Navarrete - Derio - Bilbao

We woke up to a beautiful day with sunshine and blue sky, although the weather App indicated a 30% chance of rain.

After a lavish breakfast buffet at the hotel, we loaded the van. We navigated through more of Rioja’s vineyards to the winery of Marqués de Riscal in Elciego, where Spanish architect Frank Gehry designed the winery’s hotel. It looked modern and a little crazy, similar to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. A tour of the winery and hotel was only available in the afternoon for €20 per person. But the wine and gift shop was open and friendly to visitors. Kurt decided to circle the winery in our van to the top of a hill with a vineyard from where we saw the crazy Gehry creation. The side of the hotel and roof have colorful bent sheet metal. See the photos below.

Next, we drove to the Ysios winery, which Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava designed. The wave-like building blends perfectly into the Rioja landscape and the nearby Sierra de Cantabria mountain range.

With the satisfaction of seeing two unique places, we headed on route A-2124 toward our hotel in Bilbao. Along the way, we had a drink and a quick bite in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express at the Bilbao Airport tonight. Our flight to Madrid leaves at 9:10 AM tomorrow. Our friends Kurt & Renata are waiting for one more day and are flying back to Zurich, Switzerland, on Sunday the 18th.

This concludes a most memorable trip through Northern Spain. We had a wonderful time and experienced something special every day. Thank you, Kurt & Renata, for taking us along on this fantastic journey of 1,675 miles!Read more