Road Trip Day 1 - Barcelona to Zaragoza
By Arnd
On the flight from Palma to Barcelona, a BMI over 15 is already too much. Not that I'm in that range... But it really seems like Air Europa ordered a special version of the 737-800 where they wrote "extra narrow seats" into the specs for Boeing.
So there I sat, between a perpetually phone-talking Spaniard of North African origin in sweatpants and gold chain, who found his salvation in chatting into or at his phone from every conceivable angle. Always claiming the right armrest in the process. And a Spanish elderly gentleman who in a telenovela would probably have played the kind and wise Don. But in real life was guarding his left armrest with neither kindness nor wisdom. So I folded my arms tightly around my body. And enjoyed the resulting warmth in the armpit area.
Over the course of the flight, however, I managed some territorial gains. To the visible displeasure of my fellow travelers. I wonder what actually happens when, let's say, less peaceful citizens meet each other on such a plane...
Anyway, the flight from Palma to Barcelona is barely more than 35 minutes long... Then I needed another half hour or so to get to the car, which my colleague had kindly parked there for me: A classic Jeep in Rubicon trim with a few testosterone-laden additions. A magnificent specimen!
I set off with my older daughter. And we decided to drive to Zaragoza. From Barcelona that's about 300 kilometers west to the magnificent capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Aragon and Zaragoza (something like a merger of two federal states in Germany).
The road leads through somewhat monotonous landscapes, where a main purpose of making a living seems to be partially dismantling mountains to produce yellow bricks from the quarried sandstone. Scenery-wise, let's say moderately beautiful, and the light on this humid June day wasn't exactly conducive to a positive perception of the surroundings either.
At some point we exit the highway because I'm getting hungry. Nearby is a city called Lleida, which according to Wikipedia was already an important place in pre-Roman times. I'd equated that with "beautiful place," but that was a misinterpretation.
We drive around the town a bit. And the further it winds up toward the former cathedral La Seu Vella, the more beautiful it gets. But somehow our enthusiasm isn't enough to leave the car at now 35 degrees, and we decide to continue on more rural roads.
We search Google Maps for a restaurant near our route with a rating of at least 4.5 stars. No luck. Then we simply decide to take a look at the two candidates we have to choose from. And spontaneously go for the first one, a Braseria on the Autovia del Este, the A-2.
Let me sum it up quickly: The owners have actually created a nice little paradise right next to the "highway" that you can see shimmering through on the left in the picture. Because of the heat we had to sit inside.
In the air-conditioned dining room, we both ordered the daily menu for 12 euros, both choosing spaghetti Bolognese as a starter, which brought back nostalgic memories of Spaghetti Miracoli from the days when KRAFT still packed that bitter and sharp-tasting Parmesan (?) cheese powder into the boxes.
Then sardines with homemade fries arrived on the wax-tablecloth-covered house table. Well fried, perfectly done, and the fries were simply great!
For dessert we chose ice cream. And received a frozen ice cream cone à la Cornetto in a budget version. The fries were, as expected in Spain, really good, the sardines were well fried. All in all perfectly fine and absolutely fair for the price.
In Zaragoza we had chosen the Hotel Sauce. The owners actually mean the sauce, which in Spanish is normally called salsa. It's a 2-star hotel right in the center that caught our eye because it has a café with its own patisserie.
We checked in at the small reception and told the poor guy that we had booked on Booking five minutes ago. By the way, for about 70 euros per room. Another one came to help our receptionist. Together they deliberated which rooms would be best for us. That had never happened to me before. I was then advised to park this big car in a different parking garage. I had dark premonitions from my last road trip, where the "associated" parking garages were always miles from the hotel...
We bring the luggage to the rooms and arrange to meet in the café. There the receptionist, in his current role as waiter, recommends I move the car right away. So I squeeze behind the wheel and follow the directions to the underground parking garage. By the way, I believe that's a real Spanish specialty. Not only do we have the highest per-capita concrete consumption here. We also consistently put underground parking garages under everything. Whether there are cathedrals above or whatever else is no obstacle for the obviously technically extremely skilled construction planners.
Now for the showstopper. I walk up the stairs from the underground garage and find myself in front of "El Pilar," or more formally the Basílica del Pilar. Wow!
I took countless photos, but with my travel lens this sense of scale simply can't be captured without crazy distortions. So I've embedded two images from Wikipedia below for you. In short, it's a massive Baroque church "with colorful domes, a famous altar honoring the Virgin Mary, and frescoes by Goya" (Google Maps).
And because that's apparently not enough, the crazy Spaniards built the Catedral del Salvador right next door, a "cathedral with Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque elements and a museum for medieval tapestries" (Google Maps).
Right next to it is the Goya Museum. Obviously there you'll find the works of the famous graphic artist and sculptor — I can manage that one without Google. In general: this Zaragoza is overflowing with museums. If you want to properly torment your children, just spend a week on vacation here. And visit 1-2 museums every day. Only you'll have to skip the Museo del Fuego y de los Bomberos — that one might actually be exciting, since it's about fire and firefighters, which would be a dud for child tormentors...
And indeed it's only a 2-minute walk back to the hotel. From there, after a short break, we head out to the restaurant Carnivoro. On the way we begin to understand why Northern Spain is famous for its culinary culture.
We're welcomed very warmly and seated between a Dutch and a French couple. We want to order. But the nice patron cuts down our order because it's way too much food. We're hungry but trust him!
It starts with a colorful light summer salad with grilled shrimp. Very delicious. Spot on. The mango dressing doesn't get in the way at all; it actually underscores the composition really well. Exceptionally tasty!
Then the crispy chicken, like upscale chicken nuggets. No disappointment, no surprise. Better than McDonald's. But not a revelation either. Then comes a course that I didn't photograph for you because it looks terrible. All our neighbors had already had it before us. And we'd been wondering what it could possibly be. A medium-sized bowl full of medium-brown mush. With presumably potato sticks floating around in it. On top, two quail egg yolks. The waiter then stirs those into the mush with incredible care and devotion.
The whole thing is actually the ordered "fried eggs in mushroom sauce." Doesn't look like it. But tastes amazing. Though not exactly light summer cuisine — more of a genuine heavyweight dish for Spanish rainy days. We only manage a few spoonfuls. But we're already quite full when the "German bratwursts with 4 types of mustard" roll in. The lowlight of the evening. The sausages are good. But very finely ground. And not seared sharply enough. The mustard varieties are personally unnecessary for me, but I'm very conservative about that ;)
So in summary: In the atmospheric street lighting, a great spot for a lovely dinner. Especially outside. But also a nice interior design inside and a place that invites you to feel at home. The cuisine is definitely good. Has clever ideas. Weaknesses in the details. But look at the bill: we stayed under 60 euros. And the quality was great for that! The Carnivoro is simply a wonderful place to spend a nice evening!
Alright, that's it for today. Tomorrow we continue!
Best regards, Arnd