Day 1 in Bilbao
A quick bus ride took us to Bilbao, but a long preceding night meant naptime before dinner. Another restful day, for which we were grateful. Dinner took us to a tasty local spot called Restaurante Egana, where I tucked into a plate of chicken, croquettes, and fries. Laura of course had the fish salad with onions and peppers. I struggle to come up with variegated names for this uncannily continuous concoction which my wife consumes. But alas.
Day 2 in Bilbao
Today Laura and I began at the Sercotel Ayala’s breakfast buffet, and then I set out to find a laundromat. Unfortunately, the ones I went to did not have working change machines, a crazy problem in a store where only three types of machines need to work. Outraged as I so often am, I gave them both one star and headed back to the hotel.
Laura and I’s first real stop today is the Guggenheim Bilbao, the sister museum of the New York Gugg. Unfortunately, the Guggenheim Bilbao really did not leave the same impression on us. It had one very good temporary exhibit by Yoshitomo Nara and a decent collection of modern art, but nothing that really jumped out at me. Except Andy Warhol’s collection of Marilyn Monroes that I thought was a deep fried Albert Einstein. I don’t think I can be blamed for that either — he knew what he was doing. Or he didn’t, and then he’s not really a master, is he?
Yoshitomo Nara specializes in oddly serious, cartoonish childlike caricatures boasting colorful messages about loneliness, missives against war, and a dialogue with music, art, and history.
This really was a great exhibit and I highly recommend spending some extra time there. As I’ve said before, most modern art falls pretty flat for me. But Nara manages to keep things simultaneously accessible and interesting for his audience, and some parts of the exhibit here were at least rather novel, like his model room.
After the Guggenheim, we meandered down the riverwalk, which boasts about 50 feet of frontage from the road. Laura and I joked that Tampa could never accomplish such a thing. It affords visitors plenty of greenery and shade to keep cool.
We found ourselves (intentionally) in the Casilda Iturrizar, a beautiful park in the heart of Bilbao. The admirably curated public spaces of Spain never cease to amaze, and it’s a shame that similarly-sized cities in the United States refuse to commit to public works. Far more pressing is the maintenance of roads, an expense that will eventually strangle out most mid-sized cities regardless of their tax base due to the rising costs of concrete.
For lunch we stopped in to a tempting Japanese restaurant called Nikko and enjoyed their menu of the day. Laura ordered the cod (bacalao) salad to no one’s surprise, followed by the vegetable uramaki and the beef yakisoba. I went for the yakitori vichyssoise (bit of a miss), then the house uramaki (exceptional sushi), followed by the lobster calamari fried rice. We both washed it down with a hot chocolate brownie. Really tasty place, and the price couldn’t be beat.
After a quick rest and resolution to eat too much food, dinner took us to the Greek restaurant named Kali Orexi, another delicious stop. I grabbed a baked feta and gyro and it was stunning! Really fun place and the walls had all kinds of post-it notes from people who had visited.
Tomorrow we plan to hit the beach for a beautiful day in the sun. Bilbao’s best beaches are about an hour north, but you can take the metro which is pretty convenient. We’re excited to see what’s in store!