I have been raving about the dinners at Finca Prats Resort in Lleida but they also have excellent breakfasts. We like that they have English/American breakfasts and not just pastries and cold cuts. As a non-sweet eater the breakfast pickings are pretty slim sometimes.
Today our sightseeing is focused on Huesca in the northeast of Spain. Huesca pre-dates The Roman era. It was conquered by the Moors and repatriated to Christian Spain in the 12th century. It is the burial place of at least two Kings of Aragon. Huesca saw heavy fighting in the Spanish Civil War. Now it is a quiet town of about 52,000 people.
John and I have a really hard time finding a parking spot. We drive around and around getting caught in some old sections of town where the streets are barely wider than the car. We are about to give up when we find an underground garage at their transit center. There are quite a few unused spaces. Huescans must not like to pay for parking.
The patron Saint of Huesca is St. Lawrence who was born here. He was martyred by being burnt on a grill. In our wandering s we come across a church which is dedicated to St. Lawrence so we stop in for a look.
The interior of the basilica is done in a classical style having been built in 17th and 18th century. That puts it out of my strike zone. There’s a painting of St. Lawrence being burnt on the grill over the altar which is badly in need of cleaning. The inlaid grill on the floor is a nice touch, though.
From here we make our way over to the Abbey of Saint Peter the Old (San Pedro Viejo). This is a very old church founded by Benedictine monks in the 12th century. We go in and ask the church minder if they have pamphlets about the church in English. Sorry, no. So we figure we will stumble about trying to find things of interest. The church minder has, in the meantime, been ruffling through his files and comes up with a commentary on the church in English. He and we sort of talk about the church. He turns on lights for us and tells us to be sure to see the cloister.
The real deal is outside in the cloister. The capitals on the columns are resplendent with early carvings of the Old and New Testaments and the struggle of man against evil. They are done in a very early style which is to me reminiscent of the Longobards in Italy. The figures are primitive. Some of the capitals have been restored.
We have spent a long and productive morning in Huesca and it is time for lunch. I say to John that I cannot face another lunch where it takes forever and we have too much to eat. So we set out to try to find a simple sandwich in a cafe where you can sit down to eat it.
Down by the city hall we find a place that has a large seating area and a sign saying that they have a selection of sandwiches. John has me sit at a table while he goes to order some lunch. He orders two ham and cheese sandwiches (because he knows the Spanish for this) and two beers. Ah, what pleasure to have a sandwich for lunch with no one hovering over us.
After this we head back to Lleida to pack because we are leaving in the morning for Barcelona airport. Later, I am ashamed to say, we eat dinner at a normal time at a nearby McDonald’s. It’s pretty poor even for McDonald’s but with enough ketchup it tastes pretty okay.
The next morning we head for Barcelona and our flights back to SFO. We are, of course, screened thoroughly once at the security check and once again at an enhanced security check where we have to take our shoes and such off and get wanded over and wiped with tissues for traces of who knows what. This happened to me on our last trip as well. I must look shifty. It does seem to me that their efforts might be better spent with someone who is not a 70 year old grandmother.
From Barcelona we fly to Philadelphia where we have to go through the whole security routine again. Then on to SFO on a very turbulent flight. At the end is our sweet Sarah who has come to pick us up. I had a mostly good time on this vacation but I am glad to be home.
