Guggenheim, a video slide show in HD

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Journey Bilbao - San Sebastian

Continued from Café Iruña

Murphy's Law. Again. Lift wasn't working or someone was hogging it. So, I had to lug the heavy suitcases down the stairs. Ok, it was only one flight of stairs, but it was a long one. Anyway, it was better than some of the other places I'd stayed in where they were 3 or 4 floors up, no lift. It was just the frustration and how Murphy gets his timing spot on all the time. I'd never used this lift except for the first day and it had to be not working the very day I needed it; don't you think that's incredible?

So, suitcases down, out the door, right and left and we were at the tram stop within two minutes. Tickets bought, validated (we didn't validate them when we came, stupid tourists!), along came a tram. In and wham, chugging along - goodbye Goog - down and up to the bus station.

Long queue. Forget that. Machine, go for the machine. Queue, albeit shorter. Well, well, what do you know. ALSA, sold out. 12pm bus to San Sebastian sold out. No, no, next one's too late. Let's go for the PESA. It's gonna cost more, but it's better than hanging around for a couple of hours. No machines. Short queue at the ticket office. Yes! There are tickets. Yes, the next one. I think there's one leaving at 1pm. Next one...? There's one leaving now! At 12! Ok, get it!

Well, up we went and in no time, we were on our way.

Moral of the story: Bilbao to San Sebastian is a very popular route. In summer and at weekends, my advice is to buy your tickets in advance. Unfortunately, buying from ALSA's web site will cost you at least €1 more per ticket. That's what I call backward thinking. The cost for the normal bus on this route is €6.56. On PESA, it costs €11.75!

The choice is yours. The ideal thing to do is to get the tickets from Termibus, the bus station.

PESA's seats are quite narrow - I don't really know if ALSA's are wider because I didn't have this experience: thank goodness, the journey was just over an hour because I got the seat beside a guy who insisted on resting his arm on the armrest, with his elbow jutting into MY space ALL THE WAY! And also with lousy headphones where I could hear screechy noises (can't really call it music) emanating from the back of them.

Café Iruña, Bilbao

Continued from Alhóndiga

I said in the last post that we knew where we'd be going for dinner. Being such late diners (yes, again), by the time we arrived, the one we wanted to sample, which was actually a couple of bars up from Iruña, didn't have many pintxos left. Actually it wasn't that late - only about 10.30pm. On a Friday night.

In the end, we plumped for Café Iruña. At least, it had the reputation. And they were still bringing out them pintxos.

The place was lovely. You could feel, not only see, the decades of tradition. There was a healthy crowd, but not full. We were offered a table without any problems. They had a room upstairs, which I presumed was for when it gets busy or for private functions.

Tonight, that room wasn't used and everyone was seated downstairs or hanging around by the bar. We took a few minutes to soak in the décor of this 300 square metres 111-year-old café-restaurant.

We made the easiest choice and went for the pintxos menu, 12 items for 20€ (it could have been 19€). In  menus, the selection is left to the staff. 

The variety offered to us was fine. But, to be honest, I was somewhat disappointed. The bread wasn't fresh. You can tell that the pintxos had been prepared hours before; if they could have toasted them slightly, I'm sure they would have tasted far better. They were good (except for one, which was rather salty), but they could have been better. I was left wondering if their reputation had not got the better of them and their continued success is based more on their reputation than the quality of their offerings.

My recommendation: yes, it's definitely a place worthy of a visit. It's almost like a tourist attraction in itself, but I'd avoid the pintxos unless you know they've been recently prepared. You could go for their breakfast, or their normal menus, or simple go à la carte.

Next stop, San Sebastian!

Alhondiga

Continued from Morning walkabout, Casco Viejo

From Casco Viejo, we crossed the bridge, carried on walking, looking at shops, restaurants and cafes, until we reached Alhóndiga.

Now, what can I say about Alhóndiga?

The first thing that strikes you when you enter is the space and the darkness. A modern cavern. It's so huge that even with 1,000 people there, it will look empty. And there were, I'm sure, fewer than a thousand. Short, squat pillars, each of them different, support this former wine warehouse. One shudders to think of the amount of wine stored here! In one corner, some aliens, face glowing, sit on lighted boxes, alone with their mobile devices (there's free wi-fi); nearby, potential business partners discuss possible projects; illicit lovers speak in hushed tones... Occasionally, a kid screams, a security guard silently walks by...

Free wi-fi

As you trudge among the fat pillars, you might hear indiscernible voices coming from hidden corners; you might catch shadows moving in a liquid sky above you...

Artistic pillars

Climb up the stairs and you may find a large library all to yourself, or find yourself alone in a spacious exhibition hall... All very surrealistic.

An exhibition of space

Right at the top, there is a fitness centre and a restaurant; somewhere in between, there are also cinemas... You may perhaps find something to buy in one of these empty shops...

Empty shops

After our surrealistic experience, we stretched our legs again, walking towards and around La Catedral, and I'm not referring to the church but to the new San Mamés football stadium. They're putting the finishing touches to it, and when totally completed, it will have a capacity of just over 53,000.

The new San Mamés football stadium

This is a prime example of how photographic skills can make something more attractive than what it looks like in real life ;)

From the stadium, we walked past what looked like a nice park, El Jardín de Misericordia (Misericordia has got nothing to do with misery as I'd originally thought but means compassion, mercy, clemency). If my legs had had more energy and there had been more time, I'd have gone in. Check it out, if you're around that area. Apparently, here lies the reason why Athletic de Bilbao football players are called the Lions. Read about it here.

From there, we sauntered across town, breathed some oxygen in the small Jardines de Albia, and sussed out the restaurants along Colón de Larreátegui Kalea. Of course, everyone knows about Café Iruña, but the others beside it stocked some really delicious-looking pintxos.

We knew where we'd be for dinner!

Morning walkabout, Casco Viejo

The plan was to walk around Casco Viejo in the morning (in Spain mañana extends to the afternoon ;) ) First, we need some breakfast. We headed for the market, hoping to find a café inside, but the only one that was there appeared abandoned. There was no sign on the door. So, I'm not sure if they were closed for their holidays and was doing some renovation work or the crisis had hit them.

The Ribera market itself is interesting. It must be the most spacious market I've been in. Perhaps the lack of columns and the illumination contribute to this feeling, or perhaps it gets really busy when the locals come back from their summer holidays. The building looks fresh so renovation must have been completed not that long ago. The goods they sell look equally fresh, especially the fish! But, we haven't got a kitchen...

You could see the photos I took of the market in this post.

We decided to have breakfast in a café across the market, Palacio Arana. I think we were clobbered. Some cafés (and this is one of them) offer a reduced price for set breakfasts but we were charged for individual items. 3 breakfasts of toast & croissant: €16.45. If you want breakfast, go somewhere else; go to Plaza Santiago, where there are a few. Café Liverpool is supposed to be quite decent. I went once to Bizvete, and they were good. Opens early. They offer all kinds of milk, including skimmed and lactose-free.

It's actually quite difficult to walk around Casco Viejo, because the streets criss-cross each other, and you're likely to either go around in a circle or go too far out and you won't want to turn back. In any case, the streets of the old quarter look pretty similar, full of shops and restaurants. We just walked around, doing a bit of shopping, until we decided to eat because it was getting late.

Casco Viejo

Colourful shop window

Where we stopped for lunch was Hatari. You can do worse than this. It wasn't bad. We weren't very hungry and we didn't want to spend much. They were advertising their menu of the day for €10.90, which was decent. When I found out that they also offer half a menu of the day, even better. For this, you can opt for either the starter or the main course. The menu includes bread, drinks and dessert. Unfortunately, half menu doesn't mean half the price of the whole! They didn't say that nor did I ask. I guess I foolishly assumed that half would mean half the price. The starter half menu was €6.50, and the main course half menu was €7.50.

Food was nothing to shout about, but it was fine. Service was ok, too.

We carried on walking after lunch and the only interesting event was this group protesting over some thing or another. Probably against traffic would be my guess. Bilbao, in fact, has cycle lanes everywhere, so I'm not sure what they're complaining about.

Bikers protesting about something

Plaza Nueva, de nuevo

Continued from Free jazz at the Guggenheim

As I followed the Nervion River towards Arriaga, I allowed my camera to be seduced, once again, by Zubizuri Bridge, the results of which you would have seen here. This particular attempt didn't make it to that post.

As you would have guessed, by the time I got back to the apartment, it was quite late. Haha. Story of my life. Late to leave in the morning, late to leave in the evening...

Anyway, a quick shower, and time to search for some food. Taking into account the time, the best bet would be...yup, Plaza Nueva, for the second night running. On the first night, we ended up at Inma's. This time, we decided to stop at Bar Charly. It was buzzing, waiters dressed in black, with CHARLY emblazoned across their chest, running around, fighting for space behind the bar, which was still stacked with pintxos at 11.30pm, the time we got in, more or less. Some of their neighbours were already packing up.

One stool available, which was good enough for us. It's quite customary to stand and eat by the bar in Spain, especially if it's busy. And for pintxos, being by the bar is really the best place so you can get served quicker; not only that, you also get to see what the most popular pintxos are, and you get to hear the staff explaining what they are. I never quite understand why they don't label their pintxos - wouldn't that save a lot of Q&As? And for those who don't speak Spanish, it would make matters even that much better! I think I must have seen only one or two bars where their pintxos were labelled with at least the name and maybe their principal ingredients.

One note of advice: if you have the time - a lot of these bars/restaurants have websites - go visit them. Check out their offers, their specialities. I didn't, but I speak the lingo, so it's easier.

I regret to say I didn't take any photos nor took any notes, so I can't remember what we had. All I can say is that the pintxos were quite tasty. We could have carried on eating, but we didn't want to be surprised by the bill later! As it happened, 12 pintxos and 3 soft drinks set us back €25.60, quite good value for money around these parts, I'd say. The only thing is, as I'd mentioned before, pintxos are often served cold. The hot ones are sometimes warmed up, as they were done at Inma's. At Charly's, if I remember correctly, all we had were served cold. Still, all in all, stamped RECOMMENDED!

Free jazz at the Guggenheim

I hope you've enjoyed the slide show of Guggenheim as you've never seen before!

I might have not caught the sunset glowing on the Goog, but I did catch some cool cool jazz from a wonderful trio playing on the terrace just outside. I couldn't find out the name of the band, unfortunately. By the looks of it, I wasn't the only one enjoying their music. Apart from paying customers sipping their G&T or whatever, numerous others were seated or standing around, soaking in the free entertainment.

When they stopped playing, I made my way back along the river bank, heading southwards again. This was when I caught the fire fountain, the sound it made when the flames shot up startling those walking by. The night was getting darker and I was getting colder...

Guggenheim as you've never seen before!

Continued from Ribera Market

Before long, I found myself back at Guggenheim's. The sky didn't look very promising. And so it was to be. Overcast and remained so until dark. Chilly even, and me with just a T-shirt. Any hopes of catching the warm glow of sunset were futile. Still, I ended up with scores of shots, too many to show, really. However, some of you may have interest in seeing them. Here's a slide show I've put up and, don't forget, you can also see all these and more at your own time, in my Flickr page (see left column).

Feedback and constructive criticisms are welcomed.

Created with flickr slideshow.

Note that the slideshow uses Shockwave Flash, so you'll find that you won't be able to watch it on most of your mobile devices. Some may say that the software is not supported. iPad just displays a blank screen, which isn't very friendly. If you can't watch it, then here's the direct link to the set on Flickr.

Ribera Market

Continued from Parque de los Patos

So, me, my camera and I set out on weary legs...

Along the banks of River Nervión, I walked again, southwards first and then back up northwards. And, again, I thought, how pretty some of these buildings are. They looked like apartments, but they may be offices, too. If you zoom in on these images, especially the one in the centre, the interior of some of them makes interesting guesswork.

It took me a while to find the name of this bridge, Puente de le Ribera. It's also known by the name of Puente de San Francisco because it connects the old quarters (Casco Viejo) with the district of San Francisco, which I never got to visit. In any case, this district receives a lot of bad publicity - many websites advise you against visiting it, especially after dark.

Puente de le Ribera

If these buildings lie in the district of San Francisco, they don't look bad at all, do they? Perhaps they are more upmarket, or do they belong to those who control the marginal groups living there...? I took more shots of these images because I found them very appealing. To see the rest, visit my Flickr page, the link of which can be found on the left column under "You might also like".

Turning my focus to the right bank, or left, if you're facing the picture above, stands what looks like a glossy new building, in stark contrast to the church (St Anton) behind it. This is, of course, the Ribera Market, completely renovated. This time, I could only admire it from the outside. The following day, I would come back for another visit.

Confusing reflections

Ribera Market and San Anton church

With that, I turned around, eyeing the alleyways of Casco Viejo, and walked back northwards, towards The Guggenheim again. Will I catch the sunset?

Parque de los Patos (Park of the Ducks)

Continued from Guggenheim, Bilbao, Part Two

The rest of the day, we walked, walked, and walked in spite of the searing heat. Of course, we stopped here and there. Walking around the Fine Arts Museum, chilling out in the duck's park (Doña Casilda Iturrizar park, nicknamed Parque de los Patos for the pond where ducks and other waterfowl can be seen frolicking around the fountain), strolling under the pergola, breathing some oxygen from this English-styled park...

Doña Casilda Iturrizar park

The park was relatively quiet, after the masses in the Guggenheim. Have you noticed how parks are never quite full with tourists? They're too busy rushing around, or being rushed around, from point to point, that by the time their tour ends, they just want to plonk themselves down on their beds or sofas. No time for ordinary things like parks - they can get them at home.

Me, I love parks. I love observing people, observing the things they do. Lovers, families, friends...

Still peckish after the semi-disastrous lunch at Zubizuri, we stopped for some coffee and ice-cream at a café the name of which I can't remember. Then, carried on walking. We came across a couple of lots where they displayed models of the lampposts used in the streets of Bilbao. Interesting. I'd noticed how pretty some of their lampposts are.

Streetlamp

Eventually, we got back to the apartment. I wanted to catch Guggenheim at sunset, so I set out on my own with my tripod. My legs were begging me to stop, but expecting rain any time, I didn't want to risk leaving it until the following day. Besides, I cherish the time I get to be alone, just me and my camera, especially during my favourite time of day...

"There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are." Ernst Haas

Guggenheim, Bilbao, Part Two

Continued from Guggenheim, Bilbao, Part One

I might not have gone for a close-up, but I did take a few more shots of Anish Kapoor's 'Reflectorama' from various angles. Here are a couple.

 Anish Kapoor's 'Reflectorama', full length

This following shot almost got dumped into the bin because I thought it was too cluttered and Guggenheim just overshadowed the silver orbs. However, I set out to work on it and I quite like the finished product. Rather than being overshadowed by Guggenheim, it now seems to forge with it, giving a shape of something not unlike the old statues of protective animals.

The Steel Puppy

We walked around the museum, looking up, down and around, looking beyond... now, how on earth did they dare construct such a hideous monster beside something like Guggenheim??? Doesn't it make you wonder? Even The Flower Puppy looks at it disapprovingly.

The Flower Puppy isn't happy

And here's the Puppy, in its full flowery glory, guarding the Guggenheim.

The Flower Puppy

I remember, too, that it was a hot day, and kids could be seen playing among the sporadic jets of water shooting out from the invisible fountain, on the west of the museum.

Sporadic jets from hidden fountain

When I said before that we didn't enter the museum, I meant entered to see the exhibits. I did enter the shop and had a quick walk around. With places such as museums and art galleries, I like to take my time and time was a bit short on this particular visit.

Guggenheim, Bilbao, Part One

Continued from Zubizuri Bridge

Treading on the soft walkway of the Zubizuri Bridge, we crossed River Nervion, and walked along its banks until the huge silvery monster looms before us. Guggenheim.

Sun on titanium

Well, as I'd mentioned before (in First Impressions), I thought I might hate it; no, it's an awesome monstrosity. What I'd forgotten to mention in that post is that if you're coming into town by the airport bus, choose a seat on the right hand side. That way, the impact is greater when this titanium masterpiece looks down on your shoulder as you ride past.

I was lucky to have arrived as the sun was just setting and the early evening glow on the titanium plates was just wow! Sadly, I was never able to witness the same effect again in my short time in Bilbao. I found the building rather difficult to photograph. Depending on where and how the sun is, you may very well find it surprisingly quite dark. Honestly, it's another of those places you'd need to see at different times of day, under different weather conditions. If the conditions aren't right, working in monochrome offers an interesting alternative.

Guggenheim in monochrome

Having just 3 nights in Bilbao means only 2 days to look around so I decided not to go in the museum, preferring instead to walk around the town. Even though I don't get to see the exhibits inside, there are other sights to behold in the vicinity. Walking the full circle around Guggenheim is a must, but this time around, I only completed part of it.

Here's half a shot of Anish Kapoor's 'Reflectorama'; I can't understand why I never went up close for a shot. Perhaps, the lighting wasn't good enough. I honestly can't remember, but I do remember that I never got the right lighting conditions for Guggenheim each time I was there.

 Anish Kapoor's 'Reflectorama'

What about you? Have you been there? What were your impressions?

Zubizuri Bridge

Continued from First Lunch

Four syllables needed to say "white". Basque is a difficult language!

In the previous post, I referred to this pedestrian bridge as sexy. Well, as Plato says, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. This bridge has raised quite some controversy in the past, and not everyone likes it. Remember, I said about walking on foam? Well, the original material used for the deck was glass, and, well, walking on glass in Bilbao can be, mmm, rather treacherous!

They say it's a very rare event if you spend 3 days in Bilbao and not witness rain. This was personally confirmed in my 3 days there. Rained on the 3rd. No kidding. Apparently, a lot of people slipped while crossing the bridge during wet weather, so the local council decided to carpet it. Now, I'm left wondering how the bridge originally looked!

Read more about the bridge in Wiki.

Here are more shots of Santiago Calatrava's creation.

Under the bridge

Puente Zubizuri in the daylight

In monochrome

Twilight time

Reflections

From a distance

And since I like this one so much, I'll reproduce it here again.

The sexy one

Which of these shots do you like best? Why? I'd love to hear your opinions!

First lunch

Continued from First Tour.

We'd just come down from Mount Artxanda, and we were hungry. Also it was getting late for lunch and we were afraid we won't be able to find somewhere decent and which was still serving. We walked a bit from the station, looked at a few menus, until we came to Restaurante Zubizuri (Paseo Campo Volantin, 23), the first we liked the look of; there were interesting-looking pintxos on the bar, and the prices were not too off-putting. There was also quite a crowd, so we figured that it must be good, or at least decent.

We went in, asked if we could sit down, were told yes, so we did. No-one came to the table although there were waitresses busying about. Minutes passed by until we thought it must be a self-service restaurant (in spite of seeing waitresses carrying food). Wrong. They offered menu of the day, tapas and pintxos. We weren't even offered the menu to look at, and they had one.

Tired of waiting, and not wanting to leave, we ordered drinks from the bar, took them ourselves to the table, ordered some tapas and pintxos and also brought them ourselves to our table. The cod was good; the rest, sort of average. Price was costly €3.50 per pintxo - I left the restaurant still feeling hungry. Service was non-existent. For us anyway. We left more because of the service than the price. In Plaza Nueva, you can get good service, good food - 12 pintxos cost, on average, €20.

So, pay heed to me. They don't deserve your money. They don't want to work, don't give them any. It isn't a cheap place, so you should expect some form of service at least. Go elsewhere. It could be that the staff were not happy, but that isn't the problem of paying customers.

We left as soon as we could.

Woes were forgotten when we stepped onto the walkway of Zubizuri bridge.

We'd, of course, seen the bridge before, but this was the first time we actually crossed it. It must be the first bridge I've crossed whose walkway is foamed; I felt like taking my shoes off and walking barefoot. Just adds to the sexiness of the bridge - the softness of the walkway, I mean, not my walking barefoot!

Thus, a sexy bridge needs a sexy photo...

The sexiest bridge in the world?

First tour

Continued from First morning.

By the time we left the apartment - and this habit would repeat itself throughout the journey - it was past midday. Not the best time to walk; not the best time for taking photos. Having said that, when you're in a place for only a few days, you don't have much choice. You can only do so much in any given time and you can only be in one place at a time. This was the planned route.

From Arriaga to Guggenheim

We walked through the park, past San Nicolás church and the town hall, then turn right to catch the Funicular Artxanda up to the summit of the Artxanda mountain. The fare was 0.95€ one way, the journey, a minute or two.

Such is the influence of technology these days that the person before me was trying to swipe his paper ticket somewhere to let him through. He swiped it here and there and the barriers didn't react. I said, no, mate, just push them. Like this, see? Haha. The good old revolving barrier. Reminds me of kids touching first versions of Kindle and getting annoyed that nothing happens.

A short, steep climb and we're there. Looking down on Bilbao. Green, even in the summer heat. Remember what I mentioned about the midday light? Here's how Bilbao looks like.

Bilbao in harsh daylight

At a different time, under different light, here's how it can look like. See the difference?

Bilbao under more flattering lighting

We chilled out for a while, walked around the park, trying to find a shaded bench to sit on.

Mount Artxanda Park

Sometimes, when the light is harsh and shade is scarce, working in monochrome may be the more interesting option.

We hung around for a few minutes, then made our way down again. My verdict? It's a pleasant park, the panoramic view can be interesting. The time of day is important. If, like me, midday is the only option, you won't miss much if you skip the trip. A better time, I'd say is either in the early morning, just before sunset, or perhaps the best option, at night.

The route continues...

First morning in Bilbao, first images...

Church of San Nicolás

First morning in Bilbao. Took a short early morning walk, looking for photographic opportunities and looking for breakfast. My, and no doubt most photographers', favourite hours are in the early morning and early evening, when light is softer.

The neighbourhood felt really quiet. Is this Bilbao? Only later did I find out that it was a bank holiday, which explained the calm, almost silent, streets. The problem was I wanted to see the river in the morning, but breakfast (again, I found out later) would be better had in the opposite direction. Where I was, a lot of cafés were closed and those open didn't appeal to me much.

I ended up in Granier, a bakery franchise to be found in many parts of Spain. Unexciting, turn the page. The one back home in Las Palmas is far better. It's a sad trend where bakeries are devoid of the aroma of fresh bread, the sort which pulls you to the origin of it. These days, everything is frozen and bakeries do not need bakers anymore.

After a quick breakfast, I strolled back to the apartment to prepare for the first tour...

Santander train station

Arenal bridge (Basque: Areatzako zubia)

River Nervion in the morning

A street lamp in Bilbao