M, 20 June 2005 (Tarragona, Spain)
The train that was to get me to Zaragoza didn't make it far. It went nine of the expected twenty-five stops and ended. Following the advice of a Spaniard on the train with me, I caught another train to Tarragona. I've never been so thankful to be able to speak some Spanish (he knew no English). He directed me to information, where he said I should get a train to Lleida, then to Zaragoza. I instead found a Talgo train headed to Salamanca, which will hit Zaragoza nearly 30 minutes before an earlier train hits Lleida. I still arrive over two hours later than expected, but hopefully this won't be a problem. And at least I get there.

(Zaragoza, Spain)
Disorientation is a difficult thing for me. I got a very good map out of the train station, but didn't understand the area around the station and so wandered back and forth a bit until finally figuring it out.

If I wanted a chance to practice Spanish, Zaragoza is the city for it. Most of the people I've met so far speak no English and the few I've met that do seem to know less English than I know Spanish. So it has me on my edge again, which is good. I think little by little I will improve.

T, 21 June 2005 (Zaragoza, Spain)
Zaragoza is not as "medieval" a town as the tour guide suggests, but it is a nice quiet place to relax and spend a day. It's a nice walk from the hostel to the old quarter. I stopped at the market for lunch; I think I ended up with part of dinner, too. I accidentally ordered a half (medio) kilo of olives instead of a quarter (quarto) kilo. Whoops.

The Basilica del Pila is wonderful. It's like two buildings within a building. Definitely a mix of styles, but a pleasing one. I got the feeling that it could be a somewhat formal and ritualized place, but that there was a genuine warmth and love underneath that. It just wasn't a gushy, efusive love, but it was there in its own form nonetheless.

I spent a good chunk of the late morning in the Ceasaraugusta Forum Museum. Way cool walking through excavated Roman ruins and learning about ancient Roman culture in the area. And a lot was only in Spanish, which I handled fairly well. I think I'm doing better with Spanish than I tend to realize. I still have trouble with hearing it (and the only solution, really, is to hear more and practice), but I seem to be doing descently with reading and producing it.

W, 22 June 2005 (Madrid, Spain)
I don't like security guards, at least, not as an entity. I went to the Aljaferķa yesterday and apparently the place is also used as a regional government office. So lots of guards and one of them seemed to think I was lost from my tour group (I wasn't).

The Aljaferķa is interesting, though. Centuries of history, added to and adjusted over time. Not as much fun as the Heidelberg castle, but fun nonetheless.

I think Zaragoza as a whole exudes a very friendly ambiance. I liked that city.

On to Madrid!