Zaragosa and Special News

Zaragoza, and Special News

Have you noticed how many laundry photos I post?  Well, if you could see clearly all the way down this building, you could not help but notice it is laundry day in Zaragoza.  I'm just fascinated how people hang their "dirty laundry" for everyone to see.  Kind of like Facebook.

It reminds me of something similar in Washington DC.

In order to make their outdoor cafe look more outdoors, they painted an outdoor scene, outdoor.

The only way to get good pictures of the Basilica in Zaragoza was to cross The Ebro River.  The place is enormous! It is such a spectacular sight that I took hundreds of shots from every angle.  It was still winter, so the trees are bare.  I can only imagine how beautiful it would be in the Spring or Summer.

The tower here is the Cathedral of El Salvador, or La Seo.

An amazing, very very old bridge, Puente de Piedra.

There was first a Roman bridge here.  It was rebuilt in the 12th century,
and then rebuilt again in the 15th century.

The Cathedral tower.

There was a little flooding going on here.

That amazing bridge.

It is sometimes called the Lions Bridge because of these fellas guarding the entrance on both ends.

This is a monument marking the place where Christian martyrs 
were hung from the bridge by the Muslims. Sounds like today.

He could not resist.

The Zaragoza Cathedral.  It was really beautiful, but they didn't allow photos inside.

Zaragoza was a huge surprise.  It had the grandest Plaza Mayor of any city we have been in.

The Cathedral is at one end, the Basilica in the middle, and and another church and Roman ruins at the other end. A full kilometer in length! In between were beautiful fountains like this one, complete with great statues.

Like I have said before, the Spanish are short people.

The streets running off the Plaza Mayor.

These are the doors for the tall people.

The Cathedral at the end, government buildings to the left, and feed the birds in the center.  I think that this building on the left houses some incredible Roman ruins.  This pictures I've seen makes it look like a whole city underneath this one.  We were very short on time, and plan to return so we can visit some of the many palaces and Roman ruins that the city is famous for.

The Basilica of Our Lady of El Pilar that I took pictures 
of from across the river.  Again, no pictures allowed. Too bad.  It was 
magnificent, even though there is a beautiful Cathedral in the same plaza.

Our underground parking.  That look on Greg's face is saying, 
"Hurry up.  I have to find a bathroom!"

The Cathedral has different facades from the different eras it was built, and expanded.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Pilar

Some of the towers on The Basilica.

The opposite end of the plaza.

Streets off the plaza.

This was really a beautiful fountain and monument.

This church has a very crooked steeple.  It reminded me of the leaning tower of Pisa.

The Roman ruins at the end of the road.

Roman wall, and ruins.

A cute frog fountain.

The problem ... if you press the button for a drink, he only pees.

Caesar Augustus

The Marketplace.

The Roman Wall.

The Ebro River divides the old city from the new city.  

The new city is on the left, and the old on the right.

This beautiful sunset on the way home.

Home sweet home.  Now if you made it this far, you get to hear our EXCITING NEWS.  President Somoza, our Temple President, asked us if we would like to extend our mission.  We thought about it, and the invitation was just too tempting.  We will now be released in April instead of December.  We are very excited to remain a little longer in Madrid.  It will be hard to be away from family longer, but we are so privileged to be here, and appreciate the President's confidence in us. It will also give our family a longer opportunity to come to Madrid.  We are planning a wild trip through Europe after we are released, and before we come home.  Anyone want to join us?  Also, President Somoza is having trouble getting American couples to serve here.  I cannot understand why.  It is the greatest mission ever. If you know couples that are interested in Madrid, and they are fun, capable people,  and speak Spanish, let us know.