The New and the Desolate of Zaragoza

Day two of Zaragoza came in slowly. A heavy fog and cool temperatures around the low 40s hung in for most of the day. Originally we were promised 60 and sunny. It made it hard to see some of the things we wanted to see but we did our best. The first (and only Hans-led stop) of the day was to the site of the Expo 2008 on the far end of the city. I was initially excited to go see the Expo site but ended up being disappointed. While there was a lot to see and a lot of it was interesting, most of it was abandoned and empty.

Aragon Pavilion

What Expo 2008 had going for it though was that it now acts as a park of sorts. The entire Spanish population of rollerbladers must of been there. Besides a handful or less of shops that were open, the only building the remains open was the Aquarium. It was actually very depressing though to walk through everything. There were photos here and there from the Expo which showed the area at its height of activity and use. Compared to what it is like now creates a stark contrast. It is a cautionary tale of what happens when so many buildings for one purpose go up all at the same time with no concrete post-event life established. It is similar to post-Olympic Greece or post-World Cup Brazil. These buildings are left to rot and decay and be forgotten.

Now that I've gotten that rant out of the way let's move on to the buildings themselves. I can't say I really had a favorite since I never entered any of them but I have ones that stood out to me. The first one was the Bridge Pavilion by Zaha Hadid. It is, though clumsily done in some parts, a large undertaking that stands out in the Expo site. It dominates the landscape. The second building that intrigued me is the Spain Pavilion. The exterior is surrounded by these thin columns that appear to be wood but on closer examination are actually terracotta. I wish more was done to help this site live up to its potential.

Bridge Pavilion

Spain Pavilion

After returning to the hotel and being let loose on our own a small group of us went in search of lunch. We found a nice little tapas bar and ate there. It was very good and it was great to try a traditional Spanish dish. Next up, we went to the Aljafería Palace. It is an Islamic castle from the 11th century. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day by the time we got to it so we stayed and sketched some. We then made our way back to the hotel passing by the Plaza de Toros, a bullfighting ring, on the way. It too was closed but the exterior seemed like a mini Colosseum.

Spanish Tapas

Aljafería Palace

Plaza de Toros

 Today seemed like one of the shorter full days that we've had so far which is nice. I loved Zaragoza and it is one of my favorite cities that we've been to. It is so pedestrian friendly and the shops are so quaint and there is so much architecture to see. After we leave here though the next couple of days are going to be crazy. We leave for Barcelona in the morning and I am very excited.