Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, with Louse Bourgeois’s striking spider ‘Maman, 1999′ dominating the river bank.
Jump cut…
We still have much more to report on the US of A but it will have to wait for future blog posts. Because last weekend we flew back to Amsterdam, then almost straight on to Spain, where we’re preparing to tackle a few days on the Camino de Santiago.
First port of call was Bilbao, and naturally first port of call in Bilbao was the remarkable building that now immediately identifies the city.
We’d seen Jeff Koons’s Puppy in Sydney, but he seems to have found a good home here in Bilbao. They’re prepared to keep up the watering and the constant replanting of his floral fur.
Those shiny sculptures need a lot of polishing too.
We loved Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate in Chicago. It must have been a hard act to follow. His Tall Tree & the Eye, 2009, is impressive…
…reflecting its surroundings, its viewers and itself…
…but the artwork is bound to be upstaged by the curves and angles of Frank Gehry’s masterpiece.
There’s Bilbaoan art on quiet street corners too.
Naturally, there’s more to the city than mere art…
…there’s football too. The red and white flags were hanging out everywhere for local heroes Bilbao Athletic, and an up-and-coming player was getting some coaching in the city square.
I may need to disappear from cyberspace for a few days as I walk the famous Camino de Santiago, starting in Pamplona. It’s possible that modern pilgrims have wi-fi access from time to time. In any case, there’ll be more reports coming soon.
Can we swap lives, please Richard. You can have my girls and the taxiing and I’ll go to NY and Spain. Okay?
We’ll discuss it when it starts raining on the Camino, Caroline.
I’m surprised it isn’t raining in Bilbao. Don’t forget to try the Basque white wine, txakoli. (After a glass or two you’ll be able to pronounce it.)
How amazing – you are doing part of the Camino! I look forward to hearing more about that; it’s something I’ve always been curious about.
I echo Reggie – always curious about this pilgrimage route.
Report coming very soon, Rachel!
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