Bilbao is often recognised for its wine and Basque culture, but Murali Podila thinks the Guggenheim Museum is pretty stunning too.

With around 200,000 passengers going to Bilbao on the Pride of Bilbao, the ferry sure has something mystifying about it. Founded as a village around 1300, Bilbao is now a bustling metropolis filled with culture and architecture at the heart of the Basque country.

The old city, or ‘Casco Viejo’, is made up of winding streets that are full of life with bars, restaurants, food markets and monuments including the Catedral de Santiago.

On the West Bank of the ‘ría del Nervión’ or the Nervion River, contemporary Bilbao has revitalised the city with a series of major rebuilding projects.

There is no doubt that the main attraction of this city is The Guggenheim museum. Opened in 1997, and designed by Frank Gehry, its spectacular design represents Bilbao’s drive towards being one of Spain’s major tourist destinations. In addition to that, the fine arts museum displays both contemporary and old age Basque art.

Bilbao’s development is also been enhanced by flaunting new designs by internationally recognised architects. The Metro in Bilbao, designed by Sir Norman Foster, is almost an attraction in itself. It features many original entrances to the stations and the inside of the station offers large spaces with natural light coming in.

Along with the Metro, the Zubizuri Bridge, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is an arch bridge that connects the new and old Bilbao and leads you to the Guggenheim museum.

Despite a recent history of financial uncertainty, Bilbao has emerged as a dynamic city focused firmly on development.

Image credit: Erika Barahona-Ede for the FMGB Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa

Tags: Spain by John Hillman
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Never play with your food? Pavla Tolonen finds a place where you can.

Tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes, thirty degrees scorching heat and a town filled with adorably mad people ready to pellet each other into tomato juice oblivion – welcome to late-August Buñol in Valencia.

This 57-year-old tradition (officially) originally comprised only of the local folk but now attracts over 20,000 tourists a year, raking in well-deserved capital for the later tomato-drenched town of around 9,000 permanent inhabitants.

The event kicks off at 10am on the third Wednesday of every August with a public gathering to resolve the mystery of how to bring down a ham on a greased pole. After they successfully lower the ham, the council-funded tomatoes are released on to the town square, Plaza del Pueblo. The crowd bursts into song and dance, while being hosed down by friendly showers.

The start signal is by water cannon, after which the tomato bombardments last for around an hour or more. Part-takers are advised to squish the fruit before throwing and wear protective goggles and gloves. Flip-flops and cameras (except Aquatic cameras) are best left at home. Once the second water cannon is fired the festival is over, and the streets and the crowd can be hosed down.

Horrified tomato-lovers will be relieved to know that the tomatoes are not suitable for consumption as they taste bad. They come from Extremadura, in western Spain, where tomatoes are cheaper and especially grown for this event.

Naughty behaviour aside, the festival commemorates the legacy of St. Louis Bertrand (San Luis Bertràn), the patron saint of Buñol, and the Virgin Mary, or Mother of God of the Defenseless (Mare de Déu dels Desemparats), as they call her.

The origins of the event remain uncovered, but popular myths include a story of angry villagers attacking city councilmen at a public celebration. The event was banned under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, but was reinstated with full flare after his demise.

For more information please visit www.tomatina.es

Tags: History, P&O Ferries, Spain by Pavla Tolonen
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DJs, sound systems, crowds of people, and no… beer? Pavla Tolonen explains all about Rotterdam’s ‘Fit for Free’ dance parade.

An eleven hour party is not everybody’s cup of tea, which is why Rotterdam’s Fit For Free Dance Parade is a hop-on, hop-off event for people of all ages. Ending in a massive closing ceremony the parade starts at 12:00 on 8 August with a warm-up and continues through the city boasting 40 sound systems and 200 DJ’s.

The alcohol and drug-free event kicks off at Boomjes open and circles the city around Verlengde Willemsbrug, Westblaak, Rochussestraat and ends at the corner of Westzeedijk and Pieter de Hoochweg. Main metro stations to catch the parade from are Rotterdam Blaak, Beurs, Eendrachtsplein, Dijkzigt and Coolhaven.

Known for its great shipping capacity as Europe’s biggest port, Rotterdam is keenly on display throughout the parade, starting with the relatively new artificial beach at Boompjeskade, Witte House (an art noveau skyscraper) and Kubuswoning (Cubic Houses). The parade also passes the Erasmus University, named after the legendary philosopher Desiderius Erasmus, and Rotterdam’s most famous bridges Erasmusbrug and the Willemsbrug.

The closing party starts at 16:00 and ends at 23:00 hosting acts like Ferry Corsten (trance), Sunner James & Ryan Marciano, MC GEE (house&garage) and Secret Cinema (techno). Mega house music DJ Erick E, who won the Best House DJ 2005/2006 award, will also be performing. After-party tickets are 20€ and VIP tickets are 75€ guaranteeing entry and oodles of fun.

If this parade wets your appetite for open air festivals, you may also enjoy Zomerterras, a four weekend free concert which has been running for the past ten years. From pop, jazz, classical and world music to art and local theatre projects, the concert is an all family event from 31 July to 22 August.

For further cultural enjoyment you could also hop on an hour long train into Amsterdam to see Cirque Stiletto at the Theater Carré, the medieval festival “Fantastic Amsterdam” or perhaps catch one of the shows at Amsterdam’s open-air festival.

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For more information please visit: http://www.fitforfreedanceparade.nl/ and http://www.zomerterras.nl/

Image credit: indahs

Tags: History, Lifestyle, Netherlands, P&O Ferries, Spain by Pavla Tolonen
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From the mountains of Sierra Nevada to the coastline of Cantabria John Hillman looks at a hotel chain unlike any other.

There are few places in the world where you can enjoy the radiant luxury of a five star hotel coupled with the historical fascination of a medieval castle.

Imagine being able to book a night in a luxury sweet, complete with four-poster bed and a fine-dining restaurant, in the Tower of London or Lambeth Palace?

Welcome to the world of Los Paradores, Spain’s luxury state-owned hotels set in unique historical buildings across the country.

There are more than 85 in total, some in converted Moorish fortresses, others in medieval monasteries, 15th Century convents or fairy tale castles. Often surrounded by sweet scented gardens, and the ruggedly dramatic scenery associated with the Spanish landscape, there are very few other countries that offer visitors such a genuinely unique experience.

Paradors, meaning “stopping places”, began life when King Alfonso XIII decided to kick start the Spanish tourist industry back in 1923 by offering state sponsored luxury accommodation and since then the number has grown and grown.

The restaurants in each one offer excellent locally sourced recipes and are widely considered the height of foodie sophistication for any budding Jamie Olivers amongst you.

A true romantic driving holiday around northern Spain could feasibly consist of a short drive to a new region and a different luxury experience every night. If you take the Pride of Bilbao with P&O Ferries and drive the short distance to San Sebastian you can experience the Parador de Hondarribia, a hotel set in a 10th Century Castle built by the King of Navarre that looks out across the Atlantic from its elevated cliff-top position. Spectacular.

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image credit: wili hybrid

Tags: Lifestyle, P&O Ferries, Spain by John Hillman
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Driving holidays suffer in the UK because we associate cars with commuting to work. John Hillman on why we should all remember to value the old motor-holiday and embrace the freedoms they provide.

“Some sunny Sunday very soon, just drive an Overland up to your door – tell the family to hurry the packing and get aboard – and be off with smiles down the nearest road – free, loose, happy – bound for green wonderlands.” Saturday Evening Post, 1929

The world never stands still and neither do we. Unfortunately, in today’s world, we tend to labour under the belief moving forward is a bad thing.

Ask a person what they think of cars today and you can bet good money that the words “traffic” “pollution” and “cost” come up in the first few sentences. The commuter belts across Britain have ensured that cars have become a problem, a chore, a guilt-trip.

We’ve spent so much time sitting in jams on our way to work that the old idea of the car as a symbol of freedom has been crushed. The environmental problems associated with petrol engines are so ingrained, in our guilty consciences, that younger generations associate the whole idea of propulsion with everything that’s bad in the world.

But we shouldn’t forget that there was a time when cars ushered in a new age of adventure, when they rescued thousands of people from the parochialism of their daily lives and let them spread their wings and explore the world around them for the very first time.

Suddenly those horizons were just a few minutes away, simply apply a bit of pressure to the accelerator and you are master of your own universe, sitting back in the comfort of your own armchair, taking in the landscape as you speed through, locked, in your own small world, whilst out exploring the big one. Like the cinema, which came along at almost the same time, this new technology democratised time and space; all of a sudden you didn’t have to be rich to see a mountainous sunset or a cascading waterfall, to know your own land.

P&O Ferries began life in the 1960s at the height of this golden age of motoring, in Britain, and in many ways still represents these romantic values. By giving average British families access to the miles and miles of tarmac on the other side of the English Channel, P&O effectively opened up the whole of Western Europe to two weeks of high octane improvised fun and discovery.

There still is no better way to get know your continent than in the comfort of your own car, your ‘home from home’. Small villages, national parks and the best cities are all just a wish away when you have the freedom of the road, a sentiment captured succinctly in a motorist’s guide book from the 1950s:

“Be your own gypsy; abandon all rules and directions.”

There was even a time, around the 1930s, when people actually believed that the advent of the caravan would lead many of us to return to our ancestor’s wandering nomadic ways for good.

The road today may be well travelled, the problems associated with motoring very real, but never give up on the values that the car once symbolised: the freedom to roam, to explore new lands, make new friends and, above all, to know the world you live in.

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Image Credit: zsoul

Tags: Belgium, Britain, France, Lifestyle, Netherlands, P&O Ferries, Spain by John Hillman
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The Hemmingway trail is long and colourful. And if you follow it faithfully enough – you’ll end up sipping brandy in the Spanish town of Pamplona. John Hillman gives it a shot.

The medieval town of Pamplona owes much of its fame to Ernest Hemingway and his drunken accounts of the San Fermin festival, popularly known as the Running of the Bulls, but this town should appeal to more than just boozed up adrenalin junkies.

A short drive from the ferry port of Bilbao, Pamplona lies in the heart of the Navarra, surrounded by some the prettiest natural scenery in Spain – all mountains, rivers and valleys – and the town itself is enclosed within its own 16th century walls. If you are looking for picture postcard Spain then this is it.

The running of the bulls takes place in early July. Millions of people from around the world turn up to witness some very silly boys get chased through the city streets by some very angry daddy cows, all in the name of proving one’s manhood apparently. However, getting caught by the stampede does often result the cruel irony of never being able to prove your manhood again. Ouch.

The event tends to attract a large backpacking crowd from the Southern Hemisphere, giving the festival a very international flavour. But the rest of the year Pamplona attracts a mellower sort of traveller, more concerned with the Baroque than the bovine.

The city is home to one of Spain’s most celebrated religious buildings, Pamplona’s ancient Cathedral, built between the 14th and 16th century, and it houses some truly important tombs and works of art that are well worth a visit. But it’s the city itself that is the real attraction. Like all of the best places you don’t need an itinerary because the whole town is so attractive to look at that you can spend your days wondering around the medieval cobbled streets waiting for them to find you.

Using the town walls and its intermittent towers as your guide you can stroll from plaza to plaza, stopping off in the unbelievably ubiquitous bars for a couple of large Fundadors – a cheap Spanish brandy favoured by Mr Hemingway that’s guaranteed to make you wake up feeling like a veteran of a World War yourself – and generally just having a lazy time of it. But this being Spain, you can substitute being lazy for being tranquilo which is a Spanish word that implies all the good bits of laziness without any of the Anglo-Saxon guilt that often comes with it.

Pamplona used to be three separate towns that always fought each other, until King Charles III of Navarra decided to unite them in 1423. There are three Churches still remaining in the town – each one representing its respective old warring community: San Cénin, San Nicolás and San Doming. There is a river running past Pamplona that you get see when you visit the Tejera Park, which also happens to be a very meditative-inducing bit of urban shrubbery in itself.

But it’s the Plaza de Castillo which is the most impressive part of the city. This is where Hemingway would sit and try to write whilst seeing everything in triplicate; the entire square is full of small cafés with Pamlonans young and old going about their business. It is the sort of place where you could sit and daydream for a whole day, and most of an evening.

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Image Credit: mimentza

Tags: P&O Ferries, Spain by John Hillman
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John Hillman on why Phil Brown could do with a mini-cruise

Hull City supporters should forget their woes on the football pitch and take advantage of P&O’s mini cruises from Hull to Amsterdam, Bruges or Rotterdam.

At just £66 per person this is much cheaper than travelling all the way to London to watch their team get robbed by an off-side goal. A ticket for 90 minutes of watching your team watch another team play football goes for more than £50 before you factor in travel and accommodation expenses.

P&O Mini-cruises not only offer better value for money but promise to leave you feeling relaxed and with a greater sense of well-being; can the same be said of following the irate relegation strugglers?

In these financially constraining times it surely becomes necessary to see that the money we spend on ourselves represents the maximum bang for our buck.

Floating leisurely down the east coast of Britain and across the English Channel to Europe for a few days, enjoying good food, going for a relaxing stroll on deck, doing a bit of shopping or having a flutter in the casino; these activities must surely offer more guarantee of a good time than watching Phil Brown gradually turn a darker shade of orange with each passing match.

Image Credit: efbfoto

Tags: Britain, Netherlands, P&O Ferries, Spain by John Hillman
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Mountains, folk-dancing and (near) immortality. If these are the things for you, then John Hillman’s got just the destination.

Andorra has emerged from its international isolation to become a thriving European tax haven and holiday destination that boasts the second longest life expectancy in the world.

Not that I’m too envious. The value of a long life expectancy is not always what it’s cracked up to be, just ask Hunter S. Thompson.

However, culturally refined types of the sort P&O generally caters for will be interested to hear that this tiny country is also the proud owner of a lengthy and impressive array of traditional folk-music styles.

Andorran folk music shares its roots with its Catalan neighbours, along with its more traditional folk dances such as the contrapás, marratxa and the sardana, all of which can be seen being performed during Andorra’s national holiday, Our Lady of Meritxell Day on the 8th September each year.

But those of you eager to get to Andorra as soon as possible to experience this feast of folk-dance fusion, never fear, different festivals and celebrations are held throughout the year, just check out the Andorran tourist board’s website.

So there we have it, Andorra: The second longest life expectancy in the world and a lengthy array of traditional folk-dance and music styles. Is this a good or a bad thing? Discuss.

Tags: Spain by John Hillman
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