An exceptional cultural experience

Tuesday 17 September 
The alarm goes off at 0700 and it's still dark. Nonetheless, we are up and atem' and off to Bilbao. This proves to be totally painless and we have a brief moment when we think Amilee might in fact be Spanish. A wonderful trip along the motorway, with minimal traffic,  provides spectacular views of both natural landscapes of rugged mountains, forests and the broad Rioja valley, with wind turbines and solar farms and magnificent viaducts, bridges and tunnels, giving a warm glow to an old civil engineer (well, at least a one time student!). We arrive in Bilbao and locate the parking building as if the bloody GPS had been there before. Anyway, a stressless start to the day so two coffees was the due reward especially when the combined bill only came to €3,90 and that included a little jamon roll for Flashy. We're here to see the Guggenheim Museum. Words almost fail me at the stunning architecture of this world famous building.

I think Lady P, as an interior designer, should describe the experience. We spent two hours taking in the cultural highlight of our trip so far and I'm  not sure the bullfight in Madrid is quite in the same league. Lady P reporting. At the street front entrance there is a large sculpture of a dog, fairly iconic in the promotion of the Guggenheim, Bilbao, however on this particular day or month for a reason we never did establish, the dog is covered with bright impatiens flowers, complete with a very discreet watering system. Simply stunning. We purchase our tickets and surprisingly Flashy takes up the offer of a portable English audio device to sling around his neck.

From that moment on he is entranced! From the glass tulips overlooking the reflection pond beside the river, to the mist vapour released on the hour and the sheer enormity and vision of the structure itself, we are both enamoured. We finish our perusing on the ground floor in ‘The Matter of Time’, a permanent exhibition by Richard Serra where four metre high, 100ml thick steel plate is positioned in perfect form to create mazes that one walks through experiencing amazing spatial balance. And on the subject of balance, the forms are freestanding. Absolutely astonishing given the size and weight of the bronze like patina steel forms.
Lady P almost has to drag Flashy away and it is only the lure of a cold beer that finally appeals and this is followed by a further need to explore the perimeter of the building on the way back to the car. Flashy is very impressed and Lady P has almost filled the SD card with photos.
Our Lograno Home Exchange host, Yolanda has left lots of suggestions of things to do and a small fishing village just west along the Atlantic  coast from Bilbao is on the list. So confident that Amilee is finally on our side we set forth on the motorway and once more straight into the underground car park on the promenade at Castro Urdiales.

We pop up into the sunshine, enjoy a refreshing beverage before a walk out to the ancient Eglise and Castle that form part of the sea wall. The Atlantic is pounding, a beautiful deep blue colour with caves in the rocks where Lady P is sure pirates would hang out. Heading home, even a minor diversion for fuel – in the excitement of Amilees great navigating, we had almost reached the point of no return with an empty fuel tank – we still made it back to Lograno in time for a relaxing GnT before contemplating the neighbourhood bars for some pinchos for dinner.