a suspended platform loaded with cars and passengers .
Until a few years ago , Bilbao was only a passing destination because travellers were struck more by the industrial areas that bordered the city centre than by its magnificent views . It took decades to ferry the city from its post-industrial decline to one of the most active contemporary cultural centres in Europe . Just walk along the pedestrian paths adjacent to the banks of the river to realise how much attention has been paid to everything and designed on a human scale .
From the San Mamés stadium we take the Zubizuri , the most extraordinary modern bridge over the Ría del Nervión which gives us the perfect view of the glittering titanium building of the Guggenheim Museum .
The Casco Viejo is the ancient heart of the city where it is possible to stroll in the seven original streets of Bilbao which we leave by walking up the Artxanda hill which overlooks the narrow valley that encloses it .
We leave the ocean wind behind us and after passing the rugged mountains that border the Basque region we find ourselves in a territory with a familiar image dominated by the gentle slopes of the hills planted with wheat and vines . We are in the Rioja wine region of excellence where the vines have been part of the territory since Roman times . If today the territory is dotted with green rows we owe it in large part to the Xylella virus which destroyed part of the French vines at the end of the 19th century . Many winegrowers looked for favourable territories for their productions and some of them , in particular producers in the Bordeaux area , chose these places to restart their production . Today Rioja wines are exported all over the world and since 1991 those who make wine here can boast the title of ' Qualified
Designation of Origin '. You can visit the hundreds of Bodegas ( wineries ) scattered throughout the area or more simply enjoy the magnificent roads that cross it with a view that sweeps between the ocher yellow of the cereal fields and the green of the precious plants under the clear blue sky .
Do not miss a visit to the Yuso monastery in the small town of San Millán de la Cogolla where you can admire the first manuscripts that gave rise to the Spanish language . These are two translations of the Bible into Castilian , the first documents produced that report the nascent language in written form .
Curiosity pushes us towards the monastery of Santo Domingo de la Calzada where above the entrance to the Crypt we find a rooster and a hen pecking in a large cage . Legend has it that the son of a German couple on pilgrimage was falsely accused of a crime and sentenced to hang . The
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