Saturday, June 15, 2019

June 15, 2019,        Bilbao, Spain                          155/183

Another sunny, but chilly day in the low 70s F as we start our walking tour of Bilbao.  Seems each city is outdoing the other as we proceed North.  This is a charming city, once again presenting itself  well through a combination of the old and new.  Attention to detail in the architecture is very appealing.  Nice to see a little extra expense being incorporated in structures to enhance beauty and appeal. Streets are well kept, look bicycle friendly and drivers were not honking madly.

Unfortunately, graffiti is proliferating everywhere,  seriously detracting from the overall ambience of the city. Note that one of our ship mates experienced an attempted theft when  a man opened his backpack and tried to remove items. Guy was scared off.

Overlooking the Nervion River, Canadian born Frank Gehry's architectural master piece, the  Guggenheim, is a wonder to behold.  Stunning, maybe even a little over the top, the structural formations somehow come together to house a Museum of Modern Art.  Does it ever cross your mind what is going on in the artist's mind with some of this stuff?

Get a load of the 1200 tons of iron art by Richard Serra in the museum.

Definitely a place worthy of a second, longer visit.  We just scratched the surface with our 3 hour stopover.


Views of Bilbao Harbour 





Beach by the Port

Random photos of downtown Bilbao

Home overlooking the Port

More random photos








Mix of old and new

Another nice park

Charming residence

Pedestrian area along a city street





Downtown, across from Guggenheim

Another residence built on a bank

Old hotel converted to a residence





Ceramic art under a bridge



If you look closely, a huge soap bubble can be seen drifting in the foreground.
 

Bilbao Guggenheim

Designed by Canadian-born, American educated Frank Gehry

Guarding the front of the Guggenheim

Main foyer in the Guggenheim



Taken on steps behind the Guggenheim - Bronze spider, will take a lot of Raid to stop this guy!

Museum exterior - Maybe symbolic of the champagne toast after the completion.




Torqued Ellipses by Richard Serra

 1,200 tons of 2 inch thick shaped iron.  Would be a good place to play hide and go seek. Whatever winds your watch!   By the way, the building was constructed around this display.



Fog effect viewed from the Museum


Couple more exterior views of the Guggenheim



Building facing the Guggenheim






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