Bilbao, May 29

The instructions supplied by Camino Ways on how to get from the accommodation back to the route were nuts: Go to where you saw the sign, turn left before the motorway, then left again where you will see a sign to I-forget-where and go under the underpass.  While I was trying to figure this out in the middle of a roundabout where three major highways come together, I had the great idea to use Google Maps to get to the next town.  It was so easy AND it was the Camino!  

The walk to Bilbao was deadly dull except for one small section on a dirt path through trees.  This is not the nice part.  The nice part was before it looked like this:

Not a buzz was to be heard:

There was a lot of Bilbao to walk through before reaching the hotel. A shop specialized in selling these statuettes.  Don't ask!

Arrived at hotel at 11:30, not expecting to be let into my room, but not only did I get my key but the suitcase had already arrived. ¡Que suerte! (What luck!)  I asked about the password for the wi-fi, the explanation for which sounded muy complicado, so I inquired of la señorita if we could do it right there; she was willing.  But no success.  "Is this an iPhone?" she asked.  "Yes."  "Oh, well that is the problem.  They have an extra level of security." (Right!) Since the suitcase was there, I decided to see if the computer would take the password.  It did!  La señorita then told me that an IT guy would come up to my room to deal with the phone.  And guess what?  About five minutes later a knock at the door and dos (two) señores showed up and got my phone connected to their whackadoodle wi-fi system.

Most of the morning I had been thinking about having an ice cream.  As I made my way through Bilbao to the hotel I kept my eyes peeled for such a shop, but no luck.  Once settled in, I searched for the best ice cream shops in town.  One was right near the Guggenheim, so I was able to matar dos pajaros con un tiro ( kill two birds with one stone.)

The ice cream tasted as delicious as it was beautiful.  I had coffee with a dulce de leche topping while sitting on a bench working on the Spelling Bee.  No 👑 today for sure.  

Fortified and satisfied, I went to the museum.  Jeff Koons' Puppy (pronounced Poopy in Spanish, see just above) whose permanent dwelling place is just outside the museum is the star of the collection: 

There was a special exhibit for which you had to get a number and return in 45 minutes but in the meantime make sure not to lose the scan on your phone etc, etc. etc.  You go into this little room that holds about 4 people, where lights dazzle and reflect off the walls and floor and ceiling and you don't know where you are and you last about ten seconds in there.  It was CRAZY! The title is Infinity Mirrored Room, A Wish for Human Happiness Calling from beyond the Universe 2020 by Yayoi Kusama:

For a view that has no people in it, Click here

Michael Basquiat did this Moses and the Egyptians. I am not sure what he was trying to say but I am guessing it was not favorable! (Remember, you can click on any image to enlarge it.)

I chose to capture this Eduardo Chillido, 1996, for the title:  The Profundity of Air!  (I guess!)

Sorry, I forget who produced this, someone very famous, for sure: 

It fairly screams for some Woody Allen repartee, especially that little white blob in the corner. 

I loved the Claes Oldenburg Soft Shuttlecock:

See a better photo and read about it here

Roy Lichtenstein needs no comment, but feel free!

If you are into Richard Serra, you will get your fill in the huge room full of his huge pieces:

Dora Salazar, 2020, did this sculpture...it has nothing to do with the museum:

After arting for a while, it was time to hunt and gather, so off I headed to the the Corte Ingles, a department store that is usually reliable for good foodstuffs.  It was in a smart part of the city, and when I saw that the food emporium was on the 6th floor instead of its usual basement location, I started to wonder.  It did not rival Harrods but it was way more than I needed, especially the selection of spirits.  All I bought was a loaf of bread (very good), a jar of jam, and an avocado.

For my needs of the moment, better luck at the Eroski just around the corner from my hotel.  

One thing about Bilbao.  There are a lot of stairs to get from one part to another.  A problem with this is that Google Maps rarely tells you to "take the stairs," so you don't know what level of street you are on or are supposed to be on, and while Google Maps does supply the names of the streets, the streets themselves tend to remain unmarked. 

Fact: to reach the pedestrian walkway of the bridge nearest to the Guggenheim from my hotel, there are 16  flights of stairs.  There is also an elevator.