Personal Impressions of Zaragoza

Saturday, April 13, 2013

My Impressions of Zaragoza

第一次来西班牙，仅在巴塞罗那停留了一晚，就直奔萨拉戈萨（Zaragoza），此次旅行的目的地。这个不到八十万人口的城市位于巴塞罗那和马德里之间，第一感觉就像影剧中典型的欧洲城市：整洁的街道、友善的居民.....置身其间不由自主会放慢自己的步伐，试着享受阳光下的悠闲时光。

This is one the most beautiful places in Zaragoza, but it is almost deserted when we visit it. Maybe it is because entrance is free. The person who welcomes us at the desk seems thrilled to have four tourists from all over the world coming at the same time. He gives us full explanations in Spanish, assuming that we speak the language fluently. Our favorite spot is the typical Spanish patio, full of classical male nude statues looking up at arched windows reflecting the blue sky above. We then make our way through a beautiful stained glass door that opens into a grand marble staircase. The beautifully crafted marble winds it way up to a shockingly graphic painting depicting the slaughter of the Jews by the Christians. After this paradox we find ourselves immersed in the world of Aragon. The hallway is lined with paintings depicting the folkloric dress and customs of Aragon.

Saragoza, an ordinary special town

Walking in Zaragoza conveys a special sense of peace and tranquillity, streets are long, wide and clean, people generally smile, shops can be stylishly sophisticated, while Roman ruins remind of a glorious ancient history. Eventually, while visiting the centre you will find yourself in the enormous square hosting the cathedral dedicated to the Virgin of Pilar; she appeared to Saint James in person.

However, if you want to breathe pure air few stops of an efficient tramway will take you inside an exotic park full of chatting Spanish, various kinds of trees and funny domesticated ducks.

Zaragoza is definitely worths a visit, the main characteristic of the city is an "ordinary european beauty", but as a matter of facts none of the buildings are really overwhelming or have a particular Artistic originality, the long boulevards make you think of France, the interior decoration of churches reflect Italian influence, and the local movida is a small taste of what Barcellona and Madrid can offer.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Who Knew?

There’s something refreshing about coming to a city with no expectations.

We arrived after a ten-hour flight over Siberia from Beijing to Frankfurt, a misconnection, and then a two-hour flight over the Alps and the Mediterranean to Barcelona. To me, the hotel in BCN was stylish; to Hilde it was functional. I think we realized simultaneously that to our Western sensibility, despite or because of emerging from the sensibilities of China, that those were the same thing. The next morning that functionality was born in on us by the ease and efficiency of the Renfe AVE high speed train. In the time it would take to get from one far end of Beijing to its other extremity we got from BCN to our hotel in Zaragoza. Of course the physical distance is nearly the same.

Santos comes from near the heart of the Roman world to a provincial and provisional city. For him it’s a pleasant enough place, undistinguished: pleasant—OK aesthetically, in its culinary character, culturally—but not too anything: perhaps, not anything quite enough. Dong Nan experiences Zaragoza as extraordinary: a window to a world she’s only discovered piecemeal. She’d traveled as a tourist in northern Europe and traveled and lived in the U.S. But nothing had prepared her for this sun-struck flooded desert, Mediterranean world.

For me, Zaragoza was a litany of surprises, introduced from multiple perspectives of students, Griffin, the Resident Director, my wandering alone and with Zhang Tong and Dong Nan. An endless string of “Who knew?” moments:

- The name itself is a corruption of Caesar Augustus. Zaragoza. Oh. Right. Now I get it.

- Mushrooms. Here it’s such a central feature of the cuisine that the names supplant the category—the incredible flavor of a cream soup floating a pate, the, again incredible, flavors grilled in garlic and stacked with shrimp on toast. In China there are the two classes, mushroom and fungus. In Italy, funghi: not fungus but mushrooms. In the US, a class of food with doubtful nutritional value for sauces, pizza, and a vegan-correct, if unsatisfying, replacement for steak. But here a skewer of astonishing flavor. I get why my friends insisted that Griffin take us to the mushrooms.

- Pilar. Pillar. Column Really. I’d known, vaguely, that it was a common name for women. I’d had a vague sense of the connection with the Virgin Mary. But Virgin on a stick? (Apologies. Too provocative for a title, I supposed, and not intended to be irreverent or iconoclastic.) What kind of vision is that? And she’s the patroness of the Iberian world-wide empire. The Virgin of Guadalupe for the Aragon-centered globe complete with conceptual map-fountain-monument. What better suited to move me into compliance

- The Ebro and the Roman bridge were a revelation. The river is in flood because of storms in the mountains. The Pyrenees. I’ve never come so close. And I thought all Spanish rivers were mere arroyos. And seco at that. And here it was straight out of Goya and El Greco. In Goya’s home region. How had I missed that?

-The park by the University where we had a robust beer and buttery olives like I’d never tasted. And would not have without the suggestion of Griffin as the color was the dull green of a dirty martini. Fountains in the dappled sunlight dominated by a colossal Neptune—looking far from home and a little forlorn this far from the sea—who represents, I suppose Spains dominance of the sea.

- Fresh Air and sunshine after a cold, smoggy Beijing spring.

Even More Zaragozans on Zaragoza!

Cosmopolita

Amable

Misadventures in Zaragoza

A Culinary Journey through Zaragoza Episode 2: CHURROS CON CHOCOLATE

Also known as Spanish donuts, Churros have attained a cult status as the national food symbol of Spain. Interestingly, in China a national breakfast dish comes pretty close to the Spanish version of churros - the Chinese 'youtiao' which is a sort of fried stick popular in Northern China. Is it indeed possible that Portugese sailors in the Ming Dynasty have passed on this Chinese specialty from China to the Spanish? Fact is, that today churros can be found on virtually every street corner of Beijing.

A Culinary Journey through Zaragoza Episode 1: TAPAS

A quintessential feature of the Spanish culinary experience is going out having several appetizers in different restaurants or bars, often referred to as 'Tapas Crawl.' Often, to go for tapas is the perfect excuse to meet freinds or is the best way of eating away from home when one is in a hurry. Thus, the tapas have become a hallmark of Spain. Tapas bars adorn the streets of Zaragoza and there is no better way to mingle with the locals. Tapas is not a particular type of food. Rather, anything can be tapas - paella, croquettes, or even ham and cheese on toast as long as it is small. In Zaragoza, the best way to eat your way through the culinary delights in Zaragoza is to go to the district of El Tubo.

As a Frenchman, I am standing in the park totally puzzled in front of this monument which is supposed to commemorate a battle between the valiant inhabitants of Zaragoza and the ferocious soldiers of Napoleon, at the beginning of the 18th when the French troops were storming the country. Nowhere can I find the information telling me if the city finally surrendered after a long and brutal siege or if Napoleon decided to leave and move on with the war, letting Zaragoza celebrating a great victory over the Napoleonic army. I finally decide that it does not matter. the hundreds of kids who play today in the park probably do not care. They just enjoy a happy moment in the sun, celebrating Spring rather than a war long forgotten.