Segovia

Hello all,

Today we traveled to the city of Segovia which is about an hour from Madrid. It is an ancient city with amazing sights. The first thing we saw when driving in on the bus was the aqueduct. It's a 2,000 year old structure built by the Romans. When it was constructed they didn't use mortar or any substance to help it stay together so it is truly a miracle/awe that they were able to place rocks (aka freaking huge stones) together and create a water system that at one point significantly helped the city, and today stands as a magnificent tourist attraction. As we made our way through the town, similar to Toledo in the sense that the streets are cobblestone/narrow and hills everywhere, we passed through the town square where a beautiful cathedral is and then at the opposite end of town was the castle!! It was one of two castles that inspired Walt Disney to create Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland. The tour was interesting, not as decorated as the Cathedral in Toledo, but the outside construction was beautiful and had great views of the city. There was a wishing well on the back ledge that I tossed .05 euros in (if it's based on how much you toss in my wish won't be coming true! haha) Overall it's a cool city that I'm so glad I saw, but not my favorite of places so far. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia where Picasso and Salvidor Dali are showcased.

Still debating what to do with the rest of my time in Madrid, all 14 hours of it. The timing of meals in Spain I'm finally adjusting to (dinner around 9 or 10 is still strange) but the food itself I'm not sure about. It seems we have a love/hate relationship; some things I love, but it hates me and other things I'm "ehhh" about but has no effect. We'll see how adventurous I get within the next 3 months. Off to Bilbao tomorrow!! By the way - I have taken roughly 100 pictures so far, all of which are posted on my facebook account. I don't know who is reading this (I sent the link to my parents and asked them to spread the word) so if we aren't friends on facebook I am going to try to figure out how to upload some to here or create an account on a photo sight. Not sure how all this works yet.

Adios,
Amanda