A day for us to explore Bilbao, while Meg and Mark walk another 22 km from Geurnika to Lazema. We started with our typical breakfast of fresh orange juice, pastries and coffees before going to Mercado Ribera, Supposedly Europes largest covered market - that's it to the left of the church
It was fresh produce all round, including the odd pig's head?
Some excellent seafood
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The top middle you may or may not be able to make out. They are known locally as "percebe", completely unappertising looking. We had seen them in San Sebastián but didn't know what they were. The mighty Google to the fore, and they are goose barnacles. Furthermore they are delicacies and can cost up to 60 € per kilo.
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What are they?
Percebes are tube-shaped crustaceans that cling to the granite rocks of the storm-bashed Galician coastline. They're scientifically classed as Pollicipes cornucopia , more commonly known as goose barnacles.
Barnacles? They must taste like rubber bands!
Far from it — they're delicious, with the flavour of sweet lobster and the texture of an oyster washed over with a tang of sea spray. Ask gourmet Spaniards about this star of the cocina and they will dissolve into lip-licking rapture.
So why haven't we heard of them?
Well, they're certainly not the best looking thing in the pantry. They resemble cartoon creatures from another planet, or some strange dish that you might see served in the Star Trek canteen.
Tell me more, Captain.
Fully grown, they have a sooty finger-thick trunk with a rose-coloured inner tube. At one end is a scaly head that attaches itself to a rock and at the other a diamond-shaped foot that looks like a dinosaur claw. At high tide this foot opens to reveal tiny pink tendrils through which the barnacle filters the surrounding seawater to feed.
Bizarre. So how on earth do you eat these ugly brutes?
Definitely not with a knife and fork. The correct method is to pinch the foot between your thumb and finger and pull the tasty inner tube out of its scaly case, twist off the claw and slip down the flesh in one.
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Definitely something Bob will be seeking out!!
Of course we are in Spain so there must be olives!
We then visited the Basque Museum. A very well done history of the Basques. They had a map of the coast we are walking dated at 1606.
Plus some of the "giants" from the Basque festival parade
Their claimed most significant exhibit was this zoomorphic idol known as the Mikeldi Idol, dating from the 5th century BC
We then decided that, as good pelegrinos, we should visit the Basilica. This one had a shrine to the Lady of Begonia, though I must say these are all starting to look very similar
But we were lucky enough to see a wedding party arriving
We then decided on a quick drink in the plaza, but of course the array of pintxos at the bar was too tempting, so we had to have a snack as well.
Soon after it was lunchtime. Our research took us to Beraia, and we weren't disappoined. Gaspacho to start for Julie, and mushroom risotto for Bob
A great gaspacho by Julie's assessment
Julie then had what was almost the dish of the trip (no photo sorry), shredded duck on a light potato and cheese purée topped with incredibly sweet caramelised onion. Tasty entrecôte for Bob, seared on the outside and almost blue in the centre, and the desserts weren't half bad either.
After that, and temperatures heading for 30 degrees, it was siesta time.
We headed out again at about 6 pm with the aim of seeing some of the Street Theatre that was happening, and maybe buy some food to eat by the river.
This life size puppet show was on in the Old Town Plaza
...and there was some dancing
..but we were a little early for the main events.
Our food plans got distracted when we passed this pastry shop..
...as we had just been reading about these in the current Bilbao Tour magazine. They are called Carolinas and are a speciality from Bilbao. Of course we had to go in and try one, plus the millefeuilles also looked pretty amazing so we had to try one of them as well...
We also sought out a Racion de Hornazo from the Salamanca ham shop we had passed the previous day..
...and, unable even to eat it all it was so rich, and feeling slightly ill from all the food, we slunk off back to our hotel!
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