First Days in Zaragoza

Hola!!
I finally got to Zaragoza at noon yesterday after two flights, two taxi trips, one train ride and about 18 hours of travel. I barely slept on the flight from Miami to Madrid, and so I was extremely tired. All I did yesterday was talk to my exchange advisor and walk around campus and the city for a few hours. Then I slept till 7 am.
While I felt really lame, going to bed early and rising early too, it was probably a good plan because it meant I got to see the city before 10 am, which will probably be a rare occurrence this semester. I went to the bakery to get some bread and then to the market for jamon and cheese. I also picked up a little produce and my favorite drink ever Fanta Naranja. The mercado is SO beautiful and the vendors were all very nice. My taxi driver explained the architecture to me last night but I was too tired to pay much attention.
Another interesting factoid from my taxista, Zaragoza was originally founded by Ceasar Augusta, check out the lovely statue, and the city was named after him. Once the city was in Arab control, the name changed to Saragusta, the Arab bastardization of the original name. When the city came into control of the Catholics, the Arab name was heard by Christian ears as Zaragoza, and that name still stands.
After I wandered around a little more, bought a new phone, and ate my lunch from the market, I decided to hit the streets again. I went to the Basilica de Pilar, built on the site where the virgin Mary is said to have appeared miraculously on top of a pillar. It was huge and the outside was surrounded by various modern sculptures. My favorite was the big globe. Inside, there were a number of Goya paintings and a place where you can kiss the pillar. I also went to a more modern supermarket that had cool wheeling baskets and a counter of ham legs. In case you didn't know, Spaniards love cured ham. It's in pizza, eggs, sanwiches, even McDonalds sells these ham sandwiches and I got a lasagna once with strips of this ham instead of beef or vegetables.
Besides groceries and a phone, I also bought a bus card and went to the Corte Ingles, which is like the biggest department store ever just to browse. I probably walked for about 5 or 6 hourse today and never needed the bus. Yesterday I only walked about 2 or 3 and took taxis and buses when I got lost. I'm pretty well oriented now, and I've looked at 2 apartments so far. I'm scheduled to see one more tomorrow and have emailed about 6 people who put out ads on the city website. I'm really anxious to find a place. Everyone in the hostel is middle aged and Spanish. Also, one lady in my room smells like she hasn't bathed in a few days. But I guess it's part of the experience. Hopefully I'll also meet with my academic advisor and get the ball rolling on classes. I found out yesterday that they don't start for two weeks! Oh well, more time to explore. I'm thinking about maybe heading to Rome on a Ryanair flight for a few days but all that depends on how fast I settle on a place.
Stay tuned for (hopefully soon) pictures of my new room!