The Spectacular Guggenheim

Spending the day at the magnificent Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was an incredible way to spend a birthday.

Before arriving in Bilbao, we had been told that the exterior of the Museum was actually the highlight, with the interior exhibits not living up to their potential.  

So we weren't sure what to expect when we arrived to take a look.  

But we certainly did not leave feeling disappointed!

The exterior of the building is spectacular and has received universal praise for its design.  

Created by Frank Gehry in the late 1990s, the physical site was selected by Gehry to connect the Museum with the Nervion River and thus wed it to the city's surroundings.  This location was also part of Bilbao’s decrepit port area - the city’s once prime economic driver - thus acknowledging a key element of the city's history and also encouraging revitalization of this important area.

The curves on the building appear to be random but are designed to catch the light, which is accentuated by a large, open atrium with glass panels.  These panels showcase the river on one side and, on the other side, link the Museum to the street, thereby inviting the entire city to be a part of it.  The view of the Museum is most magnificent from the riverside.

The Museum houses a number of travelling exhibitions as well as some permanent ones, including Richard Serra’s Matter of Time Exhibit, which fills a 130-meter large gallery and includes a 100-meter-long Snake, made of weathered steel.

The most compelling exhibits, however, are the visiting exhibits.  

The first exhibit showcased Jeff Koons’s work, with its balloon-like metal sculptures that somehow feel like they are floating despite their weighty composition.

Koon’s work offers an accessibility that is often lacking with other artists.  The sculptures and artwork are designed to invite people of all walks of life to view them and relate them back to their own experiences.  In doing so, he encourages us to assert our own individuality and challenge the status quo.

We were surprised to find we recognized many of Koon's works including his Rabbit stainless steel statue that has been replicated for the Macy’s Parade, a Lady Gaga album cover and of course, the image of the Incredible Hulk which is based on an old picture of Elvis Presley.

The other main exhibit was of Jean-Michel Basquiat.  Incredibly, this exhibit was organized by none other than the Art Gallery of Ontario!  

Born and raised in Brooklyn in the 1980s, Basquiat’s contemporary art was considered ground-breaking.  His works feel emotional and raw and “in the moment”.  His paintings addressed a number of topical issues through symbols, images or text which would sometimes be related and other times be completely unrelated.  

In a collaboration with Andy Warhol, the two would create paintings together. Warhol would start by drawing some kind of image and then Basquiat would add his vision to it, creating new images or painting over the existing ones.  They were often disjointed but the message connected.

Although Basquiat died in his 20s, he made a great impact in his life.  And although we each had a different impression about whether or not we liked his works, he was effective at sparking discussion, presumably his main intention.

The Sights and Tastes of Bilbao

Pushing our way through a bus station rammed with people heading to Pamplona's Festival, we hopped on a bus to Bilbao to visit Beth’s parents who had arrived in the city earlier that day. 

Bilbao has exploded as a tourist hotspot since the opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997.  The city now welcomes over 600,000 visitors per year, compared with approximately 25,000 per year before the Museum was built.

This increase in tourism has transformed the city, boasting reinvigorated neighbourhoods, a slew of new buildings, and a completely revitalized waterfront that moved all of the old industrial warehouses out of the downtown core.  It has also installed numerous bridges - most walkable but one so slippery it has caused hundreds of injuries already! - to allow people to wander back and forth across the river.

The "Welcome Gates" to the City, with a sleek but very slippery bridge!

The Guggenheim Museum was controversial when first announced.  The city – struggling from an industrial crisis – was short for cash.  The Mayor’s vision to bring the Museum and thus pull precious taxpayer dollars away from struggling workers was not well-received.  His foresight and perserverance, however, has clearly paid off and the city is a vibrant and attractive city that appears to be growing every year.

During our time together in Bilbao, we took a spirited walking tour, visited the Guggenheim Museum and strolled quickly around the Mercado De La Ribera.  The Mercado is said to be the largest indoor fresh food market in the world but felt a little sparse in our minds and we completed it in under 10 minutes.    

Mercado Market

We also wandered around the historic core several times, taking the tram there but having to walk back to the hotel because we could never find the tram that could actually take us the other way!

But, in full honesty, what we spent most of our time doing was eating and drinking.  

Bilbao, much like San Sebastian, is known for its cuisine and has more Michelin-starred restaurants than one can count.  Thanks to Fred and Eleanor's dedicated research and planning to book the best ones (and the ones that actually offered any vegetarian options!), we had the opportunity to test out some incredible restaurants.    

Below are a few:

·         Zortziko – A classical restaurant where everyone spoke in hushed tones, except for the drunken Brit who came over to ask us some questions as part of a bet.   The restaurant also sported an antique duck press (about which Fred was surprisingly well-informed), and had some tasty vegetarian fare, even if it was double the price it should have been.

·         Nerua – This restaurant is housed in the Guggenheim Museum complex.  The white dining room was very simple and understated in its design, perhaps to let the food speak most loudly.  Unexpectedly, the staff invited us to tour the kitchen and meet the Chef before lunch started.  It was a lovely touch and set the meal off on the right foot.  The food was tasty, albeit a bit sparse, but the restaurant clearly paid attention to every detail, even serving the bread with a glove on so it wouldn’t be contaminated.  In addition, the bathrooms offered toothbrush kits for some oral hygiene opportunities after the meal (or even between courses to cleanse the palette!).

·         Kasko – A buzzy restaurant in the Old Town, which served the biggest food portions we have encountered in Spain.  While the restaurant’s food was not of the Michelin-Star type, the ambiance was down-to-earth and lively and the food delightful, making it a perfect Birthday Dinner spot.

·         Extanobe – On top of the Convention Centre, the restaurant’s outdoor patio offered gorgeous views of the city to accompany its tasty food.  A slow start to the service and some Sardine Lipstick appetizers aside, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening above the city and were impressed by the creative food, especially the “Chocolate Bombs” and “Chocolate Buttons” to finish the meal.

After all the eating and drinking in Bilbao, we hope the next stop on our tour will be a town that specializes in Cleanses...