In Bilbao, most people speak Spanish because it is still in Spain. However, many people also speak, Euskeda, which is also called Basque. Bilbao is the capital of Basque Country, which is a region of Spain. It is a very difficult language to understand and does not have much in common with Spanish. Many street signs, stores and menus are written in Basque. Thankfully they also have the Spanish translation next to it so I can still understand!
In Bilbao, since it is still apart of Spain, it still uses euros. Euros are used in many countries in Europe including Spain. The euro is a little bit stronger than the dollar, which means that 1 euro equals the same amount as $1.14. Therefore, because of the conversion rate, items purchased using the euro might cost us more in the end.
In Bilbao, a bottle of water costs about the same as a bottle of water in Logroño. It is about 1-2 euros, depending on the size. However, luckily I do not have to purchase bottles of water because the water is safe to drink out of the tap in Spain. I always carry my reusable water bottle with me and I am often filling it up in restaurants, bathrooms and drinking fountains. It saves me a lot of money and I am always hydrated!
