We left sunny Barcelona on 6/3/19 and drove across the middle of Spain to Zaragoza. The drive was only 2.5 hours on the freeway, so with time not an issue and hoping to avoid tolls, (which are brutal in Spain), Cindy and the GPS took us on a scenic tour of the area.
Leaving Barcelona was a steady climb through hills covered with irrigated fruit trees, quite lovey. Then we moved into a dry land wheat farming area. This area was a little strange as the small city’s we drove through looked abandoned. Not sure what’s happening here. Hemingway lived in this area and loved the white hills. Zaragoza is very dry and hot in the summer, cold in the winter.
The city was lovely, easily walkable and flat, limited cobblestones😎
The city was founded by Caesar Augusta in 23 AD and has some excellent Roman ruins including an amphitheater.
Zaragoza is a UNESCO sight and for us the highlight is Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Piler, an unbelievable Basilica. The current Basilica dates from the 17 century and churches have been on this sight since 100AD. Unbelievably beautiful! I was humbled.
The city also includes a Muslim mosque, Palacio de la Aljaferia. Which was built in 1078 and has had many, many lives, but is now fully restored.
The Puente de Piedra links the city, the first version was built by Romans in 190 AD, the last version built in the 1700s
The city has a great central market that is being rebuilt. It will be awesome when completed.
Great city to walk, the area known as El Tubo has lots of quiet backstreets with shops and restaurants. Very few tour groups 👍
At lunch we tried the local specialty, calamari sandwich, delicious!
Fun, fun city. We stayed out of town and rode the bus in €1.25 . Highly recommend!
Off to Madrid tomorrow, 4 hour drive, possibly more Sangria 😎👍🍷
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