Day 18 (del Norte): Bilbao to Portugalete

Re-entering the Guggenheim Museum in the evening briefly before they close, we watch a multi-media presentation by a Pakistani artist Shazia Sikander called Parallax. It has fantastic imagery based on computer animation with accompanying music and narrated poetry. If this is modern art, then I like it. We have a half hour before the dinner reservation, which is perfect as we have a chance to walk around the building at dusk.

Bilbao: walking toward the Guggenheim Museum from the hotel

Guggenheim: another look at the Puppy (poo-pi as they call it here), as the evening approaches.

Guggenheim: Sikander's Parallax, partly based on the events at the Strait of Hormuz

Guggenheim: another look at the atrium inside

Guggenheim at closing 

Guggenheim along Nervion River at dusk

Guggenheim: getting dark

Guggenheim: seen from the pedestrian bridge to the west

Guggenheim along Nervion River seen from the pedestrian bridge

Guggenheim: these flames almost knocked me backward when they went up without warning.

We do make it to dinner without falling asleep. This may be the first major meal during this trip that I scheduled for dinner instead of lunch, perhaps against my better judgment, as Nerua is only open for dinner today. I have agonized over this a bit and finally decided earlier today to go for dinner instead of the alternative of returning to Bilbao for a lunch here at the end of the trip. (So we will be going from Santander, our final destination on this Camino walk, to Madrid.)

It just seems appropriate that we simply walk up the short stairs next to Bourgeois' Spider to enter Nerua and cap off the great day. On the website of the restaurant is a statement "Artist Jeff Koons ... refers to art as something that is not an object but rather in the mind of the observer. The same line of thought is what the restaurant Nerua wishes to convey, getting visitors to create their own dining experience, making the means to do so accessible to the diner."  Huh? Anyway, curiously the small restaurant is half empty, and we are seated next to a window through which the Spider was so close you can almost touch it.  The staff are very nice, and the quality of food meets my expectations. In the middle of the meal, a loud noise is heard and it's from a torrential downpour. Ironically the ever-prepared wife left our umbrella at the hotel this one time.The rain does not let up and we borrow a large embossed umbrella to walk back to the Puppy and then another block to the hotel, but the wife's shoes are soaking wet. 

Nerua (right lower): the restaurant is part of the Guggenheim complex

Nerua: by now we are used to the routine of visiting the kitchen and having a nibble

Nerua: I would call this a triple A - Asparagus, Arugula and Avocado 

Nerua: anchovy with oats cream and sage

Nerua: trying this Basque specialty one more time - chipiron

Nerua: you wonder how a Spanish kitchen could prepare mochi but the skin was the most soft I have ever tasted

Oh, yes, the following morning we do continue the walk out of Bilbao, which almost feels like an after-thought. I choose the simplest and shortest of the three possible routes to Portugalete, so it's going to be a short walk. At least we are not taking the "fourth option" mentioned in the Cicero guide, which is to take a subway to Portugalete!

The route on the map is very straightforward as we have to just follow the river all the way to Portugalete. But as we get out of Bilbao, the roads can be confusing so I still had to rely on my Google Map. Midway through the walk, we are joined by the only other pilgrim we are seeing today (most people surely left a long time before our leisurely departure close to noon.) He is from a small town called Fresnoy-la-Riviere, north of Paris. I mean, literally he started walking from his home. Having finished Camino Frances in a similar fashion, from his home via the Le Puy route, he took the Vezelay route to get to Del Norte this time. He is a retired engineer, older than me, but seemingly a very fit, savvy and motivated peregrino, which I think are more typical on this route than Frances.

Bilbao: looking back at the Guggenheim one last time as we leave west toward Portugalete

Today's walk is mostly along the river, flat and straighforward. We are joined by a Frenchman who has already walked two months straight.

Into his staff, Jean-Philippe has carved his own design as well as the names of the starting and finishing points of the Camino. He was inspired by a similar staff carried by a monk in France.

Taking a quick break with Jean-Philippe at the ferry dock along the route to Portugalete

The route deviates a bit through the town of Getxo, which was  unexpected. Perhaps they demanded equal time - why should Portugalete across the river get all the foot traffic? Crossing the river in a car ferry suspended from a bridge, which is something none of us have ever seen before, we arrive at our well-positioned hotel on the water front. From the overall ambience of the town, our historic hotel and experiencing the "ferry crossing," it's been an interesting afternoon. And we avoided the rain altogether.

Portugalete coming into view: an unexpectedly pleasant town

Portugalete: spotting our hotel (yellow building) prominently situated on the water front, a pleasant surprise

Portugalete: a high bridge which serves to support the suspended car ferry

Portugalete: looking back at the suspended car ferry that we just got off. Turns out it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Day 17 (del Norte): Bilbao 2

For many visitors, Bilbao equals Guggenheim Museum. Today is the day to check it out. We are changing hotels - moving from Old Town to the Guggenheim area. The idea was to be closer to the museum and also move in the general direction the Camino heads, although it does involve re-packing and unpacking. In retrospect, it does look a bit silly as the new hotel costs twice as much and from yesterday's walk, Old Town does not seem all that far from the Guggenheim so we could have stayed there. What's more, I initially booked the hotel right in front the museum but I picked the wrong date by accident. By the time I realized it, that hotel is no longer available and now I am paying more to be a bit further away. Ah, the danger of clicking the digital calendar on-line.

Bilbao: as we leave the boutique hotel in Old Town, removing the stuff on top of the table, we find this spider, which I call a proletariat version of the large sculpture by Louise Bourgeois at the Guggenheim complex.

Bilbao: this new hotel just a block from the museum seems overpriced compared to the places in Old Town, but hey, at least they have a complimentary snack bar.

Anyway, the room is not ready at the new hotel so we walk a very short distance to the museum with the tickets we bought yesterday in hand. This structure is truly an architectural wonder. We make an entire circle around the museum in order to appreciate the constantly changing shape and ambience of the curved shiny building. The "Puppy" is a dominant structure and everyone stops for a photo, with good reason - it is large, cute and who doesn't like flowers.

Bilbao: stepping out of our hotel, we are greeted by a view of Guggenheim Museum.

Bilbao: reflections on the windows of this hotel tell you that it is right across the street from Guggenheim. This is where we meant to be. But because of a booking error on my part, we are a block away and paying more. 

Bilbao: the Puppy by Jeff Koons has become a very popular symbol of Guggenheim and perhaps the city itself. It's holding up the building by its nose, isn't it?

Guggenheim: coming down the steps from the Puppy and around the main entrance, we are now near the river.

Guggenheim: continuing the turn

Guggenheim: a guitarist seen through the legs of...

Guggenheim: yes, the Spider. A large piece by Louise Bourgeois.

Guggenheim: curves everywhere you look

Guggenheim: looking up toward the bridge

Guggenheim: climbing up to the bridge

Guggenheim: looking down as we enter the bridge

Guggeneim: from the bridge

Guggenheim: a view of the museum and the river from the bridge

Guggenheim: view of the museum, the river and the bridge

Guggenheim: now we are back to the main entrance area. The museum certainly deserves a 360 degree evaluation!

Guggenheim: there has to be a better way to make a living...

Guggenheim: we decide to have a bite before entering the museum. The terrace bar has pretty good food (pintxos and an eggplant vegetarian salad).

People have said the art work inside the museum does not match the building and who would argue with that? The Guggenheim is dedicated to contemporary art, so obviously the displays are not for everyone. On the ground floor are large space-occupying steel works of Richard Serra. Let's just say that as I walk around (and inside) them, they go over my head. Well, at least the Yoko Ono retrospective is no longer here. But I am not happy that the Jeff Koons retrospective is just over. I want more than the Puppy! We linger a long time at the temporary exhibit of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Puerto Rican-Haitian black American who started as a street artist in New York City and died at age 27 of drug overdose. I knew very little about him but his works, especially his paintings, are growing on me.

Guggenheim: inside the atrium - curves and slanted lines everywhere. The interior of this masterpiece by Frank Gehry as striking as the celebrated exterior.

Guggenheim: curves everywhere you look

Guggenheim: a huge exhibition space dedicated to the works of Richard Serra

Guggenheim: looking down at the atrium from an upper floor

Guggenheim: just outside the special exhibit of Jean-Michel Basquiat, there is a chalkboard where visitors can express themselves. The staff person seems delighted when " I love Euskal Herria" is written.

Guggenheim: am I the only one to notice that the first 5 letters of his name is the same as those in Basque?

Guggenheim: some of the collaborative works between Basquiat and Andy Warhol

Guggenheim:  sitting down at the single-table "library." Basquiat had an eclectic interest and was oddly obssessed with the book Gray's Anatomy. I am willing to excuse the part of one of his paintings where "Gregor Mendel" is followed by "discoverer of X-ray."

Guggenheim: one more look at the interior as we leave the museum

After getting into our hotel room, we take a rest. A band around the wrist lets you get back into the museum. I suppose the proximity of the hotel to the museum has its advantages.

To be continued...