Skin Deep Beauty at the Guggenheim Bilbao

We flew to Bilbao on Vueling, a cut-rate European airline. Business men and women crowded the cramped flight.  Bilbao is the capital of Biscay--Basque country--one of Spain's most prosperous regions.

The City fathers sure knew what they were doing when they persuaded the Guggenheim to open an annex in a small town that that didn't appear on many tourist itineraries before 1997.  Even better, the Guggenheim got Frank Gehry to design it. We examined his tinny sensation from every angle.  I'll bet it looks more gold when the sun is shining.

 

The best art is displayed outside.  Like this spider by Louise Bourgeois.  My friend Anthony printed some textiles for her before she died several years ago.

It's hard to resist Jeff Koons, especially if you're under the age of 12.

As part of one permanent installation, fog envelops the bottom portion of the building on a regular schedule.

The audioguides breathlessly whispered a lot of claptrap.

As for most of the art inside?  Meh.

A guard reprimanded me for taking this picture of a "work" by Antoni Tapies.  Perhaps the museum fears no one would come to see the exhibit if they realized it consisted largely of pieces like this.  I'm sure it's comfortable, though!

Wandering through Richard Serra's mammoth plates of spiraled steel was fun.

 

No touching the sides!

Art appreciation is exhausting.

Would you want the Guggenheim Bilbao as the backdrop for your wedding photos? This bride is just asking to be upstaged!

Thom, Chris and I used the cute little tram to take in some of the City's other sights while Dan enjoyed a massage and pedicure back at the Hotel Melia.

Thom is crazy about Iberian jamon.

We shopped for road maps at El Corte Ingles, Spain's largest department store.  I still have a beach towel I purchased there on my first visit to Spain, in 1994.