First stop Zaragoza

June 2: Departure San Diego, Tuesday 7:45 a.m.

Sixteen hours later Dad and I arrived in Madrid! The terminal where we exited had an interesting undulating ceiling.

By mid-afternoon we trained/bused to Zaragoza and settled into the Hotel Avenida on Avenida Cesar Augusto, which has a statue of its namesake that reflects the city's Roman roots.

Credencials were bought at the Museo Diocesano where artwork from the bishop's palace is displayed. 

One room featured processional crosses with light sticks.

The museum is near Zaragoza's renowned Basilica del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pilar Basilica) with Moorish architectural influences, including tiled domes. One of the quaint streets that leads to the basilica, Avenida Alfonso I, was lined with an array of shops and gelato/helado (ice cream) parlours. We ate a gelato and sat on a bench to watch the street scene.

Flags for Spain and Aragon fly around the city.

June 4: A day in Zaragoza

A "buenos dias" breakfast was enjoyed after a good night's sleep at Hotel Avenida.

Zaragoza's main tourist site is the Basilica. The Baroque church was built upon a legend connected to St. James -- while the Apostle was in Zaragoza during his mission work, an apparition of the Virgin Mary on a pillar of marble appeared to James. She gave him a small wooden statue of herself and a column of jasper and then instructed him to build a church in her honor. 

On our visit to the church we brought with us 3 ex-votos -- the brain, liver, and breasts -- and showed the votives' notes of explanation (written in English & Spanish) to a priest, whom we encountered while walking around the interior. He spoke no English but blessed the ex-votos and motioned for us to leave them by a stand for ofrendas. 

The Ebro River runs through Zaragoza and provides a picturesque backdrop for the Basilica.

Later we went to the Palacio de la Aljaferia, the 11th c. Islamic palace where the regional parliament of the "autonomous community" (or regional distinction) of Aragon resides. 

More images from around the city:

We stopped for a snack at a bar near Zaragoza's bullring. Locals were gathered to watch a live 'fight' from Madrid. I rooted for the bull to escape!  

Street musicians entertained passersby. 

One of Zaragoza's bridges is dedicated to St. James. The city is part of the Camino Catalan route (or Cami de Sant Jaume) that originates in Barcelona and connects to Camino Frances in the city of Logrono.    

A comic book artist draws at his stand in a bookseller area that reminded me of the ones in Paris along the Seine.

"barrabes" is an outdoor gear store we stopped at to show the Pilgrim Pouch. It's a Spanish chain started by two brothers from the region.