I was impressed with the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, but then I have to say I was impressed with Bilbao as a whole. It has lots of great architecture, not just Gehry’s monument of gestural architecture. The Bilbao airport was designed by Antonio Calatrava, as was a beautiful footbridge just a ten-minute walk along the riverside from the museum. There are many fine parks in the city and wonderful cafes and bakeries. The exhibitions were exceptional, especially the site-specific ones by Richard Serra (Matter of Time) and Jenny Holzer (part of her Truisms series). There are miles of river walks, offering views of the many wonderful facades of the city.  Despite the fact that Louise Bourgeios’ spider sculpture Maman (‘Mother’, 1999) is supposed to evoke feelings of maternal protection and nurturing–her mother was a weaver–I couldn’t help but experience a sense of menace as I watched people walk underneath it. The spider seemed to be eyeing them as food. I think I’ve watched too many Hollywood movies.