Zaragoza: where everyone shakes their finger at you

I left my apartment Friday morning with hopes of seeing the Pyrennes Mountains and jumping off a bridge at some point in the next few days (tied to something of course). I saw the mountains, from a distance, and didn't jump off any bridges. But I did get to see the beautiful cities of Zaragoza and Huesca, meet up with my friend Liz from high school, and eat Mexican food!

Zaragoza was incredibly different from Madrid and it didn't feel as "Spanish." The roads were wide, the buildings were not very tall, most people drive cars and there was a lot of greenspace. There were all sorts of modern bridges that reminded me of Xenon from Disney channel and looked like they were from outer space. There were also a lot of contemporary art statues. I felt like I was in a modern city, and dare I say it a bit like I was in America!

Inside the space man statue

The Rio Ebro cuts through the city and we spent Friday afternoon having a picnic by the river, it reminded me of the Mississippi (only less dirty but that's not saying much). The weather was beautiful and we saw the Basilica de Nuestra Senora Pilar and Palacio Aljaferia, which had some of the most beautiful and intricate ceilings I have ever seen.

Palacio Aljaferia

We began to notice two trends throughout the day. First, cars DO NOT stop in Zaragoza. After practically being run over twice we realized jay-walking was not a good idea and that it is absolutely necessary to wait for the walk signal. Second, everyone shakes their finger in disapproval and apparently we were not approval worthy. Every builiding we went into or street we crossed we were scolded by someone shaking their finger at us. After a while we began to expect the finger and were surprised when we didn't see it. 

Basilica de Nuestra Senora Pilar at night

 After a day of sight seeing, we returned to our hostel and the receptionist pointed us in the direction of  a Mexican restaurant owned by a woman from Mexico. The restaurant was very VIP. When we showed up there was a group of people waiting outside to get in. We walked in and the woman shook her finger at us, we had to outside until they opened the door for each group to enter. When we were finally granted entry, we could hardly contain our excitement and proceeded to order enough food to feed a family. But man, were those rice and beans worth it!

We woke up bright and early to take a bus to Huesca. My roommate Stephanie and I had our hopes set on finding an extreme sporting adventure, such as puenting, that involved jumping off a bridge. We had researched many sporting companies based in Huesca prior to leaving. However once we get there we quickly realized all of these companies were located 40 kilometers outside the city and only accessible by car. So my mom will be happy to know the bridge jumping has been postponed. Instead we settled for a picturesque hike through fields with the Pyrennes Mountains in the distance. We trespassed, got a bit lost in the fields, made it back to a highway, thought about hitchhiking, decided not to, stopped at a gas station for some water, and finally found downtown Huesca again a few hours later.

Back in Zaragoza we continued our theme of "foreign" foods by eating at an Irish pub. Stephanie ordered chicken nuggets and boy were they delicious! After dinner we saw the Basilica lit up at night. Then we started to notice lots of middle aged people dressed in Halloween costumes. At first we thought it might have been a Halloween party but quickly realized pretty much everyone was dressed up but us. Two men dressed as pirates explained that it was part of Carnaval which is the Mardi Gras celebration in Spain. It was very different than St. Louis' celebration (where people mostly drink a lot of alcohol and lift their shirts) but equally as fun. Looks like I need a costume for this weekend!

This weekend also made me even more grateful for my wonderful host family. My friend Liz told us that she has walked into the kitchen to find her Senora completely naked! Yikes! Huge sigh of relief that it hasn't happened in our apartment yet.

I am looking forward to a few travel-free weeks in Madrid. With the stresses of midterms behind me I can go out and enjoy the city. My parents will be arriving this weekend and I can't wait to see them and show them around!

¡Hasta la próxima!

La ciudad de Zaragoza es un ejemplo bueno de las influencias durante la Edad Media en España. El Palacio Aljafería es una combinación del palacio musulmán y cristiano. Puede ver la mezcla y las diferencias de las influencias en la arquitectura y el arte especialmente. También, vi las ruinas de la muralla romana que rodeo la ciudad durante el imperio romano. ¡Los sillares son enormes! Es tan admirable especialmente porque la base de las estructuras existe todavía. Yo tuve mi primera experiencia con Carnaval en Zaragoza. El sábado por la noche, todos se estaban disfrazados y yo estaba confundida porque no era Halloween. Eventualmente me dio cuenta de que en España la gente se disfraza para celebrar. A mí me encanta disfrazarme y quiero encontrar una buena para el fin de semana. La celebración de Mardi Gras es muy importante y grande en la ciudad de San Luis y estoy emocionada experimentar tradiciones de Mardi Gras nuevas en España.