Submitted by Shannon Wade on the 2018 spring semester program in Barcelona, Spain…
My first weekend excursion in Spain was to the beautiful historic city of Zaragoza. It was interesting to hear everyone speaking Spanish instead of Catalan which I have become so used to hearing in Barcelona. In Zaragoza, we visited a few churches and a basilica in the city center. At the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, you could see the entire city of Zaragoza from the top of the steeple. But what was truly incredible was seeing the remains of a Roman theater that was found in 1972. We also visited a palace called Aljaferia that was created with both Islamic and Christian architecture styles and artworks. Spain is a country with so many cultural and religious influences and it was amazing to see how much of the Roman and Islamic art, styles and ruins are still preserved and cherished throughout Zaragoza.
