So here I am with my reluctant back-up plan, which is to spend the rest of this year idly mooching (masked & sanitised of course) around Spain. I hope you all feel sorry for me. Maybe I should start up a JustGiving page or something.
This particular town was conquered by the Romans around the time of Christ, and they called it 'Caesaraugusta' in honour of the then emperor Augustus. The locals couldn't quite pronounce 'Caesaraugusta' properly, hence it's now 'Zaragoza'. It's the capital of Aragon, as in Catherine of Aragon, first wife of our own Henry VIII.
Other than the above, I did absolutely no homework on Zaragoza before arriving here. Whenever I'm staying somewhere for a decent spell (say 5 to 7 days), I prefer to ignore the 'must-do' list of tourist attractions until day two or three. On day one, I like to just head out and let the town surprise me. During my first evening stroll here I turned a corner and chanced unexpectedly upon the Basilica del Pilar, as per the pictures. It's quite a sight.
Zaragoza has always been a bit overlooked by the foreign tourist trade, and especially so in this Year of Plague. I've hardly heard another foreign voice since I've been here. That suits me down to the ground, because it's a nice place to be, and I kind of feel like I've got it all to myself. On my last Spain trip (in 2017) I visited a lot of the obvious places, Barcelona & Seville & Marbella and so on, but this time I shall be going off the tourist trail and "living la vida local". Ha ha. Stay tuned.
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| Basilica del Pilar |
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| Another view of the Basilica |
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| Parque Grande Jose Antonio Labordeta |
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| Ryanair on the way out, mid-flight. The whole of the front three rows were mine alone. I've never been first off a plane before. We live in strange times. |
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| In honour of the nearby Basilica, this tourist shop sells sweets called 'Nun's Titties'. This particular box is almond flavour. |
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| Aljafería 11th-century Moorish palace, UNESCO-listed. Now used as the regional parliament for Aragon. |
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| Roman theatre 1st century AD, uncovered by archaeologists in 1973 |
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| Comfy 2nd floor apartment in the middle of the old town |
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| Edd vs Food #83 Home-cooked bangers and mash Sweet potato mash, to be precise. With onions and peas. In Spain, gravy is not a thing. I used Roquefort cheese sauce instead. |
