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| Bilbao to Guernica (and back) - |
At lunch, I wandered Bilbao and took in the sights. I walked to the Guggenheim which is poised on the bank of the river and noticed that it was in fact open. In the summer months, it is open daily which excited me for the second time as I thought that it was closed on Monday. After a lunch that consisted of baguette, cheese and salmon from the local Aldi, I returned to my daily duties and after finishing them in record time, felt motivated to lead the twink to the Guggenheim and see what the fuss is all about.
I was keen to see the Joana Vasconcelos exhibition as she is a bit whimsical. It did not disappoint and I really enjoyed what she had on offer. The highlight would have been the huge chandelier that was constructed with unused tampons and the explanation that the older lady patron gave to two small children as to what tampons are used for. The other exhibition was all about Chagall and his "breakthrough" years from 1911-1919. It was really educational and I enjoyed the audio guide accompaniment that reflected on his Jewish heritage and how his faith influenced his painting. Stunning artwork that I had not been previously exposed to and can highly recommend the exhibition. The other floor which housed Art And China After 1989 wasn't really my thing and was relatively contrived. Everything got a cursory glance, including the piece by Ai Weiwei who I find a hack and not an artist, but opinions are like arseholes, and we all have one. Then I was surprised to happen upon the permanent collection on the top floor as there are multiple pieces by Anselm Keifer. I was first exposed to his massively grand works that reflected on post-WW2 German society in Sydney at the Art Gallery of NSW. Although there was a Picasso in the Sydney museum, I always found myself looking at the Keifer's so it was fitting to find some more of his original works. There was also a Warhol, but that didn't ruin my time at the Guggenheim as I detest pop-art, and really enjoyed my visit and got took some fantastic photos, some being inside the museum and I was told off for doing so.
The Michelin guide suggested La Vina Del Ensanche as the go-to place for pintxos for lunch the next day. As they were supposedly closing for a month for holiday, I was pleased to turn up for a relaxing degustation and we ordered the great-value eight-course degustation for 30€ each. The food came out quickly and the highlight was the croquetas simply because of the amount of garlic that was used in creating them. I refrained from drinking because of austerity measures (I am trying to get the daily spend under £200/day) and knowing that I had to go back to the hotel and do some work the cost was kept to a minimum. Later we drove to Guernica (Gernika) which is the title of not only the famous Picasso painting but a town not far from Bilbao in Basque Country. During the Spanish Civil War, Franco asked his German and Italian mates for support to bomb the hell out of Guernica in the first display of the concept of Total War. The museum in town is sombre but presents a very positive theme involving peace and of course reconciliation. I found it bizarre that the Germans admitted that they took part in the bombing but to this day the Spanish have never admitted any sort of involvement. I find the Spanish Civil War very interesting and the subsequent years under Franco just as intriguing so the visit to the museum was, if not to overuse the word, a sombre experience. Even a trip to the waterfront and walking the beach at Getxo couldn't bring us out of the funk as the notion of total war overwhelmed us and our conversation for the rest of the night, which included a brief interlude in the hotel bar.
What to do on the last day after the work laptop lid was closed? Do a pintxo and bar crawl of course. Beer and food are both so cheap, we visited at least six bars and had a good laugh. One of the bar ladies demanded that I pull up my shirt so she could see some flesh before serving us which was awkward, but I played along and we ended up with a free round. We happened upon a gay bar called Soho of all things and it was as dead as a morgue even at 11:00 PM. The twink demanded food from Burger King on the way back to the hotel which was funnily much more lively than the gay bar, but the local Bilbao pintxos bars rock. I didn't feel like I was living on a budget since everything was so cheap.
The Ibis Bilbao Central hotel was basic but the air conditioning worked a treat and the car park under the building was secure and inexpensive. Two of my requirements for any stay. It was easy to secure late check-out so I could finish the usual calls and get my professional obligations in order before packing up and seamlessly moving on. The wireless internet access worked well and the hotel gave us a round of welcome beers after checking in which are never refused. I would go back to Ibis Bilbao and it is great value for money. I would certainly return to Bilbao, if not only to see a new exhibition at the Guggenheim. I would also perhaps eat at the starred restaurant, which eluded me on the last visit only because I couldn't be bothered putting on skinny jeans and experiencing beads of sweat run from my crotch down my leg all in the noble pursuit of gastronomical goodness.
Next stop: Oviedo/Gijon, Spain.
