Zaragoza = THARAGOTHA

Hola everyone,

This Friday we didn´t have school because of a holiday. I really don´t know much about this holiday but they celebrate the -politically correct- invasion of america and their Saint. The town i live in didn´t do anything special so we all left for Zaragoza.

The bus station sent 13 buses to this town because there was a huge festival. Zaragoza is 2 hours south east of here and it is the capital city of the state next to this one. The state i reside in is Navarra. I got to sit in the front seat of the bus and due to ticket issues I couldn´t sit by my friends. I however got to sit by a priest. I don´t know much about priests but i felt like i needed to sit up straight and behave. I even offered him some food i had cause i just felt obligated.

Along the way we had to pass thru all these toll booths and the bus was only goin 60 mph so it was slow. There were tons of wind turbines cause it is so mountaneous and not much else. The country side was kind of like a desert-which is typical of Spain. Out bus left at 10 so it was the perfect time and I was wide awake to see the country side.

We got in Zaragoza which is pronounced as the title above at this huge bus train station. All of the foreigners went on this trip so it was weird getting off the bus. We all have met so many people but little groups of friends are present. I got off and met up with Emanual, Teff, and Kath again and others were there but I usually am with this people. We had to wait forever to get a stupid map of the city but we finally got one nad walked for all eternity to the center of the city.

This city is much much larger than mine and there were tons of people. There was a parade going on which was of people. All of the people in the parade wore old old maybe medieval clothes and held flowers. They had some traditional dancing too but mainly it was just dressed up people in gowns and weird hair dos. They would carry the flowers all the way to the cathedral and would offer them to the saint for which this holiday was made. We made it the the cathedral but it wasn´t easy. There were tons of people and some were rude. This one man told us to not f off which was really weird. We didn´t know why he swore at us but we laughed cause it gramatically makes no sense.

We got to the cathedral and it was amazing. It was a massive catherdral but fairly new. NExt to it was a plaza with a huge pile of flowers. It looked like a layer cake but made of mainly white flowers. All the flowers were offerings and it looked beautiful. It was the size of a house I would say. We took some pics and then went to eat cause all this walking calls for lots of calories.

Smart people brought food but we had to go out to eat. We ate at some place that served really americanized food but not really. I had some chicken and fries. They had this mustard sauce but it was discusting. I think honey mustard has too much flavor for Spaniards. My meal was 8 € so it was fine.

I have an allowance of 10 € a day which is from working all summer. I usually dont spend any money all week so that I can do these trips in the weekend. I am pretty stingy about things but i would rather travel than go out to eat.

We then walked thru town and they had all the nice tourist crap on sale as well as tons of creepy old men selling balloons. I think it is required to look creepy here to sell balloons. They had some nice pictures of whoopie golberg though i should have bought one for my friends ´kind of an inside joke´. We were told by MO from austrailia that were was like a beer tasting festival somewhere in town. We walked for 2 hours and rested in the park before finding this "huge festival. It was a let down and half of us ditched out and took the bus back into town.

It was 5 ish and we got some coffee and went walking around. They had old roman ruins which interests me the most of all the things here. We also toured the cathedral where they were having a mass at the time but it was huge so pft. We had to push thru crowds to get there, and some of the elderly here are really pushy. I found it ironic that they were being rude so that they could go to a cathedral.

It was a really nice cathedral and they had tons of stuff. I like cathedrals but they are way over the top a lot and they are not necessary. They had a huge cross with a lifesize Jesus on it and they would kiss his feet and go on. We didn´t partake on this, but it was so cool to see. I am a christian but I wasn´t brought up with these things so it is incredible to see.

We then went to this plaza to see fireworks. I should explain that I was with the usual group but we were also with a few portugese people all day. We kept saying " they are really nice¨ all day long. Portugese is a weird language and I don´t know if I like it. The fireworks were really cool and we sat on someones car and watched them. We were under them and it was cool because of that. We even got hit with the debris so it was risky.

We went to the main road in the town where a huge concert was with breakdancers but we left. We had to get a snack cause we never ate dinner are I got a kit kat mcflurry and it was amazing. They didn´t have any other flavors I knew. We then went to some discos. We all had backpacks so it was quite funny. We would put all of our stuff in a pile and kind of dance around it. The french people made us play ring around the rosie with it. They are really into playing disco songs from the 70´s. People got mad about our little circle party, and one man stepped on my foot and then yelled at me. I don´t believe in fighting so i just laughed, but wow.

We came there on friday at 10 am and wer eleaving saturday at 7 am so we didnt sleep again, which is typical. We walked the huge distance to the bus station and saw a churo stand. Churos are kind of like mini donuts and they are delicious. I ate other peoples cause they can never finish their food. We got to the station and there were so many dead looking people everywhere but I felt good cause i always have energy. I got on my bus and slept instantely and woke up in Pamplona. I walked back to my piso, had some lunch and slept. It was only saturday but I didn´t do anything exciting that day.

I did do something amazing on Sunday though. I went on the camino de santiago before but i never climbed the mountain. So on sunday I called my friend Tristan from Germany and we walked up the mountain. I love stuff like that and it was a 2 hour walk to the top but it was totally wortth it. Once u leave this city it is all fields and tractors. We went to the top and it is line with wind turbines which are really cool to see up close and on top of a mountain. We could see the surrounding valleys and it was amazing. The wind was so refreshing and we could see everything. We took some sweet pics but Tristan doesn´t have a comp here so we will have to wait to see.

We got back really late and my feet were real tired. I got a candy bar at an asian shop cause others aren´t open and rested all night.

This weekend prolly my favorite here because I have good friends and did really cool stuff. The weather is beautiful and sunny. I even got sunburned yesterday. Tonight I am gonna explore the gym here and see what sports I can play. They have a bball team that icould join but i don´t know. They aren´t good so it would be easy but meh.

I hope Minnesota is going great and everyone is getting ready for halloween. I will have to see if they sell candy corn here.

Adios!