Romans, tapas and prayer flags
Trip Start
Jul 13, 2010
1
46
76
Trip End
Ongoing
Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Zaragoza is a beautiful city. If you go to Spain, you must visit Zaragoza. It's got a grand basilica by the riverside and lots of other old buildings and neighborhoods to walk around, plus the remains of a roman gate. And people sure do walk around in that city. We went strolling in the morning, afternoon and evening among citizens of all ages.
I learned from my hosts that the name of the city comes from 'Cesar Augustus' (say that name fast and note the phonetics) since it was originally a Roman settlement.
Susi brought me to the 'tubo' neighborhood (named for its narrow, siphoning alleys) one afternoon to discover the best concentration of tapas establishments that I have ever seen. We dined in one particularly cool pub on the intersection of two alleys, standing by a window sideboard and sipping red wines.
I got to help with the driving on the way back to Madrid, between Guadalajara and Paracuellos. Marcos asked at one point if I was nervous, which I was to the point of making sure that I drove well and defensively with all those young-uns in the back seat!
We brought back ribbons from the Basilica of Pilar. These colorful strands are part Tibetan prayer flag, part guardian angel calling card. You see them everywhere in car windshields and houses.
