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Published: September 21st 2012
tthe Bilbao Cruces skyline w. motorway
and Jeffrey Smart type figure! (nr the Pension Zeus)(warning - contemporaneous flashback in progress)
Now this is not what I was expecting - (almost) sending an email from a moving bus, rather than a train! Yes leaving Bilbao - but not as I intended, on a train, but on a bus. I effectively tore up 21E train ticket (fortunate with 40% discount rather than 36E) - by the time I left the Guggenheim, waited for tram to Metro station - got Metro to Pension (12 mins), then just missed Metro back to town (5 mins wait - might have JUST made the RENFE train). No train til tomorrow - either 6.50am (not that desperate) or same time of 3.28pm. Had a stiff coffee and a bocadillo and contemplated what to do. Could have got a 5 hr train to Madrid at 5.10pm, then another one (probably) to Zaragoza - even with 40% discount this would have been RATHER expensive long way round, AND not in Zaragoza until after midnight I would think.
Fortunately the Lonely Planet (one of at least 3 guide books I can refer to - sometimes useful to have an excess) mentioned buses from Bilbao to Logrono take 2 hrs or so (going in
Bilbao Cruces metro
metro designed by (Sir) Norman Foster the right direction) - then possible "frequent" trains from there to Zaragoza (another 2 hrs or so). So headed off 4 metro stops back to where I started at San Mame metro to Termibus - the bus terminal. And lo and behold (arrived at 4.30pm) a direct bus to Zaragoza at 5.20pm (which I was on when writing this - actually left at 5.40pm, but wodever). And this was an hour quicker than the train - into Zaragoza at 8.35pm-ish - train was gonna be 7.45pm (after leaving at 3.30pm). OK it cost 37E (and tear up 21E train ticket) but better than 40E for another night at Pension in Bilbao + forfeit cost of 55E hotel booking in Zaragoza (I had booked 2 nights and would have had to pay if I did not turn up as was guarantee on my credit card). I still get to spend 2 nites in Zaragoza after all.
The bus was pretty luxe - apart from 2-1 seating (like first class on the train - I had the one-seater side) they also first give you a lolly (hostie on board), then a bag of crisps - then water or a Coke! I
Bilbao FEVE station
a private railway that runs West from Bilbao was waiting for the Bolly or gin and tonic and beers to come out by then (its the Alsa Supra service it seems). It also had wifi, which was a bit spotty (can't have everything I spose - it is a moving bus after all). But manages music, movies, bus location on seat back video like a plane. The 37E almost seems worth it.
Leaving Bilbao was interesting - motorways funnel you in OK but parking there once you are in might be something else. Basically it spreads alongside the riverbank on either side of the river and is hemmed in by hills. Once more or less out of town the sharp rocky hills are impressive - like Austria, but not far enough away to actually be the Pyrenees?
Anyway what of Bilbao after all that "leaving drama"? Is there more than the signature Frank Gehry twisting titanium Guggenheim building? Hell, yeah I think. I liked the city actually - the natural situation of the river bank and hills hemming it makes it quite distinctive. It's not just the Guggenheim Museum. I went the day before (to space myself, and also because it was free on Wednesday) to
Bilbao dinner 1
croquettas and fresh anchovies Basque style the Belle Arte Museo. I thought it was much better than the Gugg in terms of the bredth of the collection. It covers ALL art and has a very well culled selection of Basque modern artists as well as older historical works of European art/painting generally. I spent 2 1/2 hrs there and I was exhausted by the end (and it was closing).
Walked from there (8pm) via a fortifying cafe solo in a bar, to the river bank and "snuck up on" via the river the Gugg(enheim), which of course sits on a bend in the river. It was an industrial waste land before they punted a huge budget building it in the hope it would bring in visitors (it sure does). Actually I think of the Gehry buildings I have seen (now 2) Disney Hall in LA, which I saw 2 years ago, probably tops this one - it is more compact and has even more sinuous reflective features due to that fact in my view. Apparently there is another Gugg being built in Abu Dhabi (he might be overdoing it now).
Anyway it was fascinating to see it at dusk (see all the pix), not
to mention the bridge which flies uphill and over the river next to it. There is a massive concrete tiled structure next to the bridge which mimics the Gugg - not sure whether Gehry designed that as well to go with it. I had had a late lunch at 3pm before Belle Arte so by the time I walked down to the Old Town past the Gugg and snapped it I only really needed a couple of quick pinxtos (pron. pinchos) bar snack "sandwiches" and a glass of red and then the metro home. I had talked and drank with a young couple from Manchester the previous night in a bar/restaurant where I ate (see food snap) while they (or he - a Manchester City supporter) watched his team get beat right at the death by Real Madrid.
When I did visit the Gugg on day 2 I absolutely loved a huge David Hockney exhibition they had on in all of the 2nd floor rooms - a big Grand Canyon of 60 panels (the National Gallery in Canberra spent a few million on another one). One of the multi-panel pictures was actually on loan from the Art Gallery of
Bilbao skyscraper
the only really tall thing in Bilbao NSW! And also his pictures of Yorkshire which he had rediscovered after living in LA for a few years. Also absolutely amazing "paintings" of 6 paper panels done from an Ipad using a painting app of Yosemite in California - we are talking about 2.5 metres wide by 6 metres high here! The man is a genius with new technology - right from his Polaroid and other photo collages way back when to now. His Ipad "paintings" on amost a daily basis documenting a Yorkshire dales winter thru to spring over 3 months or so and 50 odd pictures - just wonderful. The other modern stuff there was pretty rubbish. All that "conceptual art" - yes, the audio guide can go on about how a wardrobe (an everyday item) filled with concrete now represents repression in Colombian society - but gimme a break! The curse of audio guides, they just waffle on at great and worthy length about something you often do not want to hear about the "inspiration" for. Frankly it was mostly bollocks.
Anyway the bus dumped me in Zaragoza at bus terminal about 9pm. I knew to get the 51 bus downtown (the station is about
3km out). Although somewhat disoriented I finally found the Hotel Oriente. Definitely needed a hot shower after all that stress of getting here. Then out and got myself fed and watered quite well actually. In the Borago cantina at 11pm+ a lovely plate of beef carpaccio (about $8.50) and some grilled veges and a couple of glasses of red got me back on the right track. I am sure I will now enjoy Zaragoza - have bought my onward train ticket to Barcelona for Sat. before leaving the station so am now set - other than a Barca hotel.
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Huddo
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Hi Mike, Phew! the bus and train travels that you fit in, unreal. The bus? that sounded like one to stay on for a fair while, he he. Thought the Bilbao skyscraper shot in there was really good. The Guggenheim shots were just fantastic,the night view, my favourite. The Bilbao metro station looked impressive as well. Have a grand time in Zaragoza. Love Huddo and girls.