Our time is now spent on the grey pages. We therefore add colour.
Friday 13th May 2022
It’s Friday 13th. Are we being foolish tackling public transport into a large unknown city? Or am I just being overly superstitious? We found the bus stop for a No.41 going in the correct direction to the city centre. They run every 15 minutes, but we waited 25 minutes beside a man who didn’t stop shouting into his mobile phone. Even on the bus he had a lot to say. We got off when everyone else cleared the bus, near Puerte del Carmen and discovered the tourism office fairly easily. A lovely lady gave us a map and then ‘helpfully’ scribbled all over it with lines and numbers and squiggles. She also booked us into the first available viewing of the Aljaferia, at 5pm.
Map in hand, we set off to the Torréon de la Zuda in Plaza Cesar Auguste, where we climbed to the top for a lovely view over the Rio Ebro and the rooftops of the basilica.
When we stepped inside the Basilica de Nuestro Señora del Pilar it was seemingly bigger inside than out; it was enormous. Our next stop was in the Cathedral del Salvador (La Seo) armed with an audio guide. We went there mainly because we wanted to go up another tower but, being Friday 13th….” The lift is broken today”, dang. By the time we exited the building, 45 minutes later, our eyes were boggled by the completely over-the-top baroque decoration covering every inch of space. And our brains were depressed by all the information on beheading of saints and the murder of a choir boy who thenceforth became a saint. Having more than fulfilled our dose of ‘gothic and baroque’ we cheered ourselves up with a cerveza and a proper thick hot chocolate, sitting outside the fabulous olde worlde Gran Café Zaragoza.
We meandered around the small lanes of the old city and down the wide Calle Alfonso until it was time for lunch and a rest for the legs, then we walked west to the Parque de la Aljaferia. We had an hour to waste and with the temperature now at 31c, it was nice to just lay down on the grass and snooze (or snore, in Rodney’s case).
At 5pm we entered La Aljaferia. We love a bit of Moorish architecture and decoration, but this was rather disappointing. Rodney was rather glad he got a €1 jubilada ticket. Having been to Cordoba and Granada in the past, maybe we have already seen the best. Most of the Aljaferia had been rebuilt and there was very little decoration inside, apart from a couple of lovely ceilings. Ah well, it’s Friday 13th.
By now the heat was getting oppressive at 32c so it was definitely time for refreshing ice creams before boarding the No.41 bus (only an 8-minute wait) back to the campsite. It was now 7pm, Reggie was hot inside, and we were overly tired from a whole day of city strolling. Tomorrow we’ll sit in Reggie for a couple of hours while we drive further south.
Beautiful!