Fiesta del Pilar en Zaragoza

Katha and I decided to spend our first Puente (holiday weekend) in Zaragoza, for the Fiesta del Pilar. Everyone else was planning to come to Valencia, for the Dia de la Comunidad (9 d’Octubre), but the most important events where the fireworks Thursday night and the Mascletà and parade the next day. What are Mascletás?  Basically, a type of street firework during the daytime producing lots and lots of noise.  And in Valencia, they will find just about any excuse to set them off.

On Thursday night, a group of us met up by the river and watched the spectacular hour-long performance by pyrotechnics from around the world. We tried to make it to the Mascletà the next afternoon before our bus left for Zaragoza, but we didn’t make it on time.  I wish I had more to blog about in regards to the Dia de la Comunidad, but this is pretty much it. However, if you want videos and pictures from this event, you have to check out Hola Valencia, a highly informative blog that was recommended to me by David (another Fulbrighter in Valencia).  Here are lots of pretty pictures from the parade here, and video of the Mascletà we missed here.

The Z Gang at an anarchist hangout

We were very anxious to get to Zaragoza because we were going to finally meet Spencer, our host that we met online through Couch Surfer (CS). For those of you who don’t know about couchsurfing.com, it is basically a facebook for travelers. You can search people that live in the town you want to visit, and they will host you on their couch, hence the name Couch Surfing. It’s the best way to travel, especially to a town that you’ve never been to because you instantly have a personal tour guide and you have a chance to meet some very unique individuals.

Spencer was a wonderful host and a very interesting character. He has a regal air that matches perfectly with his stature, giving him an almost knightly presence. I can just imagine it now, a half Texan, half French chiropractor living in Spain and riding around on his shiny black…bicycle (Spencer, if you’re reading this then I know you got that joke!).

The first night he took us to the center of town, where we went to a charming tapas restaurant and then to a lively pub for drinks. The next day we went to the mercado central, where I tried to find those elusive yellow split peas. I wanted to make Khoresht-e-Gheimeh (yellow split pea stew), but I had to settle for Khoresht-e-Bademjan (eggplant stew) since I wasn’t able to find any. We invited over Spencer’s dad and his dad’s girlfriend and ate Persian food outside in his insanely large terraza. I’m not joking when I say this but you could fit a small country in it.

Water and light show

After a lovely siesta, we headed out to town to see what all the fuss was about in Zaragoza. There were, literally, thousands of people in town so everywhere was crowded. I decided to use this as an opportunity to practice my photography skills, but unfortunately, I have nothing to show for it. You see, I decided to erase the pictures from my camera, thinking I had already uploaded them on my Mac. Well, I was mistaken, and I lost all of my pictures. Yep, all 200 or so of them. In Spencer’s words, I experienced every photographer’s worst faux pas. Oh, the things I have yet to learn.

There were so many activities going on in the town that we didn’t really know where to start. In the little time that we had, we went to a concert in the Plaza, watched a water and light show at the local park, and ended the night at the “tube,” which is a nickname for the narrow street filled with door-to-door nightclubs.

Final destination of the flower procession

The best part of the festival was on Monday, during the flower procession. From sunrise until sunset, hundreds of Spaniards marched slowly (I mean, very slowly) towards the Plaza de Pilar, where they offered the flowers to the Virgin. This is what the fiesta is famous for and during the parade, everyone is dressed in traditional costumes and every 15 minutes or so, they would stop to perform folk dances as they made their way to the plaza.  At the end of the parade, the flowers were offered to the huge structure seen in the picture to the right.  Basically, a huge mound of lovely flowers.  It was beautiful.

However, the highlight of the trip was the end, thanks to Spencer. Before we left to catch our bus back to Valencia, Spencer invited us to his father’s practice: the pent house suite in a vintage high-rise building that gave us a breathtaking view of the city. I never thought a chiropractor’s office could look this good: floor to ceiling windows in the waiting area, a wrap-around terrace with a view of all of Zaragoza, and unique artwork everywhere. One day, I’ll have an office like that, but dedicated to treating spinal cord injuries.

The view from the window

I have more pictures of our trip on the gallery page, which you can see by clicking here. You can thank Katha for the pictures.  If not for her camera, I would have no photos for this post.