Day Trip and Guggenheim

Tuesday, May 16, 2017--Bilbao and Area

The Guggenheim Museum is open until 20:00 each day.  Therefore, we decided to make a day trip north of the city today and go to the museum late in the afternoon to try to avoid the daytime crowds there.

We took the metro to Plentzia where we walked through the old town, by the harbor, and by the beach.  Then we continued onward to Gorliz to see the beach there and to explore the town.  These are two adjacent towns that are far north of Bilbao by the Bay of Biskay.

From there, we took the metro back to Areeta.  Between Areeta and Portugalete is the Puente Colgante, a hanging bridge which is a World Heritage Site.  It is a tall steel structure much like an overhead crane.  There is a platform hanging by wires from the structure that has two side cars for passengers and a central floor for cars and bicycles.  At the top of the structure, a device with the cables connected to it moves so that the hanging structure moves back and forth across the river.  It is also possible to walk across the top of the fixed steel structure, but today was a bit windy for trying that, and it is a very high structure!

We rode from Areeta to Portugalete.  Then we caught another metro line in Portugalete to return to Bilbao.  As soon as we arrived, we headed for the Guggenheim Museum.  (Click on Bilbao on this page to see a photo and to read about it.)  We entered about 16:15 and were there until about 19:00.  It is a massive structure with lots of exhibit space.  Much of their space today was dedicated to exhibits of Abstract Expressionism.  There was also an exhibit of artwork from Paris around the turn of the century from the 1800s to the 1900s.

We came home, ate dinner, and went back out around 21:15.  We wanted to see the town at night.  We walked along the river and returned to the Guggenheim where they had the Fire Fountain going off in their reflection pool.  One of our main goals was to see the art deco style light fixtures they have along much of the river past the Guggenheim; they are very attractive at night when lighted.  (Two of the fixtures can be seen in this photo on the right.)

By the time we got home again, it was 22:45.  It's been a long day with lots of walking.

We are continuing to enjoy the Spanish wines.  Yesterday, we drank a Vespral Gran Reserva Cosecha 2011, and tonight we had a Campo Viejo Crianza 2013.  Both were good.