Zaragoza

The amazing thing about Zaragoza is that it has a little bit of EVERYTHING. Some cities (like Segovia or Mérida) have Roman ruins, some (like Granada) have Moorish palaces or mosques, some have beautiful Gothic or Baroque or Renaissance buildings (like Toledo) and some are famous for their modern architecture and culture (like Barcelona). But Zaragoza somehow has all of them. Zaragoza was founded by Caesar Augustus more than 2000 years ago and was a major Roman colony. It was later the capital of the Moorish kingdom until it was conquered in 1118 and became the capital of the kingdom of Aragón. It´s now the fifth largest city in Spain (after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Sevilla). Roman ruins, a Moorish palace, a million Mudéjar churches, and two cathedrals: Zaragoza is packed full of 2000 years of history. And best of all, it´s only an hour train ride from Tudela so I can visit as often as needed until I´ve seen it all! One day was not nearly enough. 

Now in chronological order, my day in Zaragoza, beginning with the Romans!

The theatre, built in the first century. 

Roman walls, built between the first and third centuries.

Next stop,  la Aljafería, an Arab palace built in the eleventh century, and later used as the palace for several kings of Aragón, prisons during the Inquisition, and is currently the home of the Aragonese Corts. 

Turns out living in Granada has several side effects, one of which is you have a huge obsession with anything remotely Arabic (like don´t even get me started on how much I love mudéjar architecture, especially ceilings). And free tapas, but that´s a rant for another day. The ceilings were so incredible, it was hard to tear your eyes away from them and look at the rest of the palace.  

It was impossible not to be reminded of Granada and La Alhambra (and a little homesick!).

Arches, jardines, ceilings, I loved it! It´s an amazing mix of cultures and architectural styles as the palace was constructed over centuries.

The coolest thing about Zaragoza for me was how the modern city is built around all of the history. The Roman walls, the theatre, and the Aljafería all have regular shops and apartment buildings next to them! Every morning someone in Zaragoza actually wakes up and looks out their window to the 2000 year old ruins of a Roman theatre. And there´s an entire block of apartments who give directions to their apartment saying, "It´s right across the street from the castle, you can´t miss it!"

Finally, some of Zaragoza´s more "modern" attractions: The Basilica of Pilar and the Seo Cathedral.

Lunch on the ferris wheel, overlooking the Basilica del Pilar

Goya, one of Zaragoza´s most famous citizens, in front of the Seo cathedral

And last (but definitely not least) el Clásico: the highly anticipated clash between the two titans of Spanish futbol, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Despite the kind of awkward 6 pm start time, we found an Irish pub that was packed with fans of both teams. Barça won and I´m well on the way to turning my Canadian roommate into a Barça fan (which is good since we already have the Bruins-Habs rivalry working against us, our friendship probably couldn´t handle a second rivalry!). 

This is about a million times better than sitting in my dorm alone at 10 am
 trying to find a stream of the game that doesn´t buffer every 30 seconds! 

In other news, it was 27 ºC (80 F). On October 26th. I´m starting to think winter is never coming.