bubbles - are we the only people who find this really creepy

I attended the International Conference on Thinking from Monday afternoon to Friday, and Rhonda took the opportunity to do some extra sightseeing around Bilbao, as well as going on a couple of day-tours into the surrounding countryside. The first visit was to the Sanctuary of Loyola, Getaria, Zarauz and San Sebastian. The second trip was to Ellorio, Onati and Sanctuary of Arantzazu. The photographs below show some of the highlights.

Sanctuary of Loyola

Floor plan of the Sanctuary

Inside Loyola

Sanctuary of Loyola - front steps

Street scene of Getaria

Home of Cristobal Balenciaga (a Spanish Basque fashion designer and the founder of the Balenciaga fashion house. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior and as "the only couturier in the truest sense of the word" by Coco Channel, who continued "The others are simply fashion designers")

Close up of the wall plaque

Could use some restoration

San Sebastian

Great weather for drying clothes, 38C plus

Too hot for a boat trip

The Tour de France came here once

San Sebastian Beach. A nice day for a swim

Modern Church. Santuary of Arantzazu

Outside view of the stained glass windows

Another outside view

Oldest university of the Basque country

Inside courtyard of the university

Street scene

A Michelin Starred Restaurant

The tasting Menu for the restaurant - not cheap

Beautiful coloured building

While Rhonda was busy being a tourist I enjoyed a very stimulating week at the conference. The conference venue was the Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall.

This is a photograph (taken off the internet) of the conference centre in Bilbao

About the conference centre, Wikipedia states:

"It was designed by architects Federico Soriano and Dolores Palacios and work started in 1994. It was opened in February 1999 and contains a variety of spaces, functioning as a conference center, opera house and concert hall. In 2003 it was declared by the International Congress Palace Association as the world's best congress center."

I can only assume that the judging panel never tried to find their way around inside the centre. While the facilities were excellent, it was perversely difficult to get from one room to the next during the conference. There were staircases everywhere, but they didn't all go to every floor. It wasn't uncommon to find yourself walking up to the next floor, where there was a landing, so you could take another staircase to go down a level. One conference attendee described the staircases as being like the moving staircases from Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series.

There were also lifts in the centre, but some only went from level -2 to level 0, some went from level 0 to level 4, while a few went to all floors. The signposting was pretty average and I had difficulty navigating my way around.