The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

How can I possibly do justice to this amazing structure in this small blog. Let me try and give you just a little taste of what we saw and felt. The building itself takes your breath away. It is set on the banks of the river in a prime setting. There are wide riverbank walkways, and broad staircases all around where people can walk and gather, and it is well integrated with the central part of the city. Conceived in the late twentieth century by the Canadian American architect, Frank Gehry , walls, giant towers and enormous curves are all clad in glass, limestone and titanium, and these materials are echoed inside. It was this building alone that drew me to Bilbao, and I was not disappointed.

Museums exist to display art and artefacts, so of course, we also had to go inside. However, the museum concentrates on displaying modern art from the mid-twentieth century , which is not so much to my taste. How would I find it? We stepped inside, and immediately I felt that the the inner building was as much part of the experience. It consists of three walkways which skirt the central atrium. There is so much light and space, it takes your breath away.

I confess that the actual exhibitions didn't excite me nearly as much. The top floor houses the permanent collection, and here we saw some familiar works such as this one by Andy Warhol.

Much smaller images, like this picture by Roy Lichtenstein seemed lost in this vast space.

Some works of art seem to have been especially designed to fit inside the vast halls on the second gallery, such as this one called The Rising Sea which was constructed out of flattened metal bottle tops.

This overwhelming work of art really seems to work in this dedicated space. It is called Masters of Time by Richard Serra, and visitors are invited to walk into and between the structures.

The ground floor galleries were reserved for temporary exhibitions. However, many of the smaller pieces seemed lost in these gigantic rooms.

As our time at the Guggenheim came to an end, I reflected on how privileged I felt to have seen this building. It is indeed stupendously beautiful. What's more, judging by our fellow visitors, and the many groups of students and school children, the people of Bilbao, are very proud of it too.

It was time for us to leave Bilbao. We had a train to catch that afternoon. After a quick stopover in Barcelona, we hoped to arrive back in Sète later the following morning. But first we had to walk back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage. We were tired by the time we reached the station. But just look: even here Bilbao shows off its art with this magnificent window of stained glass. It is a beautiful city, and we hope to return.