Who knows a city best? The locals. We picked up some tips for a visit to Bilbao from its residents. The Guggenheim Museum, Mount Artxanda and pintxos, the Basque answer to tapas, are high on the list.
Bilbao, an industrial port city in northern Spain, is surrounded by green mountains. It’s the de facto capital of Basque Country, with a skyscraper-filled downtown. It’s famed for the Frank Gehry–designed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which sparked revitalization when it opened in 1997. The museum houses prominent modern and contemporary works, but it’s the curvy, titanium-clad building that receives the most attention.
Bilbao, an industrial port city in northern Spain, is surrounded by green mountains. It’s the de facto capital of Basque Country, with a skyscraper-filled downtown. It’s famed for the Frank Gehry–designed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which sparked revitalization when it opened in 1997. The museum houses prominent modern and contemporary works, but it’s the curvy, titanium-clad building that receives the most attention.
Bilbao, an industrial port city in northern Spain, is surrounded by green mountains. It’s the de facto capital of Basque Country, with a skyscraper-filled downtown. It’s famed for the Frank Gehry–designed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which sparked revitalization when it opened in 1997. The museum houses prominent modern and contemporary works, but it’s the curvy, titanium-clad building that receives the most attention.
San Sebastián is a resort town on the Bay of Biscay in Spain’s mountainous Basque Country. It’s known for Playa de la Concha and Playa de Ondarreta, beaches framed by a picturesque bayfront promenade, and world-renowned restaurants helmed by innovative chefs. In its cobblestoned old town (Parte Vieja), upscale shops neighbor vibrant pintxo bars pairing local wines with bite-size regional specialties.
A shaft of pure sunlight illuminating the pastel façade of a village house, the improbably clear emerald shallows of a deserted Corsican beach or the unspoilt powdery snow of majestic Alpine peaks – these are just a few of the most beautiful places in France. It’s time to start planning a road trip to see them all.
When Tas Careaga first saw his 16th-century church it was advertised for sale as a “land plot with build-in ruins”. Abandoned for decades – the town has 6 other churches for a population of 2000 – it was being sold by the local bishopric for very little, but the new owner was required to rebuild it.
Careaga and friends spent 3 months just clearing the structure of debris before starting work to turn the relic into a home. With help from his architect friend Carlos Garmendia, Careaga preserved the open-feeling of the space by adding only one wall (for a bathroom on the 2nd floor). The cupola now houses a very high-ceilinged kitchen with art gallery walls. Most of the church celebrates the 10-meter (30-foot) ceilings created 5 centuries ago. In about a quarter of the space,
Careaga built a wooden frame to house two open-air floors for a 2nd-floor bedroom and 3rd-floor office. Instead of walls or banisters, the first floor relies on just three thin metal cables for the protection of occupants. The home is deeply personal, filled with furniture from Careaga’s family, religious art from his grandmother, and idiosyncrasies like a slackline to cross the thirty-foot-drop between the office and a secret bedroom above the cupola.
Careaga spent 3 years converting the church to his home with mostly his own labor and help from friends. He continues to add new touches, like converting the bell tower into a reading nook and bunk room for guests.
Filmed, Edited and Directed by: Juan Carlos Cortina
Music by: Marco Martini
In Euskadi and Cantabria, an adventure that began in 2017 on the Galician coast ends and that has meant a trip of 3 years throughout the north of Spain portrayed in 3 different timelapses. A trilogy that supposes the first time that a work of this type is realized in all the Cantabrian coast.
In this last part the trip begins in Santander and ends in Biarritz and the protagonist is mainly the marine and interior landscape of the Basque Country. With 14,500 photographs, it is the first time I explore Euskadi in depth and I have to say that I have returned absolutely in love with its corners, especially with all the wonderful area of the Urdaibai estuary. Recorded in May, September and October 2019.
Boomers Daily 