This is school?

As a bonus field trip we got to go to Bilbao (mainly to see the Guggenheim) one day and spend the next day wine tasting in the rolling hills of Rioja. Bilbao was interesting city to visit because, like Paris, it has a river running through it. It was interesting then to compare both cities built environment's reaction to the river. In summary, although Bilbao tries to create the relaxed rambling attitude along the river that Paris acheives so well, I don't think it is as successful as a walk along Paris's Seine. Perhaps this is because up until recent history, Bilbao has been almost exclusively an industrial city. It might be that only after the Guggenheim was built did Bilbao really start to consider consider the pleasantness of its environment. There is, however, an atmospere about Bilbao that is very enjoyable...I enjoyed my stay immensely

Rioja....we tasted wine and saw architecture by Zaha, Gehry, Calatrava...what more do I need to say?