Week commencing Monday, 4 August 2025
Quantified Self
- This week: Stand /7; Exercise /7 and Move /7 (%). Morning walks: 0/4 (days in the office don’t count). Office days: 1/5. Total steps: 125,093
Life
- We spent Monday acclimatising to Bilbao; it’s a lovely city. Although a chunk of the day was spent trying to acquire tickets for a trip out on Tuesday. We found the bus station, saw the queues, and were directed straight to a window where nobody was waiting. It was our lucky day.
- Achievement unlocked: I’ve always wanted to visit Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum. It’s the reason I suggested adding this bit to our trip. It’s renowned for its revolutionary titanium-clad architecture designed by Frank Gehry that has become an iconic symbol of the city’s urban regeneration. It did not disappoint.
- More surprisingly, the exhibitions were every bit as impressive. I usually get quite impatient in galleries, but I could have stayed longer.
- The exhibition featuring works by the renowned American conceptual artist Barbara Kruger, known for her provocative text-based art, was pretty impressive.
- Tuesday, we took the bus to the beautiful seaside resort of San Sebastián. A leisurely stroll along La Concha Bay culminated at “El Peine del Viento” (The Comb of the Wind), Eduardo Chillida’s iconic trio of nine-tonne steel sculptures anchored into the rocks. A beautiful walk in the sun.
- On the return walk, a tinto de verano on the terrace of a tennis club bar called Wimbledon was very welcome in the heat. Before the return bus trip, we tried a Gilda, a classic Basque pintxo of a green olive, a salted anchovy fillet, and one or two pickled chilli peppers, on bread. I looked up the name: it’s named after the 1946 film Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth. The pintxo is said to embody similar characteristics—green (guindilla), salty (anchovy), and a little spicy—just like the film character.
- On Wednesday, PY and I did a half-day tour: Bizkaia Bridge (the historic transporter bridge spanning the Nervión River), Gaztelugatxe (views of an island linked to dry land by a two-arch bridge known as Dragonstone in Game of Thrones), Bermeo (authentic Basque fishing village), and Gernika (home to the sacred tree where Basque assemblies have met for centuries and Picasso’s Guernica commemorating the 1937 bombing).
- The famous Tree of Guernica is depicted in the stained-glass ceiling in the Assembly House (Casa de las Juntas). It’s one of the most impressive stained-glass works I’ve seen, and you have to look up.
- When we returned to Bilbao, we took the Artxanda Funicular to the summit of Artxanda Mountain for the views over the city.
- On our last morning, Pete, Mark, and I went on a tour of Athletic Club Bilbao’s stadium and museum. The tour is a behind-the-scenes look at its impressive architecture, history, and the pride the city takes in its team, with the highlight being the dramatic moment of stepping out onto the pitch, where the sweeping stands rise around you and you get a player’s-eye view of the arena. It must be pretty intimidating for visiting teams.
- When we returned to the UK, the weather matched what we’d experienced on holiday, so we spent three days walking and relaxing.
Media
- Still managing to stay mostly off social media, except for a couple of Instagram posts; no television in Spain (although a little when we got back). I completed Richard Osman’s The Last Devil to Die, which is another lovely book—if you can ignore the murder—in the Thursday Murder Club series.
- I also completed Off the Rails, number eight in the Peculiar Crimes Unit books. When I started it, I realised I’d missed number seven, so that was ordered while I was away, and I’m now reading the origin of the Mr Fox story.