July 28th, 2024

We had never been to this port before so we were looking forward to it. You actually dock in Getxo which is a beach town and 40 minutes away from Bilbao. There was a shuttle provided by the ship but there was a little confusion because we thought the shuttle took you into the train station in Getxo and then you had to make your way into Bilbao but the shuttle actually took you into Bilbao. They have a beautiful Metro terminal that is very well organized and mostly underground and looks brand new. We took the shuttle in around 9:30 and once we got off the bus we used google maps to get to the Guggenheim museum. We have to say that switching to T-Mobile was one of the best things we ever did for travel. We have not been to a country yet that was an extra charge for using data or texting. We have also had very good coverage.

The day started off cooler with the wind off the water but as we got into town it warmed up fast. We had 11:00 tickets for the Guggenheim.

They had some nice street art and there are several rivers going through the city.

The Guggenheim has a prominent place on the river and was designed by Frank Gehry

Modern art is not really our thing but we spent about an hour walking around looking at the exhibits.

One of the big exhibits was “the Matter of Time” by Richard Serra which consists of 8 pieces that you can walk around and also into. It is actually very disorienting because some times the walls are curved in and sometimes out or flat. You can walk around some several times before you actually get to the center and they are much bigger that they appear. I think it was also a little more disorienting for those of us that have just come off a moving ship.

You also stood in line to go into this mirrored room with bright lights flashing all around. The artist was trying to recreate what she sees during her hallucinations. You actually get put in the room for about 30 seconds and then the door opens and you exit.

They had this large display by the artist Jeff Koons who is most known for his balloon glass dog figurines.

One of my personal favorites, Pinocchio facedown in water. They leave the interpretation to you.

Outside the Guggenheim is a giant dog statue called “the Puppy” and it is covered in flowers, also by Koons.

It is over 50 feet high.

Another view of the puppy and the Guggenheim.

After the museum we grabbed a quick bite at a local cafe. Since it was Sunday almost everything was closed and as the day wore on it got hotter and hotter. We went into a mall but the only thing opened was the restaurants. We found the city to be very clean with lots of green spaces.

Some of the architecture in town.

Another example of the architecture.

We walked back to the bus station and there was a long line to get back to the ship but luckily they sent 2 buses so we did not have to wait long.

A view out of the bus window as we leave the city.

There were several large homes overlooking the water as we got back into Getxo. We are unsure if they are single family homes or have been converted into B&Bs.

The beach closest to our ship. It was a great beach day.

From the ship looking back at the town and the beach.

You can see all the mountains in the background.

We were very impressed by Bilbao and there was a lot to see that we did not make it to including Old Town. They have a very robust public transportation system that includes pedestrian bridges, buses and trams.

We have a day at sea and then we are in Porto, Portugal. We have 1 week left on this adventure.