In simple explanation Bitcoin is the currency while the technology being used is the blockchain. Bitcoins is build with blockchain as its foundation, without the blockchain bitcoin could not be called a crypto currency. Somehow the essence of bitcoin as a currency is the blockchain technology. But it is also important to understand what is this blockchain, blockchain is a record of transaction, a public ledger wherein you can monitor and trace whenever you make a transaction using bitcoin.
[Very accessible explanation, I fully agree with you.]