Madrid and Toledo: We start the day with a phenomenal breakfast (can you imagine roasted veggies, tomatoes & onions, cheese from sheep’s milk, this incredible thin smoked ham that I can’t get enough of, sangria, you name it) then it was onto the bus tour of Madrid that I got on video. The best part about it was: no walking! Then we went to Prado Art Museum. I guess I just don’t get art. Oh well. I got some interesting pictures. Some of the stuff was pretty good. Then we went to the bus station to go to Toledo, which is a medieval fortress. OMG! This place was incredible. My heart was pounding the entire time. It’s just sooooo ancient. I took a buttload of pictures, but then I just bought the friggin book. Their pictures are way better, plus there are things I didn’t get a chance to see and descriptions. I bought a genuine Majorica pearl necklace and earrings. I’ve never spent this much money on jewelry before, but it’s absolutely stunning. I’ve been wearing it non-stop since I bought it. THEN, we came back to the hotel to drop off our goods (it was 9:30) and at 10 went to hunt down this little Spanish restaurant that our tour guide had recommended. She told us to ask for someone specifically (Pablo), so we did. It was small and quaint but the food was incredible. The guy kept bringing out bottles of water and at the end of the meal brought out some apple liquor. I said I didn’t want any but he laughed, shook his head, and gave me some anyway. OMG! It was sooooooooooo good. I had two little shot glasses of it. I ordered two desserts (flan and strawberries and cream). 1 dessert came with the meal, so you’d think I’d have to pay for the other one. Nope. The guy totally hooked us up. He didn’t charge for the water, extra desserts, Brandon’s dessert, or the liquor. So we gave him a huge tip. I guess that’s the service you get when you name drop. So, around 12:30, Brandon and I rolled back into the hotel.

Segovia: We visited a 2,000 year old aqueduct, the Alcázar castle, and a glorious cathedral. I have never seen anything like it. To stand next to something that old is just so overwhelming and humbling. Then we walked to the Alcázar castle and got to see all the rooms of the King and Queen: their bedroom, the armory, etc. Then it was up the towers to the top of the castle. OMG! 152 steps up the narrow winding stairway...very difficult to do when people are trying to come down at the same time. Not to mention the steps are higher than normal steps. It was totally worth it though. The view of the surrounding countryside was phenomenal. Then it was off to the cathedral. Each room was more elaborate than the next. So much gold went into these rooms…it’s unbelievable!

 

 

Just a small sampling of the 100s of pictures I have

(Pics to be added again. Have to scale them down. They are eating up too much space on my site)