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travel
City Guide: Bilbao
Feb 9th
The first image that comes to mind when someone mentions Bilbo is the notorious Guggenheim Museum which is perhaps one of the most famous buildings in the world. Designed by Frank Gehry the museum, which opened in 1997, put Bilbao on the map as a cultural capital. It contains artworks by some of the biggest names in the contemporary art world including Richard Serra, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. Located on the banks of the river Nervión the Guggenheim has become symbolic of Bilbao although the city has plenty of other areas of interest.
Bilbo is the largest city in the Basque Country on Spain’s northern coast with 353,168 inhabitants. The first settlement in the area occurred in 1300 on the opposite side of the river to most of the modern city. At the beginning of the 20th century Bilbao was the richest city in Spain thanks to its industrial development. It’s mining and shipbuilding industries supported much of the population although more recently the city has suffered from the decline in industry.
Bilbo has undergone significant regeneration over the last decade in order to target the tourism industry. The areas alongside the river have been improved and new real estate was freed up by moving the port outside of the centre of the city. The transport infrastructure in Bilbao includes 7 rail lines suitable for commuters and tourists alike. There is also an underground system called the Metro Bilbao which covers most of the inner city. There is also a good road system including 13 bridges over the river so car hire is another option for tourists. Plenty of companies offer car hire in Spain with most having a location in Bilbao.
“As well as the famous Guggenheim Museum, the city acts as home for the Fine Arts Museum recognized as one of Spain’s finest art museums and recently refurbished and the Maritime Museum on the Nervión’s banks, which recently hosted the RMS Titanic exhibition which has been touring Europe. Museums are only a part of the city’s attractions.”
Aussies Celebrate Australia Day
Jan 28th
It feels like it has been winter in England for about the last 10 months, the sky is permanently gray and my kitchen is somehow always colder than the inside of the fridge. As I was eating my breakfast in front of the fire wondering if it was worth bothering to open the curtains I saw a clip on the television of Australians celebrating their national day. Personally if I lived in a country where it is always sunny and everybody hangs around on the beach all week (don’t pretend they don’t) I would celebrate every day.
The Australia day celebrations seemed designed to annoy those of us in the northern hemisphere who are in the depths of winter. Footage of people surfing and sunbathing and generally having a great time in the sun are the last thing I want to see in the middle of January. I consoled myself with the thought that it was very unlikely that I would be bitten by any native species in England whereas in Australia at least two thirds of the creatures are deadly.
The newsreader said that one of the events taking place was the ‘Havaianas Thong Challenge’ that disappointingly turned out to be something to do with flip-flops. There was also Vegemite wrestling (in rather than against) and presumably quite a few barbecues taking place.
The Australians certainly seem to have a pretty great lifestyle and if flights to Australia didn’t take so long (a flight to Sydney takes over 22 hours) I would have visited by now. It actually took me longer than that to travel to Florida because we took two flights in order to keep the cost down so perhaps flying to Australia wouldn’t be so bad. I would just worry that once I got there I would be unwilling to get back on the plane and come home.
El Camino Del Rey Video
Jan 27th
This video is quite old but I decided to post it anyway for those who might not have seen it yet. It is filmed in a place in Spain called El Camino Del Rey (The King’s little pathway) which is near Álora in Málaga. The Camino is a a pathway along the edge of a narrow gorge, it was built between 1901 and 1905.
Wikipedia has the details about the Camino:
“In 1901 it became obvious that workers at the hydroelectric power plants at Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls needed a walkway to cross between the falls, to provide for transport of materials, and for the inspection and maintenance of the channel.
The walkway has now gone many years without maintenance, and is in a highly deteriorated and dangerous state. It is one meter (3 feet and 3 inches) in width, and is over 100 meters (350 feet) above the river. Nearly all of the path has no handrail. Some parts of the concrete walkway have completely collapsed and all that is remaining is the steel beam originally in place to hold it up. One can latch onto a modern steel safety-wire to keep from falling, though it can’t hold much weight. Several people have lost their lives on the walkway in recent years; after four people died in two accidents in 1999 and 2000[1], the local government closed the entrances. However, many adventurous tourists still find their way onto the walkway to explore it.”
Since this was written the pathway has been reopened although I’m not sure if it has been restored or not. Either way you wouldn’t catch me up their without being attached to the safety wire, just watching the video makes me feel a little bit sick. Having said that I would love to visit the trail, I have even looked into car hire in Spain and nearby hotels. If I do walk the trail I will film it and post it here although I might have to edit out the sound of me crying in fear…
Fear And Loathing On The Road
Dec 21st
Ever since I read Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I have wanted to travel across America in an open topped sports car, seeing the film cemented this desire. I don’t plan on ingesting a car boot full of drugs but driving cross country really appeals to me. Unfortunately I don’t have an attorney to take with me but I’m sure I can improvise. Las Vegas is the obvious choice for a final destination in particular Circus Circus although if it’s anything like it is in the film I may have to make a hasty retreat.
There are plenty of great books and films which use the wide expanses of the American landscape and a backdrop to events. The great thing about a road movie is that the constant movement drives the action forward so there is never a dull moment. Jack Kerouac’s On The Road is another fine example, a vibrant narrative driven by a cross country journey in a beat up old Hudson. On The Road was written on one long roll of paper in a stream of consciousness style aided by large amounts of coffee, its physical dimensions referencing the endless highways which cross America horizontally.
I have always wanted to hire a car on one side of America and drive all the way across to the opposite coast stopping anywhere that seems interesting. I have even gone so far as to look into car hire in the USA to see if this is possible. Clearly this couldn’t be done in an ordinary car, it would need to be a convertible and preferably red, a Dodge Charger or a Ford Mustang would do fine.
Dubai International Film Festival
Dec 8th
Dubai continues its attempt to put itself on the cultural map by hosting an International Film Festival this week. Wednesday sees the launch of the 6th DIFF (Dubai International Film Festival) which aims to “Lead in building cultural understanding through creative achievement in film”. This years event will feature 168 films from 55 countries including 13 international premieres, It will be held at Madinat Arena at the Madinat Jumeirah resort.
Queen Noor of Jordan will be providing the Keynote Speech at this year’s festival which is being attended by a host of film stars such as Matt Dillon, George Clooney, Christina Ricci, Omar Sharif and Mandy Moore.
“We are honoured to have Her Majesty Queen Noor with us this year, and we look forward to a ‘full house’, given her status as an inspirational role model across the Arab world and globally admired as a humanitarian. We are also grateful to the three industry representatives, who will also provide a forum for lively discussion.”
An important part of the event is the Cultural Bridge programme which “explores ways to unite all nationalities, which is exemplified in the core slogan of the festival – ‘Bridging Cultures, Meeting Minds’”. Other satellite events include the Dubai film festival charity gala which will feature an auction to raise money and awareness for an HIV/Aids charity.
Despite the recent drops in share value Dubai continues to spend heavily in order to gain international attention. The Film Festival is just one of many events this year which aimed to portray Dubai as a main player in the international culture scene. Other events encouraging people to hop on flights to Dubai include the Dubai Sound City Festival and Art Dubai.
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