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Cuba - More than old cars
Weather: sunny 26º C with some light showers after 4pm
Firstly we must thank Bruce’s aunt and uncle in Auckland for suggesting that we come to Zaragoza. It does not seem to be high on the list of many travel guide books but is certainly worth the visit. Unfortunately for us the timing was not as good as it could have been with the hop on/hop off bus only operating on weekends and a number of attractions closed.
Today we spent time in the Plaza del Pilar which has the Basilica, the Town Hall, the Cathedral and the Merchants Hall around it as well as numerous restaurants, the Information Centre, the Goya Monument (and its statues) and a fountain/waterfall. There was also a temporary Roman exhibition.
First though we had breakfast at Café las Glorias near the hotel. We organised 2 coffees and an accompanying pastry for a total €3.60 (very good value) and, while waiting we got drawn into a conversation with a Senegalese street seller trying to sell Bruce some Christian Dior aftershave. Nice guy, spoke good English, but did not look closely at who he was trying to sell the aftershave to! Wonder what was in the bottle.
Now back to the main plaza to visit the buildings we saw last night, The Basilica was very different from others we have seen with a few very large square pillars rather than many round ones. There were also two unexploded bombs hanging from one of the walls. These apparently came through the roof of the basilica during the Spanish civil wall but luckily did not explode. Presume they have been defused!
Over by the Cathedral we found a museum that was open, actually one of four Roman museums in close proximity. They all showed old Roman structures underneath the plaza and some of the surrounding buildings. We remain impressed with the achievements of the Romans 2,000 years ago.
Then we stopped for lunch with the plan of having our main meal in the afternoon and a tapas at night. We thought our eating issues were over when we ordered the “el almuerzo del dia” consisting of a number of choices for an entrée, a main and a desert. All the restaurants offer "lunch of the day". This ine included wine, water and bread. Bruce ordered a beer ,which the waiter made clear was not included in the price, then we each ordered 2 different selections for each of the 3 courses. The entrée went ok but for the main Bruce ended up with sausage (Chorizo), egg and chips. Our interpretation of the menu suggested this was going to be a tasty Spanish omelette consisting of eggs, chorizo and potato.
It was almost embarrassing sitting there eating like a Pom. Just as surprising was the fact that we did not each get a glass of wine included with the meal but instead got a bottle of wine (to share, not one each). Finally we got our (just) desserts – each in a container that you would have bought from a supermarket. We have got to set our sights higher.
Next we had to walk our lunch off so headed for the Aljaferia Palace, a fortified medieval Islamic palace from the 11th century. The palace currently houses the Aragon region parliament and guess what, parliament was sitting today and tomorrow morning – why not! This meant it was not open to the public nor could we even get in through the gate. As we were unable to even get a good view of the front of the palace for a photo, Bruce had a conversation with the security guard to see if he could walk down the drive 25 metres and take a picture. The guard, doing his job, would not have any part of it, but Bruce persisted. (Anne began wondering about bail conditions!) Eventually a guy leaving the palace on his Vespa arrived and hearing what was going on offered to take the camera down to get a photo. Bruce obliged and we have attached a photo here. We continue to only have good things to say about the people here.
It started to rain a bit as we headed back to the hotel – the bottle of wine from lunch was starting to kick in a bit. Once we had our siesta, along with the rest of Spain, we headed out to another one of the four Roman museums – the amphitheatre. We have seen a number of these in much better condition, in France and in Italy, but the history of this one and the way it was discovered was interesting.
We then went to the main plaza and hung around until the lights came on at the Basilica and Cathedral, took some photos, then back to the hotel.
Firstly we must thank Bruce’s aunt and uncle in Auckland for suggesting that we come to Zaragoza. It does not seem to be high on the list of many travel guide books but is certainly worth the visit. Unfortunately for us the timing was not as good as it could have been with the hop on/hop off bus only operating on weekends and a number of attractions closed.
Today we spent time in the Plaza del Pilar which has the Basilica, the Town Hall, the Cathedral and the Merchants Hall around it as well as numerous restaurants, the Information Centre, the Goya Monument (and its statues) and a fountain/waterfall. There was also a temporary Roman exhibition.
First though we had breakfast at Café las Glorias near the hotel. We organised 2 coffees and an accompanying pastry for a total €3.60 (very good value) and, while waiting we got drawn into a conversation with a Senegalese street seller trying to sell Bruce some Christian Dior aftershave. Nice guy, spoke good English, but did not look closely at who he was trying to sell the aftershave to! Wonder what was in the bottle.
Now back to the main plaza to visit the buildings we saw last night, The Basilica was very different from others we have seen with a few very large square pillars rather than many round ones. There were also two unexploded bombs hanging from one of the walls. These apparently came through the roof of the basilica during the Spanish civil wall but luckily did not explode. Presume they have been defused!
Over by the Cathedral we found a museum that was open, actually one of four Roman museums in close proximity. They all showed old Roman structures underneath the plaza and some of the surrounding buildings. We remain impressed with the achievements of the Romans 2,000 years ago.
Then we stopped for lunch with the plan of having our main meal in the afternoon and a tapas at night. We thought our eating issues were over when we ordered the “el almuerzo del dia” consisting of a number of choices for an entrée, a main and a desert. All the restaurants offer "lunch of the day". This ine included wine, water and bread. Bruce ordered a beer ,which the waiter made clear was not included in the price, then we each ordered 2 different selections for each of the 3 courses. The entrée went ok but for the main Bruce ended up with sausage (Chorizo), egg and chips. Our interpretation of the menu suggested this was going to be a tasty Spanish omelette consisting of eggs, chorizo and potato.
It was almost embarrassing sitting there eating like a Pom. Just as surprising was the fact that we did not each get a glass of wine included with the meal but instead got a bottle of wine (to share, not one each). Finally we got our (just) desserts – each in a container that you would have bought from a supermarket. We have got to set our sights higher.
Next we had to walk our lunch off so headed for the Aljaferia Palace, a fortified medieval Islamic palace from the 11th century. The palace currently houses the Aragon region parliament and guess what, parliament was sitting today and tomorrow morning – why not! This meant it was not open to the public nor could we even get in through the gate. As we were unable to even get a good view of the front of the palace for a photo, Bruce had a conversation with the security guard to see if he could walk down the drive 25 metres and take a picture. The guard, doing his job, would not have any part of it, but Bruce persisted. (Anne began wondering about bail conditions!) Eventually a guy leaving the palace on his Vespa arrived and hearing what was going on offered to take the camera down to get a photo. Bruce obliged and we have attached a photo here. We continue to only have good things to say about the people here.
It started to rain a bit as we headed back to the hotel – the bottle of wine from lunch was starting to kick in a bit. Once we had our siesta, along with the rest of Spain, we headed out to another one of the four Roman museums – the amphitheatre. We have seen a number of these in much better condition, in France and in Italy, but the history of this one and the way it was discovered was interesting.
We then went to the main plaza and hung around until the lights came on at the Basilica and Cathedral, took some photos, then back to the hotel.
- comments
alister bland But maybe that is a Spanish Omelette in Spain, or you just don't know enough Spanish yet - it has to be one of the two.
Sarah OK not much I could learn here