Cultural activities for September 2023

September has arrived once again, and with it the start of another autumn with Instituto Hemingway. This month our students and volunteers can look forward to a variety of outdoor, adventurous and leisure activities to fill the month with joy and fun. From encounters with Basque gastronomy, to excursions to explore beyond Bilbao, we don't think anyone will be disappointed!

To kick off the month with a Hemingway classic, we have a pintxo night on Friday the 1st, as well as every Friday of the month. At the conclusion of the news item all these dates will be recounted.

Then, the first Monday of the month, Monday the 4th, brings us a visit to our Hemingway Gardens, where we cultivate the land and give us a new appreciation for the art of running a farm and all that it entails. Come along, and learn how to work like a real farmer, and how to see nature like a poet!

If you're into arts and culture, be sure to attend!

Then to slow things down a bit, on Wednesday 6th September we're going table football in a local bar in our beloved Bilbao. Table football is a very common pastime in bars in Spain, as well as in many other parts of the world. This activity is very relaxed, so if you like to chill outplaying competitive games, and you've finished tired from the visit to the orchards, don't forget to join in!

Our first real excursion will take place on Monday the 11th of the month, taking us on a hiking route to the Castillo Butron, which is located in Gatica. This route is quite long, so we warn that only those who feel up to the challenge should go.

Then we will go to Mendikosolo Park, in Arrigorriaga, on the banks of the Nervión river south of Basauri. It is a large park that boasts more than 45 hectares of surface area and even a lake. Interestingly, the park is also known by the nickname, El parque de la Dinamita, as during the 20th century it housed an old dynamite factory, which was exported in wagons to the Arrigorriaga railway station. The visit to the park will take place on Wednesday 13th September.

Next week, on Monday 18th, our students will visit Portugalete, a beautiful coastal town, to enjoy the good weather and to see the famous Hanging Bridge. This spectacular bridge was declared a World Heritage Site a few years ago, being the first in the Basque Country.

Following our excursion to Portugalete, we will go to the Guggenheim Museum, a Bilbao heritage site that is known worldwide for its great works, historical exhibits and impressive architecture. The museum was designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry, and since its opening in 1997 has been receiving an average of over one million visitors each year. The visit will take place on Tuesday 19th at 16:00, meeting here at Instituto Hemingway.

Afterwards we will go to the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, one of the main museums in the country, which has some highly interesting exhibitions covering different periods, going back to as early as the 13th century. We will have the opportunity to admire the work of local and national painters of great renown and known worldwide such as Sorolla or Paul Gauguin. This visit will take place on Wednesday 20th September at 16:00.

Then, on Monday 25th September we will go to try the famous tortilla de patatas or Spanish omelette. This activity gives us the chance to rest fter a month of outdoor and cultural activities, where we can eat, relax, and simply be. Don´t miss it!

And, as a conclusion to a month full of fun we are going to try Bubble Tea on Wednesday the 27th. This activity serves to bring together those who simply want to relax with a cold drink in the company of their friends from Hemingway, and if you've never tried Bubble Tea, this is your chance to do so and discover why this Taiwanese drink has become so fashionable in recent years. Come along and give it a try!

We must also highlight the pintxo nights that we have during the whole month, taking place every Friday. The relevant dates will be Fridays 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th September. On these days we meet up right here at the Instituto Hemingway at 19:00 to go and eat Basque pintxos with teachers, students, volunteers and other students.

And that's all the activities for September. All our activities and events are open and free for Hemingway students and volunteers, so if you are interested in any of them, don't hide, come and find out how much fun we have in Bilbao!

We'll see you there!