9-24 Bilbao and the neighborhood around the Guggenheim Museum.

 Michael was exhausted after our driving trip to Bermeo and Mundake on Monday.  We rested on Tuesday, but Michael got stir-crazy so we did go for a walk to the grocery store.  We woke up to rain on Wednesday morning even though the weather forecasters are promising there will be less rain today.  I am trying to slowly build up my ability to walk while keeping in mind that my fractured toes are still not healed.  

Today we took an uber to the neighborhood around the Guggenheim museum.  Our plan was to take photos all around the area - not to actually go into the museum.  Walking around a museum and being on your feet for hours at a time while you look at a lot of art is exhausting when you are in perfect health.  I took one look at the long flight of steps leading down into the entrance to the museum and was glad we had made that decision.  

The Guggenheim in Bilbao was designed by American, Frank Gehry and looks like a ship or flower.  We pretty much walked around it so could take photos at 360 degrees.  It is located next to the river  Nervion which means you have to walk quite a ways to make it to the next bridge.  

This is the first building we noticed after our Uber driver dropped us off.

Then on to the Guggenheim.  This is the side where the entrance is.  So far the skies are blue and the sun is shining.

A building across the river.

The building is made of a lot of metal and glass and one building that is a deep blue.

I believe that is a lemon at the top right quadrant of the photo.

There is a glass building across the way that reflects the Guggenheim wonderfully.

Another shot of the Guggenheim with the iconic red bridge called La Salve.  The structure to the right of the bridge is part of the Guggenheim and is supposed to look like a sail.  It does not seem to have any other purpose.

Here is the deep blue building which is part of the Guggenheim.

I'm guessing this is the brow of the ship.

So many wonderful shapes and shadows to photo.

Glass is a big part of the Guggenheim.

Views of the city from the Guggenheim.

There are 3 levels of glass windows here.  See if you can find me in the second level.

This art sculpture is supposed to be a monument to the artists mother.  It just looks like a giant spider to me - maybe that is how they thought of their mother!

So weird to see this smoke/fog coming from under the bridge.

A view of the far bridge that we will walk to to cross back to the area of restaurants near the Guggenheim.

That seem bridge we will walk to.

We were at the highway level - top part of the green which is the road.  There is an elevator on the other side that we took to get to this street level.

This is a busy sidewalk - with a huge water puddle.  Great for reflections.

And the bridge we need to reach to cross back is still quite a ways away.

If we went the opposite direction we could have crossed this bridge.

There is another road above this arch.  I just liked the fall foliage I could see beyond it.

And still more photos of the Guggenheim.

Here is the name of the church.  Below the building.

These two photos of the silver ball structure on front of the Guggenheim - back view - in a window reflection.

The last photo of the Guggenheim.  You can see the sky is getting darker.  We need to find a restaurant for lunch before it rains.

We passed some interesting buildings on our way to the bridge to go back across the river Nervion.

We stopped at a restaurant to get something to eat and get off our feet.  You could have cold tapas now - the restaurant did not open until 1pm for lunch.  We got tortilla which is basically quiche, Russian salad (tuna and potato salad), a tuna sandwich and a shrimp and octopus salad.  All these things were sitting out on the counter.  She offered to put the tortilla in the microwave.  It was still served at room temperature.  Not my favorite meal. This interesting building was on the same traffic circle as the restaurant we found.  

The uber driver who picked us up from the restaurant was young and was playing hip hop music on his radio.  He had all the window slightly open - Michael and I closed both windows in the backseat.  Our driver started talking to us in great English.  He described what we were passing by.  He again opened all the windows declaring we needed fresh air.  It was windy and I had to hold my hair down as it was flying into my face.  He was actually very responsive when he realized my problem and closed the windows.  We arrived (the back way) onto our traffic circle with the road straight through it - in front of our kitchen window.  So far we have not had to make a left turn in that traffic circle - but we have moved around the outside of it.  

Back home, we finished our laundry by drying it and then folding it.  Later on I got out the chips we bought at the grocery store two days ago.  They are stale.  Ugh!  On the drive from Madrid to Bilbao we had bought some Cheetos - which are our go to driving snack.  That is the only time we buy them.  And we should remember, but never do, that in other countries they do not taste the same.  They taste too healthy.  Your fingers do not get all covered with orange chemicals!  Neither of us like them!

Tomorrow we will either go to the Old Town or take a rest day depending on how my foot feels.  Right now it hurts. But who knows, a good nights sleep and I may be ready to go.