In Zaragoza

I arrived in Madrid at 5:30 this morning, and by 6:30 I was in Atocha Station. Since I couldn’t change to an earlier train, I had a couple of hours to walk around the center. I walked a loop — past the Prado, Retiro Park, Cibeles, Sol, Plaza Mayor. The city was showing the results of a long Saturday night, with lots of alcohol-related trash, and a fair number of inebriated people sitting on the curb or stumbling along. In some small plazas, the botellones (BYOB outdoor gatherings) were still going strong.

The train to Zaragoza left exactly at 9:27 and arrived about 7 minutes early. As I was walking into the center, I passed what I knew must be the Moorish palace turned regional legislature and offices. It was open for a visit, so I hopped in line, paid my two euro senior citizen fee and enjoyed a walk around. Since it is currently being used for offices and meetings, the restoration may have been a little aggressive. But some of the rooms have that delicate lacy stonework, and the mihrab is pretty much intact.

My hotel is very close to the basilica, which commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Santiago in 40 A.D. I dropped my backpack off at about 12:30 and spent the next couple hours walking around the historic center — visiting the Roman sites (Forum, baths, and theater), admiring a couple of mudéjar churches, and walking along the river. Since it’s Sunday, there are tons of people out and about, walking, sitting in plazas, drinking vermouth, playing with their children.

I’ve showered and washed my clothes, had a cold drink in a plaza, and am now holding my eyes open so that I can stay awake till 7 or 8 and then hope for a good night’s sleep. Since no self respecting Spanish restaurant will serve a meal at 6 PM, I am just going to get a salad in the hotel. And then –SLEEP!Read more