Friday, April 03, 2009

Spain Day 2 - Barcelona _ Zaragoza _ Madrid

After more than 24hrs without a shower & warm bed, I was so happy to finally check into the hotel. Sleep came easy & all too soon, morning arrived. It's 1st March - a new day & a new month. I woke up to a most sumptuous breakfast but pity that was the 1st & last :p
We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw free flow of wine for breakfast. My inner alcoholic was crying out with joy! Nothing like enjoying a nice cold Cava (sparkling wine) to kick start the day. We had initially thought that the Cava was champange. Can you imagine my ecstasy when I thought there was free flow champange!
Better cam whore before the make-up's all gone by the end of the day :p
It's transfer day today, meaning lots of time will be spent in the coach while we make our way from Barcelona to Madrid.
Arrived in Zaragoza, our stopover for lunch.Spain was once under Muslim reign & hence Islamic influence had a lasting effect on the architecture of Spain. Moorish architecture was combined with Romanesque & Gothic elements known as Mudejar style.
Prior to lunch, we visited the Catedral-Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar (Basilica- Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar). Extension to the church was done in Baroque style in 1681. (As you can see I've learnt quite a bit about history & architecture during this trip, so it's time to show off my new-found knowledge :p)Legend has it that an apparition of Virgin Mary & a marble pillar was seen by Apostle St James. She then told him to build a church in memory of her where the apparition took place. This is the 1st church in the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary.This was the pillar (only a small part of it was revealed - circled by gold ) that was sighted by Apostle St James & the church was then built around it. One pays homage by kneeling & kissing the pillar.It was also said that many miracles happened in this church after one pays homage. A well-known tale was that a leg grew back for an amputee as depicted by this painting.Never forgo any photo-taking opportunity :pNeither did Miss Fok as she purposely walked into my frameWe had just missed a festival processionbut luckily not photo-taking opportunities :D
These guys were really friendly & went to lengths to explain to me the reason for this procession. They were celebrating & commemorating the war fought & won against Napoleon.He's so cute! He reminds me of a character straight out of a Disney cartoon!These guys were portraying the French & likewise, they were just as obliging when we asked to have a photo taken with them. Flanked by 2 hunks - Dallas & Paul
Spain has got amazingly rich architecture
Here's one of my favourite part of the tour - Tapas for lunch! I'm totally gaga over Tapas! *drools*
Happy well-fed bunch. I was way too famished & had forgotten to take pics of the food :pLast glimpse of the beautiful town before we hit the road again
Caught Dionne listening intently to gossip stories with the inflatable travel pillow still around her neck!
It's dinner time by the time we reached Madrid. And likewise, I was famished & had taken a bite of my food before realising that I had not taken a photo. Might look kinda raw to you but I assure you that it was truly yummy!
Can you make out what are these hanging by the restaurant window? Ham!!!

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