A History of a Holiday in Fifteen Trees – Ten

After our stay with the family, the plan was to wander back across Spain to the ferry in Santander, taking in Zaragoza on the way. Then we found out that Zaragoza was quietly sizzling away in temperatures of 37 degrees daily. Sightseeing temperatures? Perhaps not. So we cut our stay down to a single night- long enough to convince us that we must return to this city packed with ecclesiastical architecture, a Moorish past, a Roman heritage, and the works of Goya too.

I’ll show you just one of the city’s must-see sights, the Basílica del Pilar. It’s not even Zaragoza’s cathedral. It’s views like this, conveniently framed by trees, that tell us we must return.

For today’s tree though, let’s look upward. We were enjoying the multitude of swifts which zipped and ricocheted across the sky, just as they had in Premià. And look what’s included itself in the shot. A tree. A small tree – offering some apartment dweller a morsel of shade from that ever-present sun.

My featured photo shows a cooling city centre public garden where Malcolm had a rest as I went off on a small investigative tour, and came across a special site which I’ll share with you tomorrow.

TreeSquare

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

40 thoughts on “A History of a Holiday in Fifteen Trees – Ten”

  1. oh wow that is warm – but how fabulous you have seen enough to tempt you back. In some ways I think that’s the best way to discover a place – dip your toe in and then return

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    1. Yes. You have more of an idea what you want to make a bee-line for (and in this case, which hotel to avoid too. Our only semi-disaster in quite some time)

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  2. I’m enjoying this series very much, Margaret, thank you for sharing your holiday in this creative way. I’ve always wanted to visit Spain, even learning a bit of Spanish at evening classes, but somehow have never made it. Not even when I worked in Plymouth and could have easily hopped onto the ferry to Santander.

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    1. Oh, I do hope you can put your Spanish to good use soon. Virtually every town, however small has something rewarding to explore, and the countryside comes in every category imaginable.

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  6. You are back! Hope you had a wonderful break with your family! Zaragoza looks wonderful, I hope you get a chance to return. 37 degrees is definitely too hot. Here in London it was 30 degrees for a while and even that took out most of my energy.

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  8. Dry heat is definitely better, but 37 is hot 🔥 I wish I had been able to drive through Europe when I was younger. I love road trips for discovering interesting places.

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  11. Looks fabulous, Margaret! Love the little tree too. We sizzle a bit, but usually not as hot as that, thank heavens. They’re here, so I’m grinning away to myself. Time to sort breakfast for the youngster. Even Mick’s up and going!

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  12. Zaragoza another fine city we used to see the signposts for as my sister and I sat in the back and my father raced on down to the Costas from Santander. Later in life he and my mother visited and I remember him being incredibly impressed and loving it. Such a pity he couldn’t have been taken us as young teenagers, my sister and I have never been beach people.

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    1. If it was high summer your father might have been right. We northern Europeans may not fare well sightseeing in such high temperatures. We WILL be back though. It tantalised us by offering us so many stunning exteriors.

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  13. Fine pics of Zaragoza where I once stayed hundreds of years ago. I know I travelled there and back by coach which was a tidy distance. Seem to remember a night in Lyons on the way. I can’t really separate out my memories of the Cathedral and the Basilica del Pilar. But will I ever get granted the chance to go back and sort out one from the other? Lovely photos and stunning colours, and well done for not forgetting the trees.

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