When we planned this trip, we remembered how tired we were on our day off in La Rochelle last year, and decided to build in a day off the bikes in Zaragoza.
It has fallen at the right time, and we have spent the day just exploring this beautiful & vibrant city, sitting at cafés and simply enjoying the sights.
It seemed strange being able to have a slower morning today, taking stock of things we needed to buy, whilst we are in a town and simply standing to watch the sunrise behind the Basilica
Over the last few days, cycling through rural Spain, we’ve realised that shops and even cafés are very few and far between, so have decided to stock up on a few things that we needed.
Sod’s Law will inevitably mean that from here to Girona we will see more shops and cafés than we need and that we will have carried stuff, without needing to. But in our minds, it’s better to be prepared, just in case.
Waking up today, we were both ravenously hungry, so set out in search of breakfast. Finding a café opposite the elegant old market building, we ordered coffee & what for us are considerable breakfasts. I had a thick slice of toast, topped with salty, crushed avocado & tomato, whilst Andy tucked into a bowl of fried potatoes, bacon and 2 fried eggs.
In the 35 years that we have been married, I can’t think that I have ever seen Andy eat a fried egg. He normally avoids anything eggy and slimy, but today he said he felt it was what he wanted. It was clearly what his body was craving, after the last few days, as he devoured it and I don’t think it touched the sides!
I didn’t think Andy could surprise me, but this morning you could have knocked me down with a feather!
After food, we explored the stalls in the old market building.
It was great to wander around, with the meat, fish, vegetable and dried fruit stands all placed together in blocks.
Everything looked delicious, and we mentally shopped for tonight’s supper, deciding what to buy, when it opens again at 5.30. Yes, I know we should go out and enjoy the local restaurants, but we really are happier just cooking for ourselves and sitting watching the sunset light the pinnacles of the Basilica from the kitchen window. At heart, we’re very simple souls.
After mentally filling our shopping basket, we strolled into the city, in search of the few things we needed. This time, heading off on another of our magical mystery tours in search of more chamois cream … Ah the joys of doing a long-distance cycle ride!
But as with our search for a Post Office in Madrid, it made us walk the city streets, taking up little roads…
Passing incredible buildings…
And one of the old city gates …
It’s a bustling, pretty city with narrow streets filled with cafés, shops and tall, balconied townhouses, yet also has a smart, wide shopping street too..
The joy is that the centre is pretty much traffic-free. There is a fantastic network of trams, lots of bike lanes and we spotted some electric buses too. Whereas, we felt in Madrid that the car was king, here it feels very different. Around the centre there are busy roads, but the heart of the city is quiet, and pedestrianised which was rather lovely.
Once we had found my Chamois cream (and a few energy bars ), we walked to find the Palacio de la Aljaferia. This is a carefully restored Muslim Palace, dating back to the 9th century, when Zaragoza was a key Islamic stronghold on the Silk Route.
We sat on a bench admiring it View it here before deciding that it didn’t look too busy, so we paid the very reasonable 5€ entrance fee and went to take a look around. Sometimes, such buildings can be a bit of a disappointment, seeming much grander on the outside than they are on the inside, but this really was the exception.
The castle has been exquisitely restored and is so different to anywhere I’ve visited before. The fine detail in the stonework that dates back almost 1000 years, is hard to comprehend.
There are displays that explain the history of some of the fine carvings. We just had to marvel at the talent and extreme skills of the stonemasons, who created such intricate friezes and doorways. The residents of the palace have long-since disappeared, but the work they commissioned has stood the test of time and it is a delight to be able to see it.
The stonework was one aspect of the artwork in the building, but it was almost over-shadowed by the exquisite carved and painted ceilings.
We walked around with our heads looking up, trying to take it all in…
From the faded elegance of some..
To the incredible midnight-blue and gold of the Golden Hall. It was absolutely majestic…
Part of the building is home to the local government, with its council chamber built within the walls too. It was good to see that the Palace is still used as a municipal building, and this will only ensure it is secured for future generations to admire.
It’s been lovely having a day off and our legs & bodies are really thanking us for it, but we’re starting to itch to get going again and pedal on through this amazing country.
As we left, Andy suddenly realised that he was no longer carrying the energy bars we’d so carefully bought, wondering where on earth he could have left them. Then we spotted them, the box still standing on the bench we’d been sitting on, an hour earlier. Either no one fancied a pack of date & nut bars, or Zaragoza is a safe place to visit. Whichever it was, it made us appreciate just how tired we were, and how much we clearly needed a day off.
We wandered back into the old city, passing the Plaza de Torros de la Misericordia, the bull-fighting arena, built in the late 1700s, which seats over 10,000 spectators.
Then a quiet afternoon, checking our route for tomorrow, which will take us out of the north-east of the city, on our way to our next stop at Caspe. Already, I can see that there are well-protected cycle-paths on the way across the built-up area, which is good to know.
We’ve been back to the market and bought what we wanted & also found an incredible cake shop, so a couple of delights have come back with us for supper too
The weather has closed in now, and the rain is falling steadily, so we can say that ‘the rain in Spain’ doesn’t ‘fall mainly on the plain!’
But, we’ll enjoy the evening, pop and eat supper watching this stunning view once again and hope it has all cleared (as predicted) by the morning, when we go on again
Vaucluse Dreamer 