Spain 2024-Day 6-The Rest of Bilbao

As you already know, we bussed to Bilbao from San Sebastian this morning.

The first item of import was ditching our luggage. We chose LockHereNow, great concept with 24/7 access to a room with lockers of various sizes. You choose the size locker you need, pay online, get your access code via your cell phone and after locking up your luggage you are all set for the day.

By the time that was taken care of, my stomach had settled and we were ready for lunch. Delightful poke bowls, carried to the park that was two blocks away.

We sat on a bench by a statue of the Virgin Mary, settled in dappled sunlight as we ate and laughed. The beauty and omnipresent outdoor spaces here bring so much joy into everyday.

Now it was time for our funicular ride up the mountain! For this ride, round-trip, we paid a mere 8 euros for the two of us. Buds took a time lapse video of the trip down which he'll post later.

As we've mentioned, Bilbao is nestled in a river valley, and though there are many ways to the top of the hill, a funicular is among the most delightful.

We wandered around at the top, enjoying the sun and the views until rolling thunder indicated rain was incoming.

Back down we go, and on the way down we realize how tired we are. A quick stop at the grocery store for a drink, a wander through a sporting goods store, and then the rain begins to fall.

We have entry into the Guggenheim at 4:30, but we're an hour away from that. Luckily, we like the rain and the temperature isn't too cold.

Buds wanted to give Bob a chance to take footage around Puppy, so that helped pass the time.

He ruefully realized Bob had not been turned on, so we did another round later in the day.

After this, it was only 30 minutes until our timed entry, so we toured the gift shop, then into the museum!

I have seen art over the years that has moved me. It has made me weep, laugh, or gasp. I am not educated in art, but I know what I like.

The art at the Guggenheim was interesting. We were glad we went, but it was not a museum that was fun or thought-provoking, to us.

The exhibit that most intrigued was the first one. Huge metal representations of time that you could walk through to experience.

These are freestanding, massive sheets of metal, bending and dipping and tilting. We laughed as we realized we were leaning to the side as the walls angled. The feeling of the space was so different depending on the space above your head or the echo of your voice.

Additionally, the display could be seen in miniature and from above, allowing it to be understood and experienced in multiple ways.

That experience we really did like. And there were other pieces we found interesting or beautiful...

"How Profound is the Air" is a beautiful name, and I wanted very much to touch the cold smoothness of this piece:

I was interested in how it was created more than I was moved by the piece.

That's probably the biggest issue; there were no pieces here that moved us. It was a shared experience, and we value that, but we learned and appreciated Itsas Museum much more.

After dinner and picking up our luggage, we jumped on the bus for the airport.

We were the last flight of the night, landing in Palma shortly before midnight. The taxi zipped us to our hotel in record time, we let ourselves in via the code they sent us, picked up the envelope with our name on it off the front desk, and fell into bed after a very long day.

Goodbye, Bilbao and Northern Spain. Hello, Palma.