A Passion for Cars (Bilbao, Spain 06/15/2019)

Today we are in Basque country – Bilbao Spain.  Driving through this vibrant city today you would never guess that a little less than 30 years ago it was a town struggling to survive after the collapse of its steel and shipbuilding industries.  Bilbao rallied by investing heavily in culture, with the Guggenheim museum at the center of that investment.  The Guggenheim opened in 1992. Since then it has attracted more than 20 million visitors to the city, a phenomenon now known as “the Bilbao” or “Guggenheim effect.”

Our time was spent among the farms and green pastures about 40 minutes outside of Bilbao, visiting the world’s best collection of Rolls-Royces and other luxury vehicles housed on the grounds of an ancient castle.  Sound romantic?  It was pretty cool.

The castle and its collection were owned by Miguel de la Via and his wife, who made their fortune in the limestone quarries of the area.  They did not have any children but were very close to their nieces and nephews who now own and maintain the property, the cars and the quarry – the largest in Spain.  De la Via purchased the overgrown grounds and ruins in 1985 and set to work restoring the castle to its original grandeur.  He also bought adjoining property to protect his privacy.  All told the property includes about 50 acres bought to be the couple’s summer home.  It continues to serve that same purpose for the nieces and nephews and their families.

That same year he also began collecting his prized automobiles.  He was in his mid-20s at the time.  By the time de la Via died in 2009 at the age of 72 his collection had grown to 72 cars, 45 of which are Rolls Royces.  Along the way he hired a gentleman to help care for the cars.  That same man continues the job today.  His son began accompanying him when he was just 7 and joined him as an employee when he was 18.  He was our guide for the day. 

The cars fill a total of 6 showrooms and in addition to the Rolls include a Jaguar, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Cadillac Hispano Suiza and Ford Model T.  Among the more unique items is a stagecoach once owned by a Spanish Count who would use the stagecoach to travel more than 700 km at a time.  It would take two weeks to make the journey, so the Count had a toilet built into the stagecoach to make the trip a little more…comfortable.  There is also a 1936 firetruck that is one of only three of its kind left in the world.  There are two black Rolls Royces previously owned by the Queen mother.  One is a convertible, her summer car; the other a hardtop for winter.  He has a RR Phantom IV owned by the ruler of Kuwait.  There were only 18 of these vehicles made.  The collection includes a list of every one of the 18 vehicles paired with its original owner.

The most prestigious of the collection are kept in the castle’s Loizaga Tower, complete with a red carpet, chandeliers and classical music playing in the background.  This is where the first models of the Silver Ghost series can be found. 

Each of the cars is started every 1-2 days, driven at least once a week and cleaned every Monday and Friday.  Not a bad job, eh?

Following our visit to the museum we enjoyed a panoramic tour of Bilbao (including the famed Guggenheim museum) and made a short visit to the town square area of Bilbao before heading back to the ship.

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