Off to Sunny Spain – this time, we’re taking the P&O cruiseferry Pride of Bilbao for the two-night crossing to northern Spain in order to visit a couple of leading spa hotels before we travel south for our holiday in Javea. The ship’s many amenities include a hair and beauty salon offering Elemis treatments.

Boarding the Pride of Bilbao

After two nights in our compact but comfortable cabin, we disembark at Bilbao early in the morning, and head for the city’s Guggenheim Museum. Designed by Canadian architect Frank Ghery, this world-renowned masterpiece of contemporary architecture, houses many unique art collections and exhibits. It is all so well presented and utterly compelling viewing. We have to reluctantly drag ourselves away after a couple of hours and resume our journey to Elciego and the Marqués de Riscal Hotel.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

Just back following an amazing few days in Bad Gastein, Austria, a scenic spa town, 90-minutes by road from Salzburg. We stayed amid snowcapped mountains at the charming alpine resort of Grüner Baum Hotel on the outskirts of the town.

Grüner Baum has a delightful spa and its own supply of therapeutic spa water which is used in the indoor pool and in courses of healing treatments. The spa also offers massages, body and beauty treatments and hairdressing.

Nature’s abundant and healing resources have been used in this part of Austria for generations and are now benefiting the needs of the 21st century visitor. I’ll be writing  about my visit to Grüner Baum and Bad Gastein, which included a session inside the Heilstollen healing caverns near Bockstein, and visits to the Dunstbad natural steam bath and Felsentherme public thermal spa and swimming pool.