With only 4 full days off between tours and it being August - not a good month to visit Torrevieja, it was time to look at the map and play the "where haven't I been game." Easy train journey between Barcelona and Madrid - check. Large historical city - check. Reasonably priced accommodation - check. Where did I end up? Zaragoza, Spain's 5th largest City (actually all depends on what's being looked at, so lets just say it's up there amongst the 10 largest).
After jumping on the train in Barcelona, I found not 1 but 3 of the zips on my back pack open (slippery little fuckers those pick pockets), luckily, nothing of value to be found in there. Unless they wanted my banana and sandwich. Arrived in Zaragoza and checked into Hotel Sauce. What a fab little place! Staff great and an excellent coffee/cake shop downstairs. Perfect location in the old town.
Zaragoza is the capital of the autonomous community of Aragon and the capital city of the province of Zaragoza. There's my tour leader tendencies coming out - can't help myself. The 3 special landmarks I had to visit included, La Seo Cathedral, the Aljafería Palace. and the one I really wanted to see, the Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar.
Lots of walking around including one of the free walking tours, but the highlight had to be the stunning facade of the Basilica and that whole plaza in front of it, with La Seo Cathedral on the other side. Inside the Basilica, it's a little bit "not ABC" but still worth seeing and obligatory ribbon purchased - in purple. Have I become a little bit religious? Maybe something has rubbed off over these last 3 years with all the churches I've visited.
All up a great little mini-break, even if I had to spend some time studying for my new tour and preparing for the one coming up. Life on the road - I love it!
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