An intriguing city nestled in the midst of a moon-like landscape, it spans the Ebro river and marks an approximate halfway point between Barcelona and Madrid. The ruins of a Roman fortress sound impressive, but in reality, the monolithic mudéjar cathedral is far more impressive.
There are so many royal palaces in Spain that I suspect a ruling monarch would have to change address every month just to keep the dust from settling in any of them. From Bilbao, I bumped along the northern coast and, just before reaching France, turned south again to Pamplona, and beyond that, Zaragoza.