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Planes, Trains And Automobiles - We're Going To Bilbao

billyiddo said:
My Dad was robbed at knifepoint at 5.30 morning after the game - he didn't have a hotel and whilst it could happen at any point during the night the situation with hotels for these sorts of games does leave a lot of people exposed
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Really sorry to hear that.

I have a kid from Bilbao in one of the classes that I'm currently teaching. She loves her city but says it has become increasingly violent in the last couple of years. They had a stabbing on the street outside their apartment a coupe of weeks ago when she was home which understandably shook her.

Suppose it's the way in any big city, though.
 
Some kid behind me on the escalator at Victoria was asking his dad why there were so many people in Spurs shirts around. His dad says it's because we're having some kind of parade. Kid replies: 'I don't want them to.'
 
markysimmo said:
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I wonder how much of this was due to the lack of transport opposed to accommodation. I really enjoyed the (limited amount) of Bilbao I saw, and plan to re-visit at some point.

My experience of getting to Bilbao was pretty straightforward, I booked direct return flights back in April, (Gatwick to Bilbao), no delays and both flights were ahead of schedule, and getting through passport control either end was fine. I was out of Bilbao airport within 5-10 mins of landing (first from the flight), and I headed to the Uber pick-up point.

It took over 30 mins for an Uber to arrive after booking (no others arrived for other before mine), he'd driven straight from the city centre after dropping someone else off. This was Tuesday evening, a full flight from Gatwick, followed shortly after by a full flight from Manchester. Then getting from Indautxu area back to our Airbnb Santurtzi was about a 30 minute wait too. Others in the group had the same waiting time issues with Ubers too.

On match day we got the train from Santurzi to the fan-zone, and then walked to the ground. After the game, we had a couple of beers in the Indautxu area again, and we decided that we'd get the Metro back to the Airbnb as we didn't want to risk the long waits. Speaking to another friend who was there and staying out of town, they ended up having to get to the airport to get a taxi and didn't get back until about 7am.

The transport infrastructure and volume of hotels in the city probably wasn't suited to having 2 clubs the size of Tottenham and Utd, and was surprised that there weren't more Uber/Taxi drivers, or more Airbnb's listed in the city centre.
 
Yes. I thought the infrastructure would be tested with such large fanbases. We booked a registered taxi driver from the suburbs via his facebook page. He then picked us up from the departures area of the airport and got us to our accommodation at the Ibis Budget Bilbao City. We then could walk from there. On the way back he arranged for one of his colleagues to pick us up and drop us at the airport. Interestingly though, one of the central area taxi drivers pulled up alongside and asked her (our taxi driver) what she was doing on 'his manor'. She explained that we booked by phone. So, I think the dearth of taxis was that effectively only licensed taxis could operate in the city centre but unless you were a city centre based taxi, you couldn't turn up and just start picking passengers up. In that respect, the planning could have been better.
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
I should have met up with you this afternoon, as I'm still here as well. (Up the big hill in the campervan park.)

I was in 'recovery mode' for a good part of the day. Not that had drunk that much BUT physically and mentally it just takes soooo much out of you. And tbh my voice was failing me in the middle of conversations, after copious amounts of singing/shouting.
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Other than geography that has been EXACTLY my experience mate...
 
Leeds/Bradford - Ibiza - Barcelona: Flights
Barcelona - Zaragoza: Train
Zaragoza - Bilbao: Coach
Bilbao - Madrid: Coach
Madrid - Zargoza - Barcelona: Train
Barcelona - Leeds/Bradford: Flight

Worth every minute!

Home this afternoon. No problems until the flight home. Plane packed with 20+ private school kids on a trip to Barca, numerous families with young kids and more senior people who'd clearly been on walking/cycling holidays.
Oh and three Mancs, the larger of which only had the f word as an adjective or adverb and was extremely loud and fidgety. Someone complained (I assume one of the staff from the school) and then he started arguing with the Chief Stewardess, when she asked him to stop swearing. Didn't stop and she ended up giving him a formal written warning, asking for his passport and threatening to divert the plane and having him taken off. Seemed to calm him down, but then he went to the toilet and became even more fidgety (wonder why :rolleyes:).
Anyway when we landed, and were waiting to get off, the 70ish guy behind me asked him to not push him. Started having a go at him and when his wife intervened her as well. The older guy moved out of his way and at this point I moved out of the way and said "here, you get off mate" and waved him through. Took umbridge at this and when I, foolishly, told him to wind his neck in, called me a "fvcking posh southern cvnt!". I've never felt so proud :cool:
 
mephitis said:
Leeds/Bradford - Ibiza - Barcelona: Flights
Barcelona - Zaragoza: Train
Zaragoza - Bilbao: Coach
Bilbao - Madrid: Coach
Madrid - Zargoza - Barcelona: Train
Barcelona - Leeds/Bradford: Flight

Worth every minute!

Home this afternoon. No problems until the flight home. Plane packed with 20+ private school kids on a trip to Barca, numerous families with young kids and more senior people who'd clearly been on walking/cycling holidays.
Oh and three Mancs, the larger of which only had the f word as an adjective or adverb and was extremely loud and fidgety. Someone complained (I assume one of the staff from the school) and then he started arguing with the Chief Stewardess, when she asked him to stop swearing. Didn't stop and she ended up giving him a formal written warning, asking for his passport and threatening to divert the plane and having him taken off. Seemed to calm him down, but then he went to the toilet and became even more fidgety (wonder why :rolleyes:).
Anyway when we landed, and were waiting to get off, the 70ish guy behind me asked him to not push him. Started having a go at him and when his wife intervened her as well. The older guy moved out of his way and at this point I moved out of the way and said "here, you get off mate" and waved him through. Took umbridge at this and when I, foolishly, told him to wind his neck in, called me a "fvcking posh southern cvnt!". I've never felt so proud :cool:
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What an epic journey!
Except for 'the tw*t'...yes, hope the kids didn't touch the bathroom services, or else lawd help their parents!
 
thfcsteff said:
What an epic journey!
Except for 'the tw*t'...yes, hope the kids didn't touch the bathroom services, or else lawd help their parents!
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Yeah £12k - £22k pa + for your kids to get coked up on their trip to BCN. "I know you were on the Modern Languages course in Barcelona, darling but I don't think I paid for that sort of language!"
 
Just looking at planning my trip for the UEFA Super Cup Final. Looks like more poor transportation after the game and possibly a long walk back to the hotel.
 
mephitis said:
Leeds/Bradford - Ibiza - Barcelona: Flights
Barcelona - Zaragoza: Train
Zaragoza - Bilbao: Coach
Bilbao - Madrid: Coach
Madrid - Zargoza - Barcelona: Train
Barcelona - Leeds/Bradford: Flight

Worth every minute!

Home this afternoon. No problems until the flight home. Plane packed with 20+ private school kids on a trip to Barca, numerous families with young kids and more senior people who'd clearly been on walking/cycling holidays.
Oh and three Mancs, the larger of which only had the f word as an adjective or adverb and was extremely loud and fidgety. Someone complained (I assume one of the staff from the school) and then he started arguing with the Chief Stewardess, when she asked him to stop swearing. Didn't stop and she ended up giving him a formal written warning, asking for his passport and threatening to divert the plane and having him taken off. Seemed to calm him down, but then he went to the toilet and became even more fidgety (wonder why :rolleyes:).
Anyway when we landed, and were waiting to get off, the 70ish guy behind me asked him to not push him. Started having a go at him and when his wife intervened her as well. The older guy moved out of his way and at this point I moved out of the way and said "here, you get off mate" and waved him through. Took umbridge at this and when I, foolishly, told him to wind his neck in, called me a "fvcking posh southern cvnt!". I've never felt so proud :cool:
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If you've got luggage in the hold I can't see the point in rushing off a plane, you always have to wait in the baggage hall.
 
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