Frank Gehry

Less is and was a bore

First, a story.

During or just after college a bunch of friends and I went to Ibiza. It was a lovely time on a lovely island.

Lovely, except when my friend Matthew separated his shoulder in the Balearic tide. What ensued was an all-too-leisurelyambulance ride, with me (the lone Spanish speaker, and that’s not saying much) imploring the driver to both go faster and run a red light more frequently.

Lovely for the abundance of paella and gambling.

But not lovely enough to keep me there. I had a hankering to leave my friends early and travel to this town that had once been known for its ship building. I knew little about the town, neither did my friends. The woman whose house we were staying in did know about it! A little.

She called it “grimy.”

The town was Bilbao. I was going to see the just-opened Guggenheim Museum designed by the late, great Frank Gehry.

It’s magical.