After our Aer Lingus flight to Dublin was delayed by several hours, Steven and I were sure we'd miss our connection to Bilbao in northwest Spain and the start of another fun trip. We were excited to visit the Basque areas of Spain and France, spend a month driving through southern France, take a three-week drive exploring Morocco, and spend ten days visiting two of Spain's Canary Islands before spending American Thanksgiving with our daughter and her husband in NYC on the way home at the end of November.
Lady Luck was once again out on our side, however, and we arrived as scheduled in the heart of Bilbao. Though we decided to move away from renting hotel rooms in favor of apartments this trip, our return visit to Bilbao was short, so we were content with just an en suite in our hosts' apartment. They kindly let us use their living room and provided a kettle, so everything was fine!
Location, location, location is everything in real estate, and that was certainly true for our rental, just steps from the city's main attraction, the stunning Guggenheim Museum Bilbao visible behind me. It opened in 1997 in a striking building designed by Frank Gehry. The other branches include the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which opened in 1951 along Venice's Grand Canal. The flagship museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City in 1959. A major new branch, also designed by Frank Gehry, is currently under construction in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Even though we were tired from the overnight flight, a quick walk beckoned us. Guarding the main museum entrance was the 42-foot-tall West Highland Terrier, by artist Jeff Koons. Thanks to remarkable gardeners, its 60,000 plants and flowers bloom in concert through steel mesh. The playful 'sculpture' was intended to be temporary, but the people of Bilbao fell in love with it!
Street signs in Bilbao were bilingual, appearing in both Spanish and Basque, as both are co-official languages in Bilbao and the broader Basque Country. Euskara is the language spoken by Basque people in northwest Spain and far southwest France.
Dublin has always been known for its exciting doorways. However, I think Bilbao could give the Irish city a good run for its money!
Fun at dusk, but Puppy, as the sculpture is known, was spectacular at night!
For many travelers, the Guggenheim Museum's bold design is reason enough to include Bilbao in their itineraries, even if they're not enamored with contemporary art museums. The building's shiny, metallic skin, with a scale-like texture, was made of thin titanium to give it a reflective quality.
Gehry designed the building to connect it with the Nervión River and reflect what he saw in Bilbao. He drew inspiration from silvery fish and wind-filled sails heading out to sea.
The door to our building:
Next post: A return visit to the museum and Bilbao's Old Town.
Posted on October 15th, 2026, just before leaving Marseilles en route to St. Tropez for the day and then heading to Nice for five nights. I didn't think it would take me this long to send out another post - guess we've been having too much fun exploring simply gorgeous mountain-top towns and some famous cities in southern France! As always, take care of yourself and your loved ones.
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