Zaragoza, Dec 06
Spain is a popular holiday destination from the UK, and was our choice for a few days break between Christmas and New Year. Despite living in the UK for five years, we had never visited Spain, so this was a good opportunity. We were also helped along with our decision by some cheap flights heading that way, specifically to Zaragoza. Flying to Zaragoza with Ryanair, we stayed there for two nights, then headed to Barcelona for one night, and finally to Girona, also for one night. Each city will have it's own individual blog entry - this one being about Zaragoza.
We had initially thought Spain was a good idea, not only because of the flight prices, but also it's well-known for it's temperate climate, even in winter - a few degrees warmer than the UK at least. However what we did not anticipate was the freezing weather we experienced in Zaragoza, due to the fact that it lies in a valley. Temperatures easily reached below freezing whilst we were there - so if warmth is what you are after in winter, perhaps another location in Spain might me a more viable idea!
Once we arrived at Zaragoza airport, we took a taxi to our hotel (about €20). It is also possible to take a bus to the city centre from the airport, but we thought it would be easier to get a taxi, which I'm assuming it was! We stayed in a hotel in the city centre, Hotel Melia, which we booked through Expedia. It's a five star hotel, and excellent value for money. The room cost £82 total, for two nights.
Zaragoza itself is an interesting city, and despite the cold weather, we enjoyed it. Some places of interest include the
Basilica of El Pilar, Spain's largest Baroque church, the Cathedral of La Seo and Palacio de la AljaferÃa, an 11th Century Moorish castle - definitely well worth the visit. Zaragoza is quite a compact city, and it is therefore easy to walk between the different sights. Entry to such tourist sights are cheap (between €2-3), as opposed to other European cities.
There are, of course, many cafe's all over Zaragoza from which to eat and drink , and also a few Irish pubs. Please note that if your Spanish is poor, it might be difficult to read the menu's and communicate what you would like to eat and/or drink (especially if you're a vegetarian), and English is not widely spoken or understood there. I tried to order a hot chocolate and ended up getting coffee. We tried to pay for drinks at one cafe, and ended up getting another round instead! We were fortunate that at one restuarant, the waiter, a young, friendly Spaniard, spoke English and translated the whole menu for us!
After our two days in Zaragoza we went to the train station to book tickets for our train to Barcelona, the fast train takes approximately three hours. The station itself can be confusing. It took a while for us to figure out that the station uses a ticketing system where you press a button at a machine to get a ticket with a number on, and you have to wait until your
number is called. As we only had an hour before our train departed, and the ticketing system was rather slow, we eventually worked out that there was a counter open for those people travelling within two hours - we made our train with a 10 minute leeway. Whew.
To conclude, we had a good time in Zaragoza, however next time we go we'll make sure it's during warmer weather so we can appreciate it without the fog and freezing wind biting our ears!
We had initially thought Spain was a good idea, not only because of the flight prices, but also it's well-known for it's temperate climate, even in winter - a few degrees warmer than the UK at least. However what we did not anticipate was the freezing weather we experienced in Zaragoza, due to the fact that it lies in a valley. Temperatures easily reached below freezing whilst we were there - so if warmth is what you are after in winter, perhaps another location in Spain might me a more viable idea!Once we arrived at Zaragoza airport, we took a taxi to our hotel (about €20). It is also possible to take a bus to the city centre from the airport, but we thought it would be easier to get a taxi, which I'm assuming it was! We stayed in a hotel in the city centre, Hotel Melia, which we booked through Expedia. It's a five star hotel, and excellent value for money. The room cost £82 total, for two nights.
Zaragoza itself is an interesting city, and despite the cold weather, we enjoyed it. Some places of interest include the
Basilica of El Pilar, Spain's largest Baroque church, the Cathedral of La Seo and Palacio de la AljaferÃa, an 11th Century Moorish castle - definitely well worth the visit. Zaragoza is quite a compact city, and it is therefore easy to walk between the different sights. Entry to such tourist sights are cheap (between €2-3), as opposed to other European cities.There are, of course, many cafe's all over Zaragoza from which to eat and drink , and also a few Irish pubs. Please note that if your Spanish is poor, it might be difficult to read the menu's and communicate what you would like to eat and/or drink (especially if you're a vegetarian), and English is not widely spoken or understood there. I tried to order a hot chocolate and ended up getting coffee. We tried to pay for drinks at one cafe, and ended up getting another round instead! We were fortunate that at one restuarant, the waiter, a young, friendly Spaniard, spoke English and translated the whole menu for us!
After our two days in Zaragoza we went to the train station to book tickets for our train to Barcelona, the fast train takes approximately three hours. The station itself can be confusing. It took a while for us to figure out that the station uses a ticketing system where you press a button at a machine to get a ticket with a number on, and you have to wait until your
number is called. As we only had an hour before our train departed, and the ticketing system was rather slow, we eventually worked out that there was a counter open for those people travelling within two hours - we made our train with a 10 minute leeway. Whew.To conclude, we had a good time in Zaragoza, however next time we go we'll make sure it's during warmer weather so we can appreciate it without the fog and freezing wind biting our ears!
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