We were so fortunate to meet Begonia and Karla through Debbie and Leilah. Begonia and her husband raised their children in our hometown and then moved back to Begonia's hometown near Bilbao Spain about 9 years ago. Begonia invited Bryan, Pat and I to stay in her darling apartment in Gorliz, outside of Bilboa on a tiny little bay.
The icing on the cake was a chance to visit another Frank Gherry building, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. We were not disappointed.
The apartment where we stayed was about 40 minutes outside of Bilbao and the with Pat's expert driving strategy (he stops and asks whenever we are lost) we arrived without a hitch.
Bilbao has a beautiful historic downtown, but no parking! The locals walk and bus in as we later found out. The Gugg was hosting 300 years of American History as their celebratory exhibit of being there 10 years. It was kind of ironic for us, but we did get to see some real Warhols, Lichtensteins, and this artist from Ohio who does electronic message boards as her medium. Her first name is Jenny, but I couldn't remember her last name.
We also explored these amazing and vertigo-evoking indoor labyrinths made of enormous sheets of steel. Fortunately there is an overlook for this exhibit so you really can see the amazing geometry that went into building these works. Unfortunately you couldn't take photos in the museum, even through the plastic bag that they made you put your camera in, so we can't tell you more about the exhibits, but it's worth the trip.
After a home cooked meal at Begonia's house (much appreciated after over 8 days on the road) we slept well, anticipating Bryan's big adventure on his own that was to start the next day. Pat and I were going in search of some beach and sun and relaxation. We found it. There was a surf competition going on about 40 minutes from the apartment. So after dropping poor Bryan off at the airport - "ready or not" we spent the day watching the waves.
This was our beach from the road heading into that town (which I have now forgotten the name...)
