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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

Ahoy Matey der be a Spanish Galleon!

There was a replica of a 16th century Spanish galleon sail ship docked at the Alicante marina. We decided to go down and check it out. We could see the galleon from a distance and it was quite impressive.

A replica of the 16th century Spanish galleon Andalucia

We went on board and took a guided tour seeing what life was like working and living on a 16th century shipping vessel. It was an exact replica with cannons, rigging and wooden decking etc. We walked up the ramp onto the main deck of the ship. This area of the ship is known as the Quarter deck. On this deck there is a main mast known as the Mizzen mast.

Mizzen mast

It is also the wheel that controls the ship is located. Officers would command the direction of the ship but would not actually handle the wheel, which was done by sailors.

The tour guide showing us around the Galleon sail ship
Navigation wheel of the Spanish Galleon Andalucia
quarter-deck of the galleon sail ship

We could see the bell which they used for different communications on board. It was on the forecastle deck. This deck has the front sail mast, known as the fore mast, the bell and two anchors that weigh over two tons each.

Iron anchor with wooden shaft weighing over 2000 lbs.
Ray on the quarter-deck of the Spanish Galleon Andalucia Sail ship
Bell used to communicate between ships in fog and for work shifts etc.

There was the poop deck at the stern of the ship which we did not have access to.  The origin of the name poop deck is from the  french word “poupe” which over time was shortened to the common term of poop deck.

View of the stairs leading to the poop deck

The poop deck was where officers could view the crew and the maneuvers of the ship. There is a large lantern which was used to identify the ship at night and to communicate with other ships.

Main lantern on the poop deck of the galleon ship

Below the poop deck was the “Noble Area”. This area was restricted to officers, and high ranked passengers.

Noble area below the poop deck
Area for Nobles and officers to relax

We went down one level to the gun deck which is where the cannons for the protection of the ship are mounted.  The galleon ships travelled in large groups for better protection against pirate attacks.

Gun deck cannons

The guide explained how they used different types of cannon balls for defence. There was the standard cannon ball which would make a single large impact. There was also a cannon ball chained to another cannon ball, which was used to destroy sails and mast of a ship. They also had a special one with small iron balls bunched together for a shotgun effect.

Different types of cannon balls used for defence against pirates

The deck below the gun deck is called the Hold. It is an area of the ship which holds the precious cargo.

Cargo area in the Hold of the ship

The cargo could be wine, oil or other products from Europe heading to America or it could be gold, silver and other precious metals from America. Only a small part of the hold was used to store basic food for the crew for the journey across the ocean.

“Adios y que tengas un grand dia”

Spain

Tour of a working Spanish Submarine

The other day we had a unique opportunity to see a functioning Spanish naval submarine. The vessel was docked at the marina and we were part of a small select group of people who were given the opportunity to have a tour.

We arrived at the pier and gathered with some other people before being met by an officer of the crew.

Ray and Shelley in front of the submarine at the Alicante Marina

The officer took us in small groups onto the top of the submarine. He explained some of the history and some of the details about the submarine.

The  Agosta Class submarine is 67 meters longs and displaces 1760 tons submerged. It is able to descend up to 300 meters. There are 5 officers and 36 submariners assigned to the submarine. There are only two toilets on the entire submarine and they can remain underwater for up to one month before resurfacing.

He also advised us that we could not take any photos while inside the submarine because it was an active navy vessel.

Ray with others on the deck of the submarine

There was an area on the deck of the submarine with some tubes inserted into it. The officer explained that these were the counter measures for combat situations. There were some counter measures which sent out false positives for sonar making it look like multiple submarines. There were other counter measures which caused flares for heat sensors and other types as well.

Counter measures on the submarine.

We entered through a large hatch of very heavy steel located near the rear of the submarine.

It was very small quarters inside the submarine. We walked through a narrow hallway with small rooms located on each side. Most of the rooms had only a curtain for any kind of privacy. The officer’s room was one of the few rooms with a door.

We reached the main control room of the sub, which was a slightly larger area. In this control room there were seats for two submariners to steer the sub and two other seats for radar and sonar. The control room was small but quite impressive, the periscope is built into the main console and does not look like the ones portrayed in movies.

The officer providing us with the tour, told us that the sub was preparing to depart and we should return to the hatch and exit the sub, or we may end up going out to sea. So we began our walk back through the narrow hallway towards the hatch. Along the way we met members of the crew who were going to their respective areas to prepare to depart to sea.  We would squeeze to one side to let a crew member pass.

Shelley exiting the hatch after the tour of the submarine

After leaving the submarine we thanked our tour officer and went to shore. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to take the tour. It was a very interesting and unique experience.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

Spain

A walk through the quaint town of Altea

On Sunday we went for a drive with friends to take part in a walking tour of Altea. The drive which takes about an hour was beautiful with great views of the Mediterranean Sea and the local landscape.

Toro silhouette common in Spain along roadways.

We arrived early for the tour and took the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and a coffee with some of our friends.

Mark, Vicky, Ray, and Jorge at cafe in Altea

The tour began with Felipe explaining the tour path and some of the highlights we would see along the way.

Felipe explaining the tour and some of the history of Altea

We headed down the walkway along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea before branching off onto a former railway track, which was now converted into a trail.  

Former train tracks converted into a trail system in Altea

We walked a few kilometers on the trail admiring the great views and vegetation. 

Orange trees along the trail with views of the mountains
Shelley in front of blossoming almond trees
The blossom on an almond tree

We eventually came back into the town and walked along the narrow streets of the old quarter. We came across a motorbike and car show which was on public display.

Display of motorbikes with a WWII -1943 motorbike and sidecar.

After viewing the car show we walked through the old quarter admiring the architecture and views.

A street in old quarter of Altea
Whitewashed walls of a home in Old quarter of Altea

Decorations on the church in the old quarter of Altea

We enjoyed the walking trail and the stroll through the old streets of Altea. It is a great little town with lots of beautiful scenery and friendly people. It was a perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”