Flexibility = Serendipity!

 Yes, Flexibility = Serendipity!  It's a simple formula that has once again proven to be a successful means to a great day when we're out and about.  Let me explain.

Thursday our port of call was Bilboa, Spain.  Well, sort of.  The ship actually docks in Getxo which is about 20 kilometres from Bilboa.  We had been in Bilboa some years ago and enjoyed it.  The Guggenheim Museum is terrific.  However, when we looked at the current exhibits, we decided that nothing really appealed to us so our plan was to take the ship provided shuttle bus into the city and just explore some more.  Then serendipity happened.  I was enjoying a coffee as I looked out over the port area and it looked pretty nice.  So I did a quick Google search for things to do in Getxo and found several potential highlights.  Change of plan -  we decided to explore Getxo.  When we got off the ship we stopped at the tourist info desk and they recommended that we first go left to the Old Fishing Port and then go the other way to the so-called hanging bridge.

We followed their suggestion and began our walk along the pier and then along the waterfront by the beach.  Yes, I believe that that is Han Solo frozen there.

We came to the Old Fishing Port and climbed into the town.  It was lovely and we soon found a taberna to have our first Cortado in Spain.

Yes, even the cats live the dog's life in Getxo!

And then it was time for lunch and it was back to the taberna for tapas.  I had the most delicious mussels.  No, it was not the big pot we found in France but the sauce was superb.  But the highlight of the lunch was the dog who went out onto the terrace of an apartment overlooking the taberna and just watched us eat our lunch.

It was now time to head the other way from the port and we were rewarded with views of beautiful mansions overlooking the El Abra bay.  It was almost like walking in Newport, Rhode Island.

 And then we came to it - the Bizkaia Bridge.

When we got there, the elevator to the top was not yet open so we took the suspended cable car across and back.  The cable car functions as a ferry across the river.

Finally, the elevator opened and we went up to walk across the bridge.  Very cool.

It truly was an amazing and unexpected day.  We liked Getxo so much that we decided to purchase this little boat, leave the Marina and just stay there!

Onward to our next unexpected adventure!

Linda and Larry