What a luxury not to have get up early and walk up and over steep hills. Our bodies are thanking us although we have both felt quite good every day with minimal stiffness or soreness. We are trying to stretch a little more as we rarely stretch at all. Since we arrived in Bilbao around noon, we had lunch, showered and took all of our clothes to a laundromat before an early dinner and sleep.
We were in Bilbao in July of 2017 with grandson Jackson and Dick and Andrew. We spent two nights here and really enjoyed it. On our return visit we do not feel compelled to tour the city extensively. We loved Guggenheim Museum Bilbao on our last visit so a return viewing is our number one priority.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 18 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spain. The Guggenheim foundation is dedicated to the preservation, interpretation and collection of just modern and contemporary art. The only Guggenheim that we have not yet visited is in Abu Dhabi.
This is July of 2017 A 43 foot flower covered West Highland Terrier by Jeff Koons has guarded the Guggenheim since 1992. We had purchased tickets online and went right in with no queue. The special exhibit on the ground floor was of an American artist that we had never heard about, Alice Neel. The picture and information below are from the Guggenheim Bilbao web site. Alice Neel (b. 1900; d. 1984) is one of the most radical artists of the 20th century. A fervent advocate for social justice, humanism, and the dignity of people, she considered herself a “collector of souls.” Her works reflect the spirit of an era, the inner history of New York, focusing on those who experienced injustice as a result of sexism, racism, or capitalism, as well as those who combatted it. Showcasing her inclusive, democratic spirit, Neel painted people from a range of backgrounds and social statuses.
The rest of the pictures and dialogue are ours.
Mark Rothko, untitled.
The museum itself is a work of art and the atrium is its centerpiece.
Andy Warhol One Hundred and Fifty Multicolored Marilyns. All of Warhol’s Marilyn’s were done after her death. We spent almost two hours in the museum and then walked down the Estuary of Bilbao to old town.
Town Hall. We had an early dinner in old town and then sought out a taberna where we had a good meal and great margaritas in 2017. This is Peso Neto taberna-jatexea which we highly recommend if you are ever in Bilbao. The young bartender had to get help from his manager on how to make the margaritas but he did a great job and Sandy was very happy.
Our day and one half here was very pleasant and well spent. Tomorrow, Friday 24 September we start our second week of our five week walk to Santiago de Compostela.
Lovely post ! The Guggenheim museum in Bilbao was on our list too ! You are 20 percent done already !!! I flew home last night and we are going for a hike today to enjoy the peak fall Aspen colors near us ! Enjoy your walk today – Karen
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