Yay! Bilbao.

I got the luck I needed :)

Also negotiated pension fees down a bit. I am 100% in love with this city. From a sketchers perspective it is heaven. A diverse mix of some of the most adventurous architectural styles representing centuries. It's fab.

Loads of cool public spaces for people to just hang around in also. A superb use of a 'dead space' under a flyover. The most vibrant 'dead sapce' I have ever come across. This is a very cool, funky city.

Proper Northern Spain tourist season is just beginning to reach peak. There are temporary public art installations sprouting up everywhere. My favourite so far is the little field of mushrooms. Umbrellas atop large bamboo canes. The artist's statement (this is by no means verbatim) was about how city parks are public spaces of tamed nature and how public art installations are tamed spaces of manmade chaos. When it rains he sees mushroom umbrellas sprouting in the city. A paradox of wildness coming from a manmade environment. The paradox for me is that his art is a paradox of a paradox. It just looks cool. I like it.

Bilbao is my new number 1 favourite city in the World! Hope I can afford to stay here a little while longer and sketch more.