We got on the road pretty early this morning to make our way to Bilbao (about an hour west) for a half day in the city. Our first stop was the obvious first stop in Bilbao: the Guggenheim!
If you've heard me talk about Frank Gehry, you know that I don't have much love for him. I tend to think that his buildings are preposterous monoliths of shiny metal, all with the same basic metaphor (what would happen if I balled up a napkin and spray painted it silver?), and with little concern paid to function. This one, however, surprised me with its beauty (inside and out) and it's thoughtful attention to flow. The museum was inviting, with little surprises hidden on patios (like Yoko Ono's olive tree) and around corners, opportunities to see pieces from various perspectives, and a wide variety of scale of space. Jeff Koons's 'Puppy' greeted us at the entrance:
H and I had a great time wandering the museum. I let her choose our destinations and pace, and along the way, I'd ask her questions about what she was seeing, how she saw it, and what she the thought the artist may have been thinking when they made the pieces. For example, when we saw this piece, we talked about perspective, and how when you move around it (you could also see it from above), it changed form and shape:
H had some other thoughts about it as well:
The museum had an exhibit on motion, art, and architecture, which featured a LOT of cars. H wasn't interested in the cars, though she did pose in front of one that she thought Grandpa would like (because of the Gullwing doors).
She was more interested in the paintings on the wall, particularly the ones that managed to convey motion:
Once she got going with understanding how to stretch her brain in a museum, she was on a roll. With this one, she said 'oooo Daddy, I know what this is! This is a white dragon in the middle of the night.' She's not wrong.
We both really enjoyed Richard Serra's 'The Matter of Time,' which filled the great hall. Each of the metal pieces created a slightly different acoustic phenomena, and we had a good time exploring them!
After we finished at the museum, our octet met upstairs in the cafe for a snack of Pintxos. H, who really enjoyed anchovies last night, sucked down another anchovy at the cafe.
After our snack, H/O/C/D headed off to Butron Castle for a horseback riding trip! D's sore knee prevented her from riding, but C/O/H had a great time with the horses. H came back wanting me to build a stable in the backyard for her to keep a horse. Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha nope.
While the kids and their grandparents were horseback riding, the parents wandered town, before settling in at Zortziko for a super-fancy lunch. Dish photos available on request :)
After lunch, we met up with C/D/H/O, who had returned from horseback riding and had both eaten and covered themselves in gelato. I drove home with the four of them while A/B/S followed, stopping for groceries. In my car, C & D snoozed while H & O sang and played. When we got home, everyone had a siesta before we tucked into dinner of leftovers and quickie grocery store purchases. After dinner, when the girls had conked out, I headed onto the back patio and took some cloudy evening photos.
Tomorrow we head east towards San Sebastian!
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