Madrid: Dinner at Baco y Beto. Night at Hotel Pozuelo
Drive: Approximately 402 km (250 miles) - 4 hours.
Bilbao
We bought water, bread, jamón, and fruit at the market the day before in Zaragoza and that would be our typical breakfast most mornings. It would be either jamón, chorizo, lomo, or salchichon, or a combination of those, with bread. Those were some good breakfasts. After breakfast, we drove into the city to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Walked around it, took some pictures, and then it started pouring, so we decided to go eat lunch and then head to Madrid since it would be a bit of a long drive.
The buildings and river (Ria del Nervion O de Bilbao) in Bilbao, Spain.
In front of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain. A titanium and glass museum housing 20th-century artwork designed by Frank Gehry.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is situated on the Ria del Nervion O de Bilbao. It started to pour right after this. So instead of walking around the city, we decided to just drive to lunch and then head to Madrid.
Tapas and pincho moruno at Cafe Iruña, Bilbao, Spain.
Inside Cafe Iruña, where the pincho moruno, or lamb skewers, are cooked. Bilbao, Spain.
Inside Cafe Iruña where we sat at the bar. Bilbao, Spain.
The tapas at the bar, inside Cafe Iruña. Bilbao, Spain.
Madrid
It is approximately a 4 hour drive from Bilbao to Madrid. We took maybe a little bit longer. We learned the hard way that it's not worth it to try and avoid the toll roads in Spain. It worked the day before using the navigator to avoid the toll roads to get from Zaragoza to Tolosa, but it most likely resulted in a much longer drive than needed. However, this time, it took us up a mountain pass where it was snowing, and we were definitely not equipped to drive in the snow safely in our rental car. So I had to turn around and get on the toll road. I didn't try and avoid any more toll roads for the rest of the trip and the drive was much smoother after that. In the end, we arrived in Madrid a little late, and because it's Madrid, there was crazy traffic, a lot of one-way narrow streets, and no parking because it was a Saturday. We ended up finding a parking garage with one-spot left after circling a few times and went looking for a place to eat dinner.
Our first choice place was full and we didn't make any reservations on a Saturday night. There was a local standing outside on the street and recommended this place to us, which was just down the street from where we were at. Baco y Beto, Madrid, Spain.
Duck breast with chutney, breaded mushrooms with truffle aioli, mussels and clams, and octopus. Baco y Beto, Madrid, Spain.
Inside Baco y Beto. Small place. The bar is in the front. The food was good. Madrid, Spain.
Drove to our hotel, Hotel Pozuelo, a little bit outside of Madrid in Pozuelo de Alarcon.
