October 27, 2021 – Toledo to Bilbao

We woke this morning at 6am and got our large bags out in the hall by 6:30am. We left the hotel at 7am in a van to go to Madrid Airport. Our flight wasn’t until 11:50am but Sira was afraid of rush hour traffic. We got to the airport at 8:30am. It took a while for each of us to figure out how to get our boarding passes. We had coffee and pastries after going through security. I got pulled out at security. I had left my cork screw in my back pack. Seems it is too dangerous in the hands of a senior citizen. After explaining the problem, they let me go.
Our bags were already going around on the baggage carousel when we arrived. Our bus was waiting and we got to our hotel at 2pm. After checking in, weren’t around the corner to get a quick lunch and then back to the hotel at 3:30pm to meet our local guide, Emma. We walked to the Guggenheim which is quite close to our hotel. She explained how it got built and how it completely changed the city. We boarded the bus and drove through the new part of the city and then got out to walk through the old city. We saw an interesting old building that had a roof top pool that has a glass floor. From the ground level you can look up and see people swimming. We stopped in a plaza for a dinner of pintxos. These are like fancy tapas. Finally we got back at 8pm to the hotel by taking a city tram. Long day.
Tomorrow we go into the Guggenheim and spend the day exploring Bilbao on our own.