1936 On the Continent

in Spanish that would see you through would be impossible in the limited space at my disposal; that would require a whole volume. To give a short list and pretend that it includes all you will require in Spain would be to mislead you, and perhaps lead you into trouble. I have travelled in a number of countries whose language I did not know, and perhaps one experience I had in Belgrade will demonstrate that incomplete phrase books can be a snare and a delusion. I left my hotel alone and went for a stroll through the city, noting down the name of each street through which I passed, in case I lost myself. This was, in fact, what happened, but my list of streets did not help me in the least. I thereupon got out my phrase book, looked up the phrase “Will you please direct me to …” and, not trusting my Serbian pronunciation, I wrote this down, together with the names of the streets through which I had passed. The first person I showed this to gave me a fierce scowl and went away. The second assumed a threatening attitude. I then took a taxi back to the hotel—thoughI could ill afford such luxuries—and when I asked the omniscient head porter to interpret the meaning of what I had written down I was appalled to learn that I had addressed a most filthy curse at the two people I had accosted in the street.
    You will find elsewhere in this volume a short list of the
indispensable
Spanish expressions and phrases; but beyond that you must rely on what you pick up as you go along, and, above all, on pantomime and the wholehearted desire of everyone in Spain to help you.
Saragossa
    If you look at the map you will observe that I am taking you on a circular tour in Northern Spain. In fact, this is a tour recommended by the
Patronato Nacional del Turismo
as suitable for the summer season, and I know from experience that it is an excellently planned itinerary. It takes account of weather conditions during the usual holiday months, and it includes a great deal of what you will enjoy seeing in Spain.
    Saragossa, or Zaragoza, is one of the most famous cities in Spain. It is the capital of the province of the same name and was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Aragon. Of course, you know about Saragossa from your history lessons at school and associate it with the name of Charlemagne, who, in 777, was invited by Sheikh Soliman, chief of the Berbers of Catalonia and Aragon, to help him against the Caliph of Córdoba. It was as a sequel to this affair that the famous battle of Roncesvalles took place and the Frankish nobles who fell in it included your old friend “Hruoland, warden of the Breton March,” whom you must often have met in the guise of a prodigy of the Middle Ages named Orlando, Roland, etc.
    But to return to Saragossa. You will be interested to visit the Aljaferia, the palace of the Berber sheikhs and of the kings of Aragon. Its Torreta del Trovador is the traditional prison of Manrico in “Il Trovatore,” while the Audencia was once the residence of the Condes de Luna, one of whom was the villain of the opera.
    Saragossa has a university, which is always interesting to the traveller of imagination, for young university students are always pleased to show you round and they
know
. But if you are not particularly well off see that your visit to Sargossa does not fall between June 24th and 28th or on October 12th, on which dates popular
fiestas
are held and the hotels, which are crowded out, accordingly charge much higher prices than usual. At the same time, the
fiestas
are worth the extra charge. The autumn festival is that of the Virgin of the Pillar, patroness of Saragossa.
    There are two cathedrals and a number of other churches in Saragossa, and the river Ebro, on whose banks the city lies, is picturesque.
    The Antiguo de Lac, on the Calle de los Martires, is an excellent restaurant, while the hotels Oriente (Calle del Coso) and El Sol (Calle Don Alfonso Primero) can be highly recommended if you wish to spend a day or two in Saragossa.
Barcelona
    Barcelona is a few hours’ train journey from Saragossa on the Mediterranean coast. It is the biggest city not only in Spain—bigger than the capital—but also in the whole Mediterranean basin. One of the best things about Barcelona is the fact that its climate is pleasant all the year round. That it is beautifully situated goes without saying, and its busy port is an inexhaustible delight to any visitor from a comparatively cold country. It is one of the places