Bilbao
Bilbao has gone through a renaissance in the past 20 years. A former industrial city its now a centre for arts and culture. From San Sebastian to Bilbao is only just over an hours drive by motorway - but to get there we took the scenic route. Leaving San Sebastian the road climbed through the hills before dropping down to the coast, passing through a succession of seaside towns - with sunny beaches looking out onto the Bay of Biscay. The road then went inland, climbing steadily into the mountains and through forest to an altitude of 1000 meters before descending via a series of hair pin bends to the Basque fishing village and seaside town of Lekeitio, where we stopped for lunch.
Lekeitio felt very much off the main tourist route. It had narrow shady streets lined by traditional houses, residents going about their day to day business, a small harbour, beach and an attractive plaza.
We bought some food from a local convenience store and walked up to where we'd parked and picnicked under the shade of pine trees that were rooted precariously above a cliff face overlooking the coast. It was then a little further to drive, passing Guernica, site of an appalling atrocity in 1937. The town was bombed by the Nazis during he Spanish civil war on behalf of Franco's forces. The horror was captured by Picasso in one of his most powerful works.
We had arranged to meet our Airbnb host mid afternoon and it was fairly straightforward to navigate to a central residential area mid way between the Guggenheim and Bilbao's old town. Our host was lovely and the apartment was perfect - an ideal base for a couple of nights.
First on the agenda was the more mundane aspect of travel - loading up the washing machine. Chores done and supermarket visited for supplies, we made a light meal and then strolled down to the river than runs through Bilbao - the Nervión. We arrived at the Zubizuri foot bridge and crossed to the other side of the river and walked upstream towards the Guggenheim.
Ten minutes of walking by the river brought this iconic building into view, gleaming in the evening sunlight. Sometimes world renown buildings disappoint when seen up close. I can remember being rather underwhelmed by the Sydney Opera House. The Guggenheim by contrast was stunning. A brilliant piece of modern architecture constantly offering something new to catch the eye I found myself somewhat in awe of Frank Geary's creative genius.
Constructed of concrete, glass and titanium it dazzles the eye. We walked to Louise Bourgeois giant spider sculpture - called Maman (Mother) - that sits on the promenade on the side of the Guggenheim facing the river.
Then up some steps and adjacent to the main entrance is Jeff Koons 'Puppy' an over sized canine made of flowers - the most hippy looking guard dog you could imagine.
We had planned to visit the Guggenheim when it reopened the following day, so walked back to our apartment via La Salve bridge, admiring a giant mural on the northern bank.
At 10.00 am the next morning we were back at the entrance to the Guggenheim eager to see what was inside. We approached from La Salve bridge and the sunlight sparkled off the water reflecting onto the titanium plates
Although the interior isn't quite as impressive as the outside it is still an amazing space with enormous galleries on three floors devoted to displaying modern art. Of the art on display, I found Richard Serra's 'A Matter of Time' a vast series of rusted steel sculptures, like metal waves, spirals and dunes captured and frozen in time by the wind. A temporary exhibition by Jenny Holzer, who uses words and phrases in her art on a variety of media, was challenging and thought provoking.
We saw one of the later Warhol's and lots of other works, some of which fell into the 'baffling' category. The acoustics in the galleries are terrific...and at one point in our visit Mrs B. decided to introduce some performance art to the museum....by sneezing loudly. After the performance had ended and before being forcibly ejected we made our way to the exit, enjoyed a drink and then made our way towards to old town via the shaded promenade alongside the river. It was a baking hot afternoon, so we slowed our pace and ambled through the streets of older houses and into the market hall, just soaking in the atmosphere.
We then crossed into the new town on the other bank of the river and walked to Azkuna Zentroa, a vast Philippe Starck designed cultural centre, very quiet, very strange and somewhat lacking in soul.
By late afternoon it had started to cloud over and our legs were weary - we had walked more than 8 miles in the heat, so we returned to rest , eat and recover in our apartment.
Just a few minutes walk from where we were staying was the Funicular de Artxanda. After recovering from our exertions we took the three minute, 770 meter trip to a viewing point high above the city. Although cloudy it helped us appreciate the linear nature of Bilbao, spread along the river and surrounded by mountains and with a good view from above of the Guggenheim.
Returning to the bottom after walking around the park we then made our way back towards the old town for a final time. A street theatre festival was in full swing - literally as some acrobats were using a rotating contraption to perform all sorts of tricks.
Tired, but very happy with the decision we'd made to visit Bilbao, which had turned out to be a vibrant, modern city, we made our way back to our apartment to repack ready for the next stage of our journey.
Lekeitio felt very much off the main tourist route. It had narrow shady streets lined by traditional houses, residents going about their day to day business, a small harbour, beach and an attractive plaza.
We bought some food from a local convenience store and walked up to where we'd parked and picnicked under the shade of pine trees that were rooted precariously above a cliff face overlooking the coast. It was then a little further to drive, passing Guernica, site of an appalling atrocity in 1937. The town was bombed by the Nazis during he Spanish civil war on behalf of Franco's forces. The horror was captured by Picasso in one of his most powerful works.
We had arranged to meet our Airbnb host mid afternoon and it was fairly straightforward to navigate to a central residential area mid way between the Guggenheim and Bilbao's old town. Our host was lovely and the apartment was perfect - an ideal base for a couple of nights.
First on the agenda was the more mundane aspect of travel - loading up the washing machine. Chores done and supermarket visited for supplies, we made a light meal and then strolled down to the river than runs through Bilbao - the Nervión. We arrived at the Zubizuri foot bridge and crossed to the other side of the river and walked upstream towards the Guggenheim.
 |
| The Zubizuri bridge, Bilbao |
Ten minutes of walking by the river brought this iconic building into view, gleaming in the evening sunlight. Sometimes world renown buildings disappoint when seen up close. I can remember being rather underwhelmed by the Sydney Opera House. The Guggenheim by contrast was stunning. A brilliant piece of modern architecture constantly offering something new to catch the eye I found myself somewhat in awe of Frank Geary's creative genius.
Constructed of concrete, glass and titanium it dazzles the eye. We walked to Louise Bourgeois giant spider sculpture - called Maman (Mother) - that sits on the promenade on the side of the Guggenheim facing the river.
 |
| Mother! |
 |
| Puppy |
At 10.00 am the next morning we were back at the entrance to the Guggenheim eager to see what was inside. We approached from La Salve bridge and the sunlight sparkled off the water reflecting onto the titanium plates
Although the interior isn't quite as impressive as the outside it is still an amazing space with enormous galleries on three floors devoted to displaying modern art. Of the art on display, I found Richard Serra's 'A Matter of Time' a vast series of rusted steel sculptures, like metal waves, spirals and dunes captured and frozen in time by the wind. A temporary exhibition by Jenny Holzer, who uses words and phrases in her art on a variety of media, was challenging and thought provoking.
 |
| A Matter of Time |
 |
| Inside the Guggenheim |
We saw one of the later Warhol's and lots of other works, some of which fell into the 'baffling' category. The acoustics in the galleries are terrific...and at one point in our visit Mrs B. decided to introduce some performance art to the museum....by sneezing loudly. After the performance had ended and before being forcibly ejected we made our way to the exit, enjoyed a drink and then made our way towards to old town via the shaded promenade alongside the river. It was a baking hot afternoon, so we slowed our pace and ambled through the streets of older houses and into the market hall, just soaking in the atmosphere.
 |
| Bilbao - old town |
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| Azkuna |
Just a few minutes walk from where we were staying was the Funicular de Artxanda. After recovering from our exertions we took the three minute, 770 meter trip to a viewing point high above the city. Although cloudy it helped us appreciate the linear nature of Bilbao, spread along the river and surrounded by mountains and with a good view from above of the Guggenheim.
Returning to the bottom after walking around the park we then made our way back towards the old town for a final time. A street theatre festival was in full swing - literally as some acrobats were using a rotating contraption to perform all sorts of tricks.
Tired, but very happy with the decision we'd made to visit Bilbao, which had turned out to be a vibrant, modern city, we made our way back to our apartment to repack ready for the next stage of our journey.
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