Tag Archives: Retirement abroad

Spain

Inside the Guggenheim Museum

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We bought tickets to go to the Guggenheim museum. The tickets were 16 euros each and provided a specific time for entry into the museum. We went a bit early and managed to get in before our selected time by approximately 30 minutes.

Shelley using the hand-held audio device issued by the museum

The inside of the museum is very unique and interesting. In the main atrium area of the museum there was a large flowing material which looked similar to a plant. It is called the “Egeria”, and is made of different fabrics, colours and textures. It flows throughout the ceiling and walking areas.

a section of the Egeria art exhibit in the atrium of the Guggenheim museum
A large section of the Egeria art exhibit hanging in the centre of the atrium area
Shelley and Ray on a walkway in the atrium of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

The “Egeria” exhibit was created by Joana Vasconcelos a reputed Portuguese artist. She was also one of the featured artist in the museum with her exhibit show entitled “I’m your mirror”

We went through her exhibits and were astonished by some of her art. In particular the “Call Centre” which was made up entirely of old style dial telephones.  The telephones are combined to create a black handgun. It was surprising to hear the telephones playing  an electo-acoustic symphony using the bells in the telephone.

The Call Center exhibit by Joana Vasconcelos in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

We also came across Joana Vasconcelos’s  Marilyn, from 2011. It is a pair of large stiletto shoes that on closer inspection are composed of pots and pans.

Joana Vasconcelos art piece entitled Marilyn, a pair of large stiletto shoes made of pots and pans.

There were many unique and interesting pieces at the museum. One exhibit which was extremely large and different was created by Richard Serra. It was entitled “The Matter of Time”

The exhibit was so large that an entire wing of the museum housed the exhibit. It was made using weathered steel and consisted of eight different sculptures. The steel was quite thick and each piece was approximately 20 feet hight.

The Matter of Time, sculptures at the Guggenheim museum
sculptures of “The Matter of Time” in the Guggenheim museum

We walked through the different sculptures and each one was a different. The walls of each one of the sculptures were slanted in different ways. After walking through the sculptures it made us feel slightly dizzy and disoriented. It was a weird feeling because we had just walked through the sculptures.

Shelley and Ray in the centre of one of “The Matter of Time” sculptures

We spent most of the day in the museum exploring the different exhibits. It was a very enjoyable and a great experience.

“Ados eta egun handia”

Spain

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

We had the chance to go to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The museum building itself is an amazing piece of architecture and art.

Shelley and Ray in front of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain

We walked around the building admiring the different shapes and art pieces on display outside.

Large flower puppy designed by Jeff Koons at the main entrance area of the Guggenheim museum

There was an area beside the museum which had a pond with a fog drifting above the water.  It was called the “fog Sculpture” designed by Fujiko Nakaya, and was created using 1,000 fog nozzles and a high-pressure pump system.

Fog Sculpture designed by Fujiko Nakaya at the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao

There was also some tulips on display outside of the museum.  These tulips were large and made with chromium stainless steel and had a transparent colour coating.

Tulip sculpture designed by Jeff Koons outside of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao
Ray’s reflection in the tulip taking the photo.

We came across a large “Spider” which was on the walkway between the river and the museum.

Large spider exhibit on the sidewalk beside the Guggenheim Museum

The building is very large and took quite awhile to walk around the parameter.  As we came to the back side of the museum we found a large “diamond ring” in the pound.

Ray in front of the “diamond Ring” at the Guggenheim Museum
Engagement Diamond ring created by Joana Vasconcelos  outside of the Guggenheim museum

The engagement ring was made of gilded wheel rims and glass whisky tumblers for the diamond, it was quite impressive.

The building itself was multi-shaped and had a very distinguished look. The walls were curved and covered in a shiny metal which made the building look more like a piece of art than a museum.

A view of one of the wall areas of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa
Ray in front of the walls of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
Guggenheim museum building in Bilbao

The outside of the Guggenheim was such a great thing to experience. We enjoyed seeing the large art pieces and the building architecture but the inside is amazing and warrants a blog post of its own.

“Ados eta egun handia”

Spain

Birthday in Valencia

We went to Valencia to celebrate Shelley’s birthday. Our day began with a 1:40 minute train ride to the city of Valencia. We arrived to a beautiful warm day in downtown Valencia. We settled in to our hotel before heading out for a walk through the city. We started out walking through the beautiful “Jardin del Turia.”

Path in the “Jardin del Turia” which leads under one of the bridges in the city.
Jardin del Turia in Valencia

The park has a very interesting past. It was originally the Turia River which overflowed its banks in October, of 1957. The flooding reached heights of over five meters (17 feet) high. At least 81 people died and thousands were displaced during the flooding.  As a result of the devastation caused by the flooding the city decided to divert the entire river through fields south of the city. After much debated and public protest the former  seven kilometres of riverbed was converted to the current park in 1986.

Map of the Jardin del Turia Park

We walked through a section of the Jardin del Turia and then headed towards the centre of the city. Along the way we came across some beautiful  building architecture, parks and statues .

Building in Valencia with ornate decor
Ornate building in Valencia

We stopped along the way to enjoy the views and admire our surroundings.

One of the arches in Valencia
Shelley and Ray in front of one of the many statues in Valencia
Shelley in front of the fountain near city hall plaza in Valencia

We walked along the streets until we reached city hall plaza.

City hall Plaza in Valencia

The streets around the plaza were cordoned off and there was a large street party going on. We stopped to check out the live music and walk through the area.

Street party with live music at Valencia City Hall Plaza

After exploring the city centre,  it was getting dark so we decided to walk back to our hotel, which was a fair distance away.  On the way back the city views changed as it got darker.

Valencia city view in the evening
The view of the City Hall Plaza at night in Valencia
Ferris wheel in Valencia
A section of “Jardin del Turia” at night

It was a long walk but very enjoyable. The city of Valencia has some beautiful features and architecturally interesting buildings.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Picnic in a 12th Century Castle

We celebrated July 4th with some of our friends with a picnic. The 12th century castle of Santa Barbara was a perfect spot, for a picnic. We arrived early and began setting up balloons and decorations for the picnic.

Shelley decorating the picnic area with balloons.

The castle has an area with picnic tables and trees which provide shade.

Ray with the picnic area in the background

The Castle of Santa Barbara is located on Mount Benacantil and is a 166 meters above Alicante. The castle provides great views of the area and part of the coast line of the Mediterranean sea.

The view from our picnic area at the castle

Once we were set up lots of our friends showed up to the picnic. It was a pot luck style and there were foods from many different national backgrounds. There was  traditional Venezuela, German, Texas, Polish and United Kingdom foods which everyone shared and enjoyed.

Multi cultural picnic meal with friends at the castle

We enjoyed the day celebrating with our multi-national group of friends from different corners of the world.

Barbara and Shelley enjoying a small beverage

The views were also a great addition to a wonderful day, even the locals dropped in to check out the picnic.

Seagull looking for a free handout.
View of the Postuget beach from the Castle

One of the many beautiful features of living in Alicante is the breathtaking views and unique features.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Snorkeling in the mediterranean sea

Felipe and Ray decided to go snorkeling at a spot called “El baño de la reina” which translates to “the Queen’s bath”. It is located in Campello, a short distance from the city of Alicante.

The Queen’s Bath located in Campello

We went down to the tourist centre located in Campello and got some information on the Queen’s Bath.

Felipe and Ray at the Queen’s Bath in Campello

There are former Roman pools located at the Queen’s Bath. These pools were used by the Romans as a fish farm. The tourist centre provided us with snorkeling information including an identification card of different fish and plants.

Fish identification card from the tourist information centre

They also provided us with an audio player which you wear on your arm during the snorkeling.  We headed down to the Queen’s Bath with our gear.

Felipe and Ray at the Queen’s Bath

We swam for about one hour around the rocks at the Queen’s Bath. There were different types of fish along the rocks and we even saw a sea urchin.

Sea Urchin

The snorkeling was great, it was very interesting and enjoyable.

“Adios y que tengas un gran dia”