I was in Zaragoza for 4 days over the weekend, continuing my whirlwind tour of Spain for work. Zaragoza isn't a huge city but it had a lot to see. The first night i was there, we went to "El Tubo" which is an area of the city that has lots of bars and restaurants. We went for tapas. Now, i was under the assumption that tapas worked the same all over Spain. Well. I was wrong. we ordered patatas brava (thick cut french fries with "hot" sauce) and croquetas - they were 9 euros each! I was not impressed. We went to a pintxos place after where they have cut pieces of bread with different toppings (ham, salmon, combinations of things) laid out along the entire counter of the bar. You picked whatever you want and at the end, they count the number of toothpicks you have and charge you 1.20 euros each. It was fantastic!
Continuing with the food theme, I ate SO MUCH that weekend. I was staying with Teresa's family for the days i was there. They were incredibly welcoming, warm and hospitable. I really did feel like i was at home. Teresa's sister works as a baker at a french bakery. Every morning when we woke up, there was a giant platter full of amazing things from the bakery. Teresa's dad loves to cook (he even wears a chef's hat when cooking) and cooked for 5 people every meal (when only 2-3 of us were eating). I don't think my plate was ever empty!
In terms of work, we went non stop the entire weekend! We had meetings, trainings, discussions - it was really great actually. I felt very productive, a little tired at the end of it all but very productive.
As a team building activity, we went to a horse stable on Sunday morning. Teresa's dad goes to this place every weekend or something, so they gave us a great deal! It was only 10 euros for 2 hours of riding and we used the place for a meal as well. The place (the Poni Club, yes Poni with an "i") is set up like a cottage with the stable attached. We learned about the horses (Spanish, English, Arab, purebred, mixed), how to clean them, about the organization. We also cooked and ate there as well - BBQ. Now it is March and winter in Spain, but the weather was perfect. It was around 22 or 23 degrees! So we sat outside, ate, took in some sun (even darkened a little :P). Actually riding the horses was awesome! They showed us how to ride properly, took us on a walk through some of the countryside which was very pretty and showed us how to take care of the horses and show our appreciation. Teresa's dad was leading my horse and showing me what to do and at one point said to me (when i wasnt understanding), "I thought you could speak spanish!" and i said, "i can! just not with horse related words!" At the end of the day, it was just us left, cleaning up and ready to lock up. Teresa and i looked up to find one of the horses just hanging out, but not in the stable. We called Teresa's dad to confirm and he said no, the horse shouldnt be out of the stable - thats right, an escapee. So Marco picked up the rope and was ready to get the horse back! Marco and Ruben jump into the pen, a dog is barking at the horse and because of all of these things, the horse gets spooked - starting to run around the pen. So i decided to be a horse whisperer and calm the horse down. Sure enough, he calmed down with my awesome technique and we could get him back to the stable.
On Monday, i went on a tour of Zaragoza. Isabel (studying tourism and doing a placement at the tourism office) took me on a very informative walk through the center of the city. Zaragoza has a lot of history - roman, muslim, christian. and they all have buildings and sites to represent them. There is also the Catedral Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar - a giant church that has a pillar in it. a saint apparently saw the virgin mary over the pillar and decided to build a gigantic church! the part i liked the most was the 2 holes in the ceiling and 2 missiles on the wall. apparently during the civil war, the two missiles were lodged into the roof of the basilica, but never exploded.
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