A day in Bilbao isn’t a bad thing to do for oneself were on Camino or not. This is a very livable city with parks everywhere, proper bike lanes (not like those goofy things at home) a healthy looking population and loads of interesting places to visit. Here are a few of the sites.
We started our day slowly and finally rolled out to find breakfast in a bar and then it was off to visit the Guggenheim. Designed by a joint Canadian American collaboration. I guess this was during a time when we weren’t considered a security threat and a good trustworthy neighbour. How times have changed in certain quarters, fortunately not in all.
Hey Ken, I found you an interesting cat! Well maybe it’s a dog?
Maybe a cat from the rear? A Garfield?
A very cool building to spend a few hours in. Quite a few controversial exibits taking on some of the social and political issues of our time. I can’t say that this was my favourite type of gallery, but I did enjoy wandering this very amazing building which kind of outshines the exhibits.
We took a long walk along the river which is beautifully lined with walking and cycling paths. All the while it was getting hotter in the growing humidity.
We ended up in the old town area and when in search of the Santiago Cathedral to obtain our stamp, complete with free entry for pilgrims!
We unnecessarily climbed up above old town, but it was worth the nice vistas. Of course we found the outdoor escalators on our way back down which would have been better appreciated when we climbed all those stairs!
As I said the parks are everywhere and later in the day they are filled with children. These ones particularly interested in a spontaneous concert.
Then there was the unusual laundry drying lines complete with their own umbrellas to keep the rain off the dry8ng clothes. Did I mention that there is lots of rain here?
The food here has been pretty delicious. We ate out at a 2019 Michelin rated bar last night. Didn’t know they awarded bars? Food was brilliant.
Each day this past week Annemarie would say to me something about how bad the weather was and I’d tell her that the forecasters were calling for better weather. She didn’t believe me, but now I can say, “told you so”! The weather pattern has completely flipped and we have hot sunny days here and ahead. Tomorrow, in answer to Ken’s question, we will jump the metro out or Bilbao just down river to Portugalete and kick off our second week as we are back by the sea and all that brings. We will be up early tomorrow to get a jump on the heat, but that’s ok because there’s something special about walking under blue sunny skies!
Well, you are living the dream. Bilbao! Pretty amazing. I Googled the Guggenheim there. The giant cat is a giant dog, by Jeff Koons--probably the only piece of his that I like. The big spider is by Louise Bourgeois, a Canadian; there's one like it in front of the National Gallery in Ottawa. The silver balls are by Anish Kapoor, who did the big silver cloud in Chicago, among other things--he's very interesting. And the lighted text must be the Jenny Holtzman piece that Annemarie mentioned on FB. What an experience to take in all of that, plus the old church, plus the park, plus the old city, plus the amazing food!
ReplyDeleteDo you push on tomorrow, or do you take another day in Bilbao? Lucky Basques--what a city.
¡Buen Camino!
Ken
I knew you’d be all over this! I think you’d have appreciated the ‘art’ far better than I possibly could, one of the good reasons that it’s good we aren’t all the same. Back to work tomorrow. I may have to put on my floppy sun hat. Looks dorky, but it works! Now I don’t have to carry it and my sunglasses, however I do have to carry my wet gear. Constant adjustments.
ReplyDeleteFloppy hats mean sun, sun means less mud (and eventually none). I am in favour of the floppy hat! (I wear mine in the rain, though, sometimes.)
ReplyDeleteKen
What a great city. A day like this sounds just what the doctor ordered. Thanks for the photos. So many great buildings in that part of the world. Thanks to Ken for some additional descriptions of some of the instalments - inside and out (that Jeff Koons puppy was outside the museum of modern art in Sydney for a while - or a relation at least!). So blue sky, nothing but blue sky... enjoy!
ReplyDeleteBuen camino
Neil and Sarah
Day 11 after leaving Victoria you have found the sun in the lovely city of Bilbao!! Good news indeed. I am sure you will long remember your leisurely sight seeing day doing what you like doing most which included sampling some pretty fancy and highly rated eating places. Also particularly glad to get the impression that you and Annemarie were able to do some pretty strenuous walking and that Annemarie didn't suffer any severe consequences after her tumble. Maybe we will get a sunrise shot one of these mornings
ReplyDeleteYour garden is doing well - nice and green and surprisingly very few weeds!! need ho