Weather: overcast, 17º C

Croissant and coffee at the hotel then off to the Old Town and the Basque Museum. Bruce was free, Anne had to pay – hmmm.

The only negative about going to this museum was that there were no English interpretations of the displays – they were all in Basque and Spanish. We knew this before going but were sure we would learn something anyway and we were right. One of the things we picked up on was the Celtic connection the Basques have. This was very obvious with their dancing which appeared to be a combination of Irish and Scottish dancing with extras. Would like to attend a Basque festival but doubt we will get the opportunity on this trip

Then off to the nearest tram stop to go to the Museum of Fine Arts, quite close to the Guggenheim. This had displays dating from 4 BC (miniature statues) to 21st century paintings and sculptures. The emphasis was on Spanish artists and the favourite area for both of us was the Basque artists.

From there we headed for the Plaza Nueva in the Old Town. We had walked through there after leaving the Basque Museum and it was crowded with families on their Sunday outing. It was not unexpected as with such high density living in Spain everyone must have a need to get out on the weekends. The plaza was all but empty when we returned which made us wonder why it was so difficult to get any service in the plaza. We had to change bars before we managed to get someone’s attention. We went back to the hotel for dinner as it was too early (730pm) to get anything to eat.

Today was quite a difficult day for us as this morning we heard that a very good friend of ours, Darryl from Wellington, had passed away suddenly. It will take a bit of time to come to grips with this. Rest in Peace Darryl, you will be missed.