An Epicurean Odyssey: Aragon part 2 (Zaragoza and Huesca)

When we're in a city with a market it's easy to organize our day. The market has to be the first destination, and then we head to whichever on our list of sights is closest. Zaragoza's covered market is a beautiful building reminiscent of Mercat Colon in Valencia, but unfortunately it was in the process of being renovated. Bummer. The temporary replacement was a block away, but it was overcrowded and devoid of atmosphere, with barely anything to eat.

Just a few steps from the rear entrance of the temporary market is Plaza de la Seo, which is one of the most breathtaking public squares that I've seen in Spain. At the eastern end is the tall Mudéjar belltower of the Zaragoza Cathedral, La Seo del Salvador. Occupying most of the north side of the square, bordering the river, is a far more impressive structure than the Cathedral. The Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is the tenth largest Christian church in the world. The square that these two churches preside over is elegant and unique. At the western end of the Plaza is the magnificent Fuente de la Hispanidad, which was constructed in 1991 as a part of the most recent remodel of Plaza de la Seo. Water runs down a concrete incline and spills over a jagged rent in the otherwise smooth surface into a pool. The water then runs underneath a walkway into another pool with a strange irregular shape. I didn't learn until later that the open space in the fountain including the pools forms the shape of Central and South America. Behind the fountain is yet another church, the stately Iglesia de San Juan de los Panetes, this one in Romanesque style with a precariously leaning tower.

Closer to the center of the square is another quirky modern sculpture, an enormous sphere whose provenance and meaning I never learned. After the sphere, the rest of the square is wide open to admire the amazing Basilica. The only building in Spain I can think of whose exterior is comparably spectacular is the Catedral de Sevilla, and I have to say I prefer Zaragoza's Basilica. Not only is it massive, but also colorful and satisfyingly symmetrical. We spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out a way to photograph the entire structure in one frame without using panorama and ultimately concluded it was impossible.

Although a striking building in its own right, La Seo del Salvador seems almost like an afterthought after the Basilica. The prodigious bell tower was a conversion from the minaret of the mosque that formerly occupied the site. In the foreground of the cathedral is the unusual cubical structure that marks the entrance to the subterranean Museo del Foro de Caesaraugusta.

We hadn't found much to eat in the market so lunch was becoming a pressing need. Fortunately, we were now adjacent to Zaragoza's "Tapas district", El Tubo. This small pedestrian quarter was colorful and atmospheric, although we found the restaurants to be touristy and not particularly good.

After lunch we walked north until we reached the Puente de Piedra, also known as the Bridge of Lions for the statues that guard its entrances. From the bridge we had another view of the Basilica as well as the greenish, uninspiring Ebro.

By this time the sun was at its peak and Spenser was sleeping on my back. Ian was passed out in the only stroller we'd brought and Cleo wasn't going to last much longer. Mopping the sweat from our brows, we abandoned our plans to explore modern Zaragoza on the northern side of the Ebro and headed back to the Airbnb for siesta. In the late afternoon, once some of the heat had dissipated, we ventured back out in the opposite direction towards Palacio de la Aljafería. The Aljafería was originally a Moorish palace, but it was repurposed by the Christians after they conquered Zaragoza in the 12th century. Today the building houses the Aragonese regional parliament, although much of it remains open for visitors. It's an appealing building, but not something I would have visited Zaragoza for specifically. We had time to kill before dinner so we looked through some of the dry exhibits. It was enough to remind us why we don't drag the kids through museums when we're traveling.

We don't usually eat at the same place twice, but there were no second thoughts about returning to Puerta Cinegia Gastronómica for dinner that evening. We weren't excited about walking all the way back from the Aljafería, so we tried our luck at the nearby bus stop. Although it was a straight line down the road to the old town, we learned that only one of the bus lines that came through would be heading in that direction. Naturally, it was the last one to come and it was packed. Mei Ling tried to shoo some people in further in order to get our stroller on but the driver waved us off. We had to walk, but the silver lining was that we found a cheap barber to lop off Ian and Spenser's shaggy manes.

Puerta Cinegia Gastronómica was great again, although we arrived a little early for a couple of our favorite stalls to open. After dinner, we walked down the main pedestrian street of the old town, Calle Alfonso I, at the end of which hovered the luminous central dome of the Basilica.

The only thing we saw in Zaragoza more amazing than Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar in the broad light of day was the illuminated Basilica at night. The Fuente de la Hispanidad was also eerily lit up with an ever-changing series of vivid colors. If anything, the Plaza de la Seo was more busy than it had been during the day.

We left Zaragoza having seen much less of the city than is typical for us. Perhaps because we'd seen so many neighborhoods in Valencia we hadn't felt the need to explore as much. We had definitely made it to all the important highlights of the central city, and I think that's likely going to remain our entire experience of Zaragoza. It had been worth the visit just for Plaza de la Seo and Puerta Cinegia Gastronómica, but there's no compelling reason for us to return. Of course, we have many years of traveling still ahead of us so there's no way of knowing for sure. On the other hand, I'm confident that we'll be back to Valencia, Madrid, and Barcelona in the future.

We had to be in France by dinner time so there was no time to waste getting back on the road. It took us less than an hour of highway driving over featureless Aragonian landscape to get to Huesca. Like Teruel, Huesca was a small city with a good-sized old town. We wandered through a few picturesque alleys and squares before finding a tapas restaurant that seemed right.

The central part of the old town was a rising maze of small streets that eventually culminated at Catedral de Huesca. The 14th century Gothic church is most recognizable for its ornate arched doorway flanked by stone statues of the apostles. We treated the kids to ice cream in the nearly-empty plaza before heading to our last stop of the first Spanish leg of the road trip.

Castello de Loarre is just a half hour from Huesca via scenic one-lane roads. After taking the turnoff from the route that proceeds to the town of Loarre, the road rapidly ascends into the foothills of Sierra de Guara. At the highest point, a well-preserved medieval fortress commands sweeping views of Aragon's countryside. Castello de Loarre played a critical role in the reconquest of the surrounding area from the Muslims in the 12th century, and is now considered to be one of the most well-preserved Romanesque castles in all of Europe. Kids love castles, and this one had all the elements necessary to generate happy oohs and aahs from Ian and Cleo.

The views from Castello de Loarre reminded me a little of Rocca Calascio in Italy, although the access here had been much simpler. There were plenty of rooms, staircases, and ramparts to explore. As we ascended into the higher part of the castle we heard beautiful music which I assumed was being played on a speaker. We arrived in a chapel and saw two people already there who had such an understated presence that it took a few moments before I realized the amazing sound was actually their voices. They were taking advantage of the acoustics of the chapel to create exquisite, resonant music. It was over far too quickly, but it was a great reminder that the most memorable and wonderful moments of a trip can come at unexpected times.