À Bilbao!

Awesome pedestrian bridge

Our first stop was Bilbao! Due to some confusion with toll roads and highway exits, we got there about three hours after we were expecting... but luckily, we still had enough time to walk along the Nervión River and go to the Guggenheim Museum! (Or the Gugg', as we insiders like to call it.) Our hotel was really nice and right by the river, so it was only a short, pretty walk across and along the river to the Gugg'. There were a lot of really cool bridges across the river, including this pedestrian one.

The buildings along the river were really pretty, and the weather was chilly but sunny. When we saw the Gugg', it was amazing!!! The architecture of the building is truly incredible. It was loosely designed to resemble a ship, with the curves of the building catching the light, and the titanium panels of the walls representing fish scales. The whole flow of the building is very cool, it's a work of art in itself.

Puppy

Besides the actual building, there are several other sculptures outside the Gugg'. The first thing you see is this giant spider, but that was creepy, and I didn't like it. But next is this cool bubble sculpture that reflects the river and the Guggenheim behind it. It's called Tall Tree & the Eye, by Anish Kapoor. There's also Puppy, by Jeff Koons, which is this giant puppy sculpture made of flowers. It's quite adorable! Really makes up for the spider. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos inside the museum, but the art inside was also very cool. And the audioguide is included with your admission ticket, which is helpful in trying to understand all that crazy modern art.

Tall Tree & the Eye

Zooming in on one of the bubbles

We spent a few hours going through the Gugg', then found some sandwiches for dinner. We were thinking of trying to get tapas, but decided we were too tired to try to figure out the system. ("I mean, how do you even pay for them??" "I just don't know!" "And they might not even hablo ingles!") The next morning, it was raining, but we found coffee and croissants and had time to walk around a little more and look across the river at the Guggenheim again. I wish we could have stayed in Bilbao a little longer, but then it was off to Pamplona!

À bientôt!