Photo Essay: Zaragoza, Spain

I’ve mentioned our serendipitous trip to Zaragoza before and I’m sure I’ll tell more stories about it in the future (in case you haven’t noticed, we like to tell stories about our travels). But in this entry, I’d like to focus on one of the things that struck me most about our visit  — the dramatic plaza and basilica in the center of its old town. We only stayed a few nights at Hotel Las Torres, which has since undergone what appears to be a massive renovation and is situated directly across from the Cathedral, but we could have easily stayed a week. Many of the rooms at Las Torres have a small balcony overlooking the square, which is where we ended each night (along with a bottle of great rioja). In addition to the religious sites (which are a huge draw for Catholic pilgrims worldwide), there are some great Roman ruins, the Aljafería (a Moorish/Islamic palace), and great streets for wandering. The city is ideally situated for a stopover between Madrid and Barcelona, so if you’re planning a trip, keep that in mind. It was a great find, and we can’t wait to return.

Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is a pilgrimage site for many Catholics around the world.

Legend says that Saint James was praying by the Ebro River when the Virgin Mary appeared before him, handing him a statue of herself and instructing him to build a church in her honor.

Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar with an early moon rising overhead.

The Plaza de Nuestra Senora del Pilar is still one of the most gorgeous squares I’ve ever experienced. Its relative isolation only makes it more beautiful.

Barry standing by one of the water features in the plaza.

The plaza is narrow but very, very long.

I don’t know why, but this is still one of my favorite pictures of us, even though we took it ourselves.

There are lots of little shops and eateries lining the streets, though they weren’t used to much tourism, at least when we visited.

Zaragoza’s old center is absolutely beautiful, both up close and from a distance.