Essential Spanish phrases

Registration on the municipal roll at the ayuntamiento. The single most important piece of paper in Spain — healthcare, schooling and your TIE all depend on it.

The prior appointment required for almost every government office. Zaragoza's queues are shorter than the Mediterranean coast's, but you still cannot walk in.

The foreigner identity number and the physical card that carries it. The number comes first and everything else needs it.

A licensed administrative agent who handles bureaucracy on your behalf. Not a luxury in Spain — most residents use one and it is money well spent.

The dry north-westerly that funnels down the Ebro valley, sometimes for days. It is the defining fact of Zaragoza's winter and it makes 5°C feel like nothing you have met at 5°C before.

The warren of narrow lanes behind Plaza del Pilar where the tapas bars are. Not a street you can find on a map by name — ask for it and someone will point.

Young Aragonese lamb, the region's protected speciality and the thing to order when you do not know what to order.

The mid-morning second breakfast around 10:30 — a bocadillo, a beer and a coffee. Distinct from lunch, which is at 2pm and is the real meal.

Two words for an Aragonese person. 'Maño' also works as an affectionate 'mate' between friends and you will hear it constantly.

Both the basilica on the river and the October festival built around it — nine days that stop the city, with the Ofrenda de Flores as the centrepiece.

The flower offering on 12 October, when hundreds of thousands of people in regional dress queue for hours to lay flowers into an enormous mantle. It is the single biggest day in the Aragonese year.

The single European emergency number for police, fire and ambulance. Free from any phone, and English-speaking operators are usually available.