Two Girls, Three Cities And A Gazillion Photos (And No Less Pintxos)

At the office Xmas party, someone suggested a girls’ trip to Italy and all the ladies chimed in excitedly (there may have been a cocktail or two involved). A trip was subsequently planned by the ever-organised Petra but, as expected, the seasonal enthusiasm eventually dwindled: First, the destination was changed to Spain, and then the girls started to drop out, one by one. ?

When the decision eventually landed on a trip to Bilbao, only the two-woman-strong Max Crowdfund social media department was left ( Petra Somogyvari and Keren Visser ,)so we decided to embrace it and take as many selfies as physically possible for two human beings in the space of three days. Watch out, Instagram!?

Our first stop was the northern Spanish city of Bilbao. Not particularly well documented as a tourist destination, it blew our minds. The Guggenheim New York is an obvious highlight of any trip to Bilbao. Still, the eclectic architecture, delicious food, undulating landscape?and picturesque old town were utterly?unexpected, and we wished we had stayed longer. After taking several thousand photos of the aforementioned features of this up-and-coming city, we ate obscene amounts of pintxos (better known as tapas but don’t let anyone in Bilbao catch you say that word) and continued to San Sebastian.?

The famous seaside town of San Sebastian is known for its gastronomy and holiday charm. We, however, chose the rainiest day on record to travel to San Sebastian, and our hike up the hill through the forest to the viewpoint and scenic café ended up in a soggy “view” of the beaches and town. Having reached the café on the hill (which had closed due to the sudden rainfall) we quite literally slid back down to the equally soggy old town and consoled ourselves with a glass of Rioja and a few hundred pintxos (yes, they call them pintxos here too). The weather prevented too many social media opportunities, so we resorted to ranting about the weather, which thankfully won the sympathy of our online comrades.?

We went onwards and southwards to the La Rioja region, hoping some good wine would make up for the weather. Inspired by the?spectacular views driving through the vineyards, we decided to take an impromptu diversion to a church that attracted us on the way. We subsequently got lost, then stuck, in a small rural village with unbelievably tiny roads and decided conclusively that impromptu diversions were a bad idea. ?

When we arrived at Logrono, a little late, the hotel was located down a pedestrian street which required us to crawl through heavy crowds of people. Then we were met with?a tiny car elevator which we had to squeeze into in order to get lowered into the underground parking (not recommended for nervous drivers,?claustrophobia sufferers or two girls whom had recently got their car stuck in a rural village in La Rioja). ?

In Logrono, the capital of La rioja, we had all the best intentions of visiting the historic wineries and learning all about the viticultural practices blessing the region for generations. Then we discovered that it was a Sunday and everything was closed. So we ate a bunch of pintxos instead, then sat on a roof terrace in the sun and took photos of each other drinking wine. Having walked 30km and driven 300km in two days, it was a welcome afternoon of relaxation.?

Alas, quickly came?our last day and our time was nearing its end. We squeezed in a little visit to a coastal viewpoint and then on to Bilbao airport. We were thoroughly exhausted but armed with photos, souvenirs and bellies full of pintxos,?determined to get home, post our trip photos on social media and hit the gym. ?