My first weekend in Bilbao was actually a little more low key than the earlier hustle and bustle of orientation week. We finally had some downtime to ourselves which was really nice. On Saturday my friend Megan and I decided to do some exploring down on the opposite side of town that we had been spending most of our time in... We found a bunch of parks that will be perfect for studying later on in the semester and we even came across some old castle ruins! (Only in Europe...) While we were walking, and during all my other explorations around here I have noticed a few things that you don't often see in America. First off, all of the dogs walk around here without leashes. They're not strays either. They just walk close enough to their owner so that there's no problem, but if the do wander off to sniff something they come right back. None of the dogs are eager to be pet or sniff people either, which I find kind of upsetting since I love dogs! This is probably not too strange... But I have noticed that all of the babies and children here in strollers are wrapped up in these sleeping bag like sacks so their arms and legs are not seen. Sometimes I don't even know if there actually is a baby in the stroller! They all seem okay with it though... I can only imagine what some American babies would do if they were shoved into one of these...
(All the ladies out to watch the futbol game)
Anyway, later on we met up with everyone at a bar a few metro stops away to watch the futbol (soccer) game. We had hoped to get tickets to go see it at the stadium, but the intense rivalry between the competing teams, Bilbao Athletic Club and Real Madrid made it impossible to wait in line that long. The street we were on was packed with people pouring out of bars and when we got there I could hardly see the screen. After some time passed Bilbao actually ended up winning and the streets went insane!! Everyone was chanting and cheering... I can't even imagine what it was like inside the stadium. We all definitely plan to go to at least one game during our stay in the city.
(Castle ruins that Megan and I found while exploring!)
On Sunday, my roommate and I met up with a few more friends to do a little more exploring. We had hoped to go to this open air market in Casco Viejo but we woke up just a little too late for that. (I really need to get on this Spaniard time schedule...) The five of us found our way to a big park we saw on our map where there was a big duck pond. Some little girls were feeding the ducks when a peacock flew in out of no where! I swear the thing almost bit her finger off while she was feeding it... After some cafes con leche (coffee with milk) we headed back to the dorm and spent the rest of the night just hanging out with the others in our dorm and getting ready for bed earlier than normal to prepare for our start of classes the next day!
(What a tourist...)
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