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122 | DESTINATION GUIDES<br />
Bilbao<br />
Spain<br />
DIALLING CODE +34<br />
CURRENCY €<br />
FROM THE<br />
AIRPORT<br />
Visit the Europcar<br />
desk on arrival<br />
for special easyJet<br />
infl ight rates.<br />
Holiday Taxis<br />
(easyJet.holiday<br />
taxis.com) take you from<br />
home to the airport, then<br />
city or destination.<br />
TAXI A taxi to the centre<br />
costs about €28.<br />
Buses go to the<br />
city every 30<br />
minutes and the 25minute<br />
journey costs<br />
about €1.25.<br />
BON APPETIT<br />
UP TO €15<br />
Nasch Café (11 Calle<br />
Simón Bolívar, tel: 94<br />
410 6186) At this busy<br />
café, you can fi nd great<br />
sandwiches, salads and<br />
other tasty snacks.<br />
UP TO €30 Danon<br />
Etxea (24 Calle Juan de<br />
La Losa, tel: 94 411<br />
1053) Traditional<br />
Basque restaurant<br />
serving a wide range<br />
of regional meat and<br />
fi sh dishes. The roast<br />
chicken is a particular<br />
menu favourite.<br />
UP TO €50 Beltz<br />
the Black (61 Calle<br />
Alameda de Mazarredo,<br />
tel: 94 425 3300)<br />
Located inside the<br />
fi ve-star Hotel Domine,<br />
expect excellent quality<br />
food and wines, superb<br />
service and critical<br />
acclaim – all within<br />
beautiful surroundings.<br />
EXCLUSIVE Zortziko<br />
(17 Alameda de<br />
Mazarredo, tel: 94 423<br />
9743) Popular with<br />
locals and gastronomes<br />
alike, chef Daniel García<br />
has won many prizes for<br />
the innovative touches<br />
he adds to traditional<br />
Basque dishes. Try the<br />
cod if it’s on the menu.<br />
AFTER DARK<br />
LOW KEY Café Iruña<br />
(Jardines de Albia, tel:<br />
94 423 7021) The huge<br />
Café Iruña has been<br />
going strong since 1903.<br />
Relax with a hot drink<br />
or an aperitif amid the<br />
impressive Moorish<br />
tiling and décor.<br />
LIVE MUSIC Kafé<br />
Antzokia (2 San<br />
Vicente, tel: 94 424<br />
4625) Set in an old<br />
theatre, Antzokia is<br />
a great place to watch<br />
a band from a wide<br />
range of genres – local<br />
talents, underground<br />
names and huge stars.<br />
LATE & LIVELY<br />
Grafi t (1 Urrutia, tel: 94<br />
410 2772) In the centre<br />
of Bilbao, this lively<br />
theatre-café has plenty<br />
going on and a following<br />
of loyal locals. Energetic<br />
crowds fl ock here to<br />
dance the night away.<br />
THIS MONTH<br />
SHOP Paradise for<br />
chocoholics has arrived<br />
in Bilbao – Cacao<br />
Sampaka has exquisite<br />
chocolate from all over<br />
the world. Buy a box of<br />
truffl es or treat yourself<br />
to a hot chocolate in<br />
the café (20 Alameda<br />
de Rekalde).<br />
SEE Joaquín Achúcarro,<br />
the top pianist, performs<br />
at the Arriaga Theatre<br />
on 22 December.<br />
Tickets cost between<br />
€7.20–€30, book ahead<br />
(teatroarriaga.com).<br />
GO The annual<br />
Christmas art and<br />
crafts fair outside<br />
the Arriaga Theatre<br />
is a seasonal must.<br />
Stalls sell reasonably<br />
priced jewellery and<br />
leather goods (mid<br />
December–6 January).<br />
ESCAPE Lekeitio<br />
is a buzzing fi shing<br />
village an hour along<br />
the beautiful coastline<br />
from Bilbao (buses<br />
leave from Abando train<br />
station). Take a winter<br />
walk along the coast,<br />
enjoy excellent seafood<br />
and browse around the<br />
shops and old port.<br />
Katherine Bilsborough<br />
TAXI TAXI<br />
NO<br />
WAY!<br />
The Basques have<br />
their own Father<br />
Christmas fi gure,<br />
Olentzero. He is a<br />
charcoal burner who<br />
comes down from<br />
the mountains on<br />
Christmas Eve with<br />
a sack of toys for good<br />
boys and girls, and<br />
pieces of charcoal for<br />
the naughty ones!<br />
Birmingham<br />
UK<br />
DIALLING CODE +44<br />
CURRENCY £<br />
FROM THE<br />
AIRPORT<br />
Visit the Europcar<br />
desk on arrival<br />
for special easyJet<br />
infl ight rates.<br />
Holiday Taxis<br />
(easyJet.holiday<br />
taxis.com) take you from<br />
home to the airport, then<br />
city or destination.<br />
TAXI A taxi to the centre<br />
costs about £20.<br />
Trains leave every<br />
10 minutes for the<br />
city centre. Tickets: £3.10<br />
single; £6.20 return.<br />
BON APPETIT<br />
UP TO €15 Urban<br />
Pie (Bullring Shopping<br />
Centre, tel: 0121 643<br />
0040) Chase away<br />
the winter chills with<br />
inventive English pies<br />
– favourites include<br />
steak or chicken balti.<br />
A meal deal includes<br />
a pie and hearty mash<br />
with peas or beans.<br />
UP TO €30 Mogo Grill<br />
and Juice (Touchwood<br />
Shopping Centre,<br />
Solihull, tel: 0121 705<br />
9864) African beats and<br />
vivid paintings create<br />
a welcoming space<br />
to enjoy spicy grilled<br />
meats and fi sh. Tilapia<br />
fi llet with fi ery dips and<br />
sizzling Serengeti beef<br />
are both great options.<br />
UP TO €50 Saffron<br />
(909 Wolverhampton<br />
Road, Oldbury, tel:<br />
0121 552 1752) Serving<br />
regional dishes in<br />
contemporary and<br />
elegant surroundings,<br />
this Indian restaurant is<br />
probably unlike any you<br />
have dined in before.<br />
Rabbit, lobster and<br />
Highland venison are<br />
some of Saffron’s more<br />
unusual offerings.<br />
EXCLUSIVE Purnell’s<br />
(55 Cornwall Street,<br />
tel: 0121 212 9799)<br />
Creative dishes such as<br />
brill cooked in coconut<br />
milk have earned chef<br />
Glynn Purnell many<br />
well-deserved awards,<br />
including his latest –<br />
AA Restaurant of the<br />
Year for England.<br />
AFTER DARK<br />
LOW KEY The Lord<br />
Clifden (34 Great<br />
Hampton Street, tel:<br />
0121 523 7515) If you<br />
like real ale, then The<br />
Lord Clifden is for you.<br />
Cosy up in a low-lit<br />
corner with a pint of<br />
locally brewed ale.<br />
LIVE MUSIC Hare<br />
and Hounds (106<br />
High Street, tel: 0121<br />
444 2081) A spacious<br />
Victorian pub hosting<br />
regular and intimate<br />
gigs. You won’t get any<br />
big names, but this is<br />
the place to see aspiring<br />
stars play a mix of ska,<br />
reggae, jazz and much<br />
more in between.<br />
LATE & LIVELY<br />
Snobs (29 Paradise<br />
Circus, tel: 0121 643<br />
5551) Mingle with the<br />
young student crowd<br />
and take a trip down<br />
memory lane to fi nd<br />
If you want to continue to read this magazine<br />
and cannot take it with you, visit<br />
‰infl ight.com/emag<br />
‰<br />
your indie-music-loving<br />
youth at this quirky,<br />
alternative club.<br />
THIS MONTH<br />
SHOP Pick up<br />
last-minute presents<br />
at Pavilions shopping<br />
centre. With everything<br />
from health food and<br />
chocolate to lingerie<br />
and designer fashions<br />
on offer, you can’t go<br />
wrong (38 High Street).<br />
SEE See actor Joe<br />
Pasquale and Ray Quinn<br />
as you’ve never seen<br />
them before in the<br />
city’s top pantomime<br />
production, Sleeping<br />
Beauty, running from<br />
19 December–31<br />
January (Birmingham<br />
Hippodrome, tel:<br />
0844 338 5000).<br />
GO Until 23 December,<br />
Victoria Square<br />
hosts one of the<br />
largest German-style<br />
Christmas markets<br />
in the UK. Warm cold<br />
fi ngers and toes with<br />
a glug of glühwein<br />
and soak up the<br />
festive atmosphere.<br />
ESCAPE If the<br />
atmospheric castle<br />
ruins or funicular railway<br />
aren’t enough to lure<br />
you to Bridgnorth,<br />
surely the chance to<br />
meet Father Christmas<br />
as you ride on one of the<br />
Severn Valley Railway’s<br />
steam trains will win<br />
you over this month.<br />
NO WAY!<br />
Back in 1998, the city’s<br />
council took political<br />
correctness to the<br />
extreme and renamed<br />
its Christmas and New<br />
Year festivities Winterval!<br />
Jenny McKelvie<br />
00000 EasyJet WEBSITE NEW.indd 1 11/11/09 17:01:33
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