Over the weekend, I had the grand opportunity to visit the Northern city of Bilbao. The University of Minnesota set up an amazing excursion here so we could learn more about Spain before classes start. I will be honest; when I was first headed there, I thought it would be boring and I was questioning why did they not pick someplace like Barcelona or Valencia but when I got to Bilbao, I instantly fell in love.

If you have not been there, you must go!! The place is amazing; there are tons of mountains and beautiful scenery and pretty pretty neo-gothic houses along the edge of the river. Fun fact: Bilbao speaks its own native language– Basque (along with the national language of course). This language is so unique because this is the only place it is spoken and there is no direct lineage of where it may have originated.

In Bilbao we first took a tour of the city where I saw many neo-gothic houses. These houses actually came from the gothic era but, in a way to make things more modern, the people of Bilbao created something new adding along the old gothic art. There are actually some building that are still standing from the gothic era too! The colors are very pretty–yellow, orange and red. We then went to the Guggenheim museum, a very famous museum known for its artists who take real life and make them bigger and connect, in the art, two objects that never go together. Another thing I gathered from this museum is that America is really looked at in a…judgmental way. I read one piece of art that started out as: “The End of the U.S.A.” Dark, right? Yeah. Last but not least, I had the luxury of being apart of a two hour tour boat ride. This, I would say, was the most fun because I got to watch the beautiful houses alongside of the river. Even more interesting, I saw this ferry like machine going from one side of the river to the other except that it was moving in the air with long cables connected to some type of steel built from the ground up to the air. Incredible!

One last note. I tried my first sangria. Muy bueno!! I recommend it to anyone!

This week has definitely been one for the books. Earlier this week a couple of people along with myself were able to go to the La Roselada in Retiro Park and then to the Reina Sofia museum. The Roselada (rose garden) was beautiful with many many flowers from all over the world. We arrived at the garden around 10 a.m., the time it opened, and the view was stunning! Many of the flowers had labels on them, so we were able to see the many variety of roses which originated from all over Europe! For example, one of the roses originated in France named the Botticeli Floribunda. There was also a sparkling fountain as soon as you entered the rose garden and many dirt paths that winded within the garden so that we and other visitors could see the flowers close up. The colors are what I would say were most striking to me; I saw an orangish colored rose that I had never seen before. If anyone knows me, I am a sucker for flowers!! So this Roselada definitely made my whole day.

After the Roselada, fuemos ir al Reina Sofia museo (we went to the Reina Sofia Museum). The museum is massive, and one of the most famous artists who’s work is praised is Davis Wojanrowicz. David was an American artist who, during the 1970’s, created art on the political side to show his support for the LGBTQ community as a way to politically fight against the laws and attitudes people in the U.S had. This work was the most interesting to me because it was not just painting and sculptures, but it was various poem -like works that may have been written on some of his paintings to inspire others and to go against the grain. His works are very special and this museum was definitely awe-inspiring to me.

–Mo the Adventurer