We arrived in Zaragoza for a week’s stay at a municipal campsite and were pleasantly surprised. We have heard several other people comment on how municipal sites were run down but thankfully this one is not. It’s on the outskirts of the city, about 6km out and under the flight path of the International Airport and the military one! However, I don’t think this is the reason it is known as the Windy City, this is due to it’s location mid Spain, surrounded by mountain ranges and on a huge plateau. One positive to the wind is, combined with the 23c sun, the laundry dries in 2 hours!
So we are both trying to learn Spanish through a BBC disc and Duolingo and practising with the locals where possible which is easy in a bar (two beers, two Americano coffees etc.) but not anywhere else. The Spanish speak so fast that I have learned to say “lentamente por favor….” which means “slowly please.” One morning we venture into the local precinct and opt to take the bus into the city. The number 43 trundles along and I have already looked up the translation for “two return tickets please” which should be “dos boletos de vuelta por favor” but you know how it is….the bus driver says something strange and my mouth blurts out “dos returnos por favour”…..???? where did that come from? Well, David was so gob smacked at my new found language he said absolutely nothing and we were sold two single tickets!!!
Just checking my Facebook page Senor.
The city has so many monuments, around every corner is a church or statue or bridge so we headed for the main building, the Basilica of our Lady of the Pillar. We happened to be admitted towards the end of Mass and what a moment! We watched the proceedings and were astounded at the beauty of the building, the amount of well dressed people at the service and the number of confessional boxes opsitioned in any open space.
We gawped at the beautiful paintings on the ceiling and the gold, marble and opulence at every turn, we admired the happiness in everyone’s faces and were honoured to watch the pomp and ceremony involved in such an amazing building. The building has been restored and expanded over the years and is a mix of so many styles – Baroque, Romanesue, Gothic and Moorish; it has on display several unexploded bombs that landed on the church during the Spanish Civil War of 19361939!
We learned that Francisco de Goya was asked to paint several of the ceilings, and subsequently found so many examples of his work around the city. I was lucky enough to be able to sit on his lap and have a word in his shell like….
Here’s a few more pictures of this amazing building.
Several of Goya’s works.
We also spend a morning at another fabulous place, however, this one has been restored to look immaculate and new so it was not as impressive. It is the seat of the Aragon Parliament during the week and full of admiring tourists at the weekend. The Palaicio de la Aljaferia was originally built as a fortified medieval Islamic palace during the second half of the 11th century and later on becoming the Royal residence of christian Kings of Aragon, before the catholic monarchs took over in 1492 after which the Palace was altered to represent a fortified military fortress. It was fully modernised between 1950 and 1990. We hope the following pictures show it’s splendour and glory.
Oh damn, he found me!
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