Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain

One of the purposes of our visit to Bilbao for a weekend in August 2016 was the Andy Warhol exhibition “Shadows” at the Guggenheim Museum.

We stayed very conveniently at the Gran Hotel Domine, just across the road. Please see our review.

The Guggenheim - the architect was Frank Gehry - has wonderful flowing lines and we enjoyed the design.

We liked also that artwork like Jeff Koons’ “Puppy” and other sculptures were accessible outdoors around the museum and the artificial lake without paying entrance.

The entrance, hall and atrium felt monumental, bright and airy, something to be explored when visiting this iconic venue.

Due to us having booked our tickets online we could avoid all lines of people, we showed our  tickets at the check point and could enter without any delays.

One of the first art installations we encountered was “Installation for Bilbao” by Jenny Holzer. You can walk through it and there are digital displays of phrases in different languages.

“Shadows” was on the ground floor in a very large exhibition room. Andy Warhol created it in 1978. It started out as one painting in multiple parts. It was the second time only that all 102 prints which belong to this series had been exhibited in full.

We loved the high white walls and the contrast to the colorful artwork. Some of them were quite gloomy – different shades of grey, black and white, while others were popping into the eye (different neon colors, like green, pink and yellow) or warm (red and earth tones).

It wasn’t monotonous at all and we found it quite inspiring, sitting sometimes on one of the benches to watch how other people reacted to the art and study the prints from afar.

Photography is generally not allowed at Exhibitions we found out.  While “Shadows” and the atrium were an exception, here we could take photos, which we enjoyed beside the other visitors. The museum itself can be seen as one fascinating artwork which should be studied rather carefully in detail of architecture, detail and elegance in the heart of Bilbao.

Other exhibitions we visited including: “Louise Bourgeois. Structures Of Existence: The Cells” and “Windows On The City: The School Of Paris, 1900 – 1945”.

Both were very impressive and very different.

There were many other paintings, sculptures and the building itself including terraces to be explored. Visitors could spend the whole day there.

There are two restaurants and one bar on the premises. All of the outlets are run by Josean Alija and Nerua holds 1 Michelin star. The Bistro offers good value with a three course for 25 Euro per person (ca. 27.95 USD).

We went to the bar and enjoyed snacks. It was self-service when sitting indoors and waiter service on the terrace.

Like the whole environment of the museum, the bar space was stylish.

To our surprise birds found their way into the bar area too and one of them was hungry, so it took a bite out of one of the cakes and was gone as quickly as it came. What a fascinating bonus!

We had one still water, two cod omelets, two white tuna and vegetable empanadas and one ham sandwich. It was very tasty indeed. A quick and satisfying taste of Spain.

We paid 17 Euro (ca. 19 USD).

We were amazed by the art on display, the building and the great food. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is definitely on our list of museums to re-visit, when visiting beautiful Bilbao in our future again. It’s a memorable city, friendly people, and as experienced at the Guggenheim, a cultural destination which shouldn’t be overlooked when planning on which city to visit when in Spain.

©2017

Le Cafe Metropol @ The Gran Hotel Domine, Bilbao, Spain

During our stay at the luxurious Gran Hotel Domine in Bilbao, Spain, we went to dinner at their restaurant Le Café Metropol in August 2016. This restaurant in the meantime since our visit has been now renamed Le Café, but seems to offer still the same high quality locally inspired menu as before when we visited.

 

The feel of Le Café Metropol felt glamorous and modern at the same time while looking through large glass windows towards the Guggenheim Museum.

 

We decided to live a little bit like the locals enjoy and shared our dishes too from the memorable offerings. Beside us, there was another visiting couple and a local couple nearby seated by the windows at this beautiful space in an equally beautiful and design-led hotel in the heart of Bilbao.

 

We ordered a large bottle of still water and a peach juice. The tapas/pinxtos we shared were Ham Iberico de Bellota with bread and grated tomato, Biscay Bay salted anchovies with roasted peppers and bread with olive oil, marinated salmon Carpaccio with beetroot tartar and salad, oxtail snacks with slightly hot hummus and green asparagus fried in Wasabi tempura, tonkatsu and soya.

 

We loved all of the dishes. Some were “classics” like the ham, bread and tomatoes, while others were new to us, for example the oxtail snacks. We liked that some of our platters were traditional Spanish and others fusions of different continents.

 

The quality was high and all our individual dishes tasted beautifully and authentic IMHO.

 

One type of bread was unusual. It was more like the German Zwieback (rusk).

 

The saltiness of the anchovies worked well with the sweetness of the peppers.

 

The salmon came alive with the beetroot tartar and the oxtail was moreish and well balanced with humus.

 

Our desserts were Greek Yogurt and fruit salad with mint syrup and citric slush.

 

The yogurt was creamy and came with pistachios and berry compote.

 

The fruit salad remembered us about Thailand, especially how fine the fruits were cut. The slush added an interesting acidic flavor/texture balance and was refreshing.

 

Staff was attentive, efficient and warm.

 

The bill was 82 Euro (ca. 91.05 USD).

 

Due to good service, quality and interesting food and overall architectural design of the Le Café Metropol we would want to enjoy lunch/dinner again at this venue.

©2017

Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao, Spain

We knew about the Gran Hotel Domine in Bilbao since it opened in 2002 and joined the Leading Hotels of the World and managed by Silken Hotels of Spain - now it is a member of Preferred Hotels and Resorts Lifestyle and independently managed. 

Somehow Bilbao always went below our radar at first and we managed only to go there for the first time in May 2016. At the time we stayed at the Barcelo Nervion in one of their beautifully designed suites (Please see review). We loved the city so much we returned in August 2016 for a weekend (1 night) and finally stayed at the Gran Hotel Domine.

The Gran Hotel Domine is very special, it's a beautiful design-driven luxury hotel. The hotel was the complete responsibility of Javier Mariscal, an artist, beside the bathtub design by Philippe Starck. The building material, furniture and artwork were all made in Spain. This was the first time ever a hotel in Spain was called "100% Made in Spain". All food served in the restaurants and bars are also sourced in Spain.

We took a taxi from the airport, which took approx. 15 minutes and cost 25 Euro (ca. 27.80 USD). We were surprised that the main entrance is at the back of the building. We always believed it was opposite the entrance of the Guggenheim Museum, but that is the side entrance.

There were displays of items for sale, for example Basque soaps, and the numerous awards the hotel has won.

When entering the atrium we encountered Javier Mariscale's "Fossil Cypress", stones in a metal enmeshed net. It was something we were looking forward to see and was impressive. It stretched the whole six floors and was 26 m high. We were surprised some guests had left their signatures on the stones they could reach.

Reception was at the other side, facing the Guggenheim Museum together with the Le Cafe Metropole at the time - the Metropole has been dropped and is now known as Le Cafe - and the Splash and Crash Cocktail Lounge. 

There was also a stylish seating arrangement with interesting lightning features and a small garden with waterfall, where the bubble lifts were hidden.

Check in was a breeze and within two minutes we were on the way to our room on the second floor.

Overall the hotel felt artistic, warm, supported by the use of earthy tones, and our medium sized Executive Room felt chic and residential.

We liked the wood panelling, the views over the Guggenheim Museum, the little table set up for the tea/coffee making facility (Baque Tea), the unusual painting, the Nakamichi stereo system and the accompanying Jazz, Blues and Swing CDs. We listened to one, which was excellent.

There was a wardrobe and a comfortable large bed with gorgeous embossed GHDB logos.

The wardrobe opened unusual, like an accordion and had limited storage space, but suited our needs for a short stay.

Beside this were a fully stocked mini bar, a chair and a metal and wood covered writing desk.

Mini bar prices ranged from 3 Euro / ca. 3.35 USD for water, a small Toblerone and Olives to 37 Euro / ca. 41.10 USD for a half bottle of Mum Champagne.

The flat screen TV offered 58 TV and radio channels incl. local channels and news channesls from around the world.

Magazines and books completed the detailed room picture and included The Dapper Magazine, the Preferred Hotels and Resort Lifestyle catalogue among others.

The bathroom was large with a bath tub and shower combination, double sinks and a separate room for the toilet and bidet.

The amenities were by the White Company London, which we like and we thought the choice fits with the style of this beautiful hotel.

Breakfast was included in our rate and served on the top floor of the hotel. The venue had indoor and outdoor seating and felt very special with the romantic ambience and beautiful views over the city, the Guggenheim musuem and beyond. The sunshine and warmth helped too.

The breakfast was luxurious and included a wide selection of items, including Cava, different types of fish, cold cuts, cheese, bread, pastries, yogurt, fruits and much more.

The staff was excellent and reminded us in regards of friendliness and attentiveness of the one at the Palais Coburg's Clementine im Glashaus in Vienna, where we stayed a month before our 2nd visit to Bilbao.

We loved our designer environment of the hotel and we would want to stay again at this hospitality gem when visiting hopefully Bilbao again in our future.

©2017

Restaurant Ibaizabal @ the Barcelo Bilbao Nervion

During our stay at the Barcelo Bilbao Nervion (Please see also review) in May 2016 we had two meals at the Ibaizabal Restaurant.

The restaurant has an open plan concept and gives a choice of an a la carte or Prix fixe menu. There are international and regional dishes available.

The Prix fixe menu offers outstanding value, but the cost varies. Our Saturday meal for example was around 18 Euro per person / ca. 19.70 USD, while Sunday's was a bit more elaborate and cost 20 Euro per person / ca. 21.90 USD.

The quality of the dishes was of a high standard and the cuisine simple and light.

When we arrived at ca. 20.00 hours the restaurant was not that busy and only a few patrons were there. Some where Spanish and our neighbor were a group of French ladies. The later it got the more guests arrived.

The staff brought us to our table and gave us the menus. We ordered a bottle of still Font Valle water. Studying the drinks menu we realized the wine was very affordable and a glass of Rioja cost just 2 Euro (ca. 2.20 USD), so he had one.

It was a young one and good in his opinion.

Next we could choose from different types of bread.

We received welcome starters, which were stuffed pepper with cheese and salad. It was delicious.

Our appetizers were endive salads with smoked salmon. The salmon was smooth and the endive salad crunchy, so the contrast between the textures was good. While the leaves were bitter the salmon was salty and the dressing a bit sweet, so an umami effect was created.

The main course was cod with Ratatouille. The dish was colorful and beautifully presented.

He had a Crème Bruelee as dessert, while I had an almond cake with vanilla sauce. Both were very good and the cake fragrant.

Staff was attentive and friendly.

The dinner cost 40 Euro (ca. 43.80 USD).

Breakfast had been included in our overnight rate. When we arrived the restaurant was already full.

Thank goodness we were brought to our table and didn't have to search for a free one by ourselves like at some other hotels. It's a pet peeve of mine to have to look for myself.

Tea, coffee and juice was self-service.

The buffet was large and included a wide choice of hot and cold items, including egg dishes, bread, pastries, muesli, cereals, gluten free items, ham, cheese, yogurts including low fat, vegetables and much more.

We had the bad luck to sit near a couple, who made a big mess on their table and had a huge amount of food waste too.

Having to look at it wasn't very appetizing. The other patrons were better in this regards and left their space as clean as possible and with as good as no left overs.

We enjoyed both meals and would return, even if the breakfast service can be busy, because the staff is friendly and the quality of the food/choices and value are good.

©2016

Barcelo Nervion Bilbao, Spain

Having not stayed before at a Barcelo hotel, but having very good experiences during a visit of the Barcelo complex in Caleta de Fuste in Fuerteventura we decided to book the Barcelo Nervion Bilbao during a one night weekend break in May 2016.

Checking the hotel out online we liked the modern design, colorful lobby and fascinating artwork.

After an eventless flight with Aer Lingus we took a taxi from Bilbao Airport to the hotel. It cost 26.50 Euro / ca. 29 USD and travel time was ca. 20 minutes.

The Barcelo Nervion was very well integrated with the surroundings.
 
The entrance was to the left, while to the right was the hotel's parking garage. The hotel's logo included the Nervion Estuary.

The open plan lobby was bright and had lots of seating space, a colorful wooden art piece on one wall, a beautifully decorated cow, which had been part of "Cow Parade", and a small gym to the right.

There was also a modern fire place and a post box.

The reception was straight ahead and when turning left there was the bar and cafe, the restaurant Ibaizabal and the vinoteca.

We had our dinner and breakfast - the latter was included in our overnight rate - at Ibaizabal. Review will follow.

Check in was done quick and friendly. We were given a map of Bilbao and the receptionist explained where all the important sights and shopping areas were located.

Our one-bedroom suite with a view overlooked the Nervion and main street.

The room concept was interesting. When entering there was the living room with two tables pushed together, a dark upholstered sofa for two, a credenza with mini bar, coffee/tea making facilities and a flat screen TV.

The art work was depicting a forest with trees painted in rainbow colors. There were also some coffee table books "Cow Parade", where the cow in the lobby could be also found, and one about Mallorca.

The mini bar contained sparkling wine, beer, still and sparkling water, Coca Cola and Toblerone.

The bath room was in the middle and could be closed off with sliding doors on either side leading to the bed room or living room.

In the middle was the sink, while the Japanese set up bath tub and shower were to the left and the toilet to the right in a separate room.

The wardrobe was located also in the bath room and there were Pure Herbs Amenities with Rosemary, Melissa and Thyme, including body scrub and bath salts.

Other materials used were porcelain tiles and light wooden furniture.

We liked the Pure Herbs amenities and thought it was interesting that there were a few more products than the usual line-up available.

The bedroom was large with a wooden floor, a big, comfortable bed, a seating area with a green carpet, a flat screen TV and a writing desk with wooden chair, which wasn't that comfortable. I can't imagine working there for hours on end. There were also stylish lightning features.

The TV channels included as expected a lot of Spanish channels, some German, Italian and French and CCTV, Bloomberg, BBC World and CNBC.

Room service was available from 11.00 hours to 24 hours. There was also a pillow menu.

The free WIFI internet was very fast.

We spent most time in the light filled bed room with floor to ceiling windows, but used the living room too.

Artwork was similar to the one in the lobby, only on a smaller scale, and a print of the Zubizuri Bridge was over the bed.

We liked the location, which was just around ten minutes from Santiago Calatrava's Zubizuri Bridge and around twenty minutes to the Guggenheim Museum by foot.

A supermarket, called Eroski, is also nearby (just across the Zubizuri Bridge).

We enjoyed our short stay, the location, friendliness of the staff, the design and the comfort. For those reasons we would return again.

 

©2016

 

Barking Mad

This short story is inspired by a recent trip to Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum.

Kiki enjoyed travelling, walking and exploring, so it was fantastic to be in Bilbao, where her master Reggie Smith owned a house.

She had found out everything she needed to know about the house and the garden. Now Kiki was excited about going for a walk with Beulah, a mongrel, belonging to Reggie’s girlfriend Bailey Mumford-Nuss.

They were walking along the Nervion River and up to the main entrance of the Guggenheim.

Kiki always believed she was a larger dog, even so she was only a little Yorkshire Terrier, so she barked at other, bigger canines. Most simply ignored her, some barked right back, others wagged their tails and greeted her.

At the entrance of the Guggenheim was a huge dog. Kiki was offended. Why was it there? Kiki didn’t realize her enemy wasn’t real. It was an artwork by Jeff Koons called “Puppy”. She barked at Puppy, but he didn’t react at all. It infuriated Kiki even more. She pulled on her leash and tried hard to reach the artwork. Bailey was amused, while Reggie wasn’t. This dog was up to so much mischief… Reggie called Kiki to order, but she ignored him, still trying to reach the other dog. With a sigh Reggie picked up Kiki. As soon as they had left behind the Puppy Kiki calmed down.

On the way back the same happened. Bailey had an idea. “Let her sniff the flowers.” Since Reggie had no better suggestion he let Kiki race towards the art installation, barking her head off. She stopped dead in her tracks, when she smelled the flowers and they tickled her nose. This was a very strange dog indeed. Kiki had never encountered one that smelled of flowers and didn’t even twitch. She came to the conclusion it was a flowery dog and no competition to herself. From then on they could walk past the installation without problems.

©2016