| I took 817 pictures in Spain.
That is a big number.
Thank goodness for digital photography.
First round:
Saturday, December 17 - Hotel Ópera, Madrid
On every single cart in the Madrid airport:
The flight there was ugghhhhh. So long. But finally we were on the ground in Madrid and we successfully communicated to the cab driver how to get to the hotel. Amazing and crazy. It was snowing in Zurich, but in Madrid the sky was blue and it was about 55 degrees.
A couple views out the window, Hotel Opera, Madrid.
We were dead tired, so, of course, we decided to go museuming. We went to the Museo del Arte Thyssen-Bornemisza and also the Reina Sofia, where Guernica is. It was awesome, but I was reeeeeally tired. When we got back, I fell asleep and slept for twelve hours, starting at 7:45 PM.
Seen outside a museum in Madrid. The sign says "SE RUEGA NO PISAR EL CESPED. GRACIAS"
In case you were wondering, that means don't walk on the grass. Not what my dad and I thought it meant at first glance.
Day two, the 18th, we did a ton of stuff in Madrid. I didn't take any pictures, though. In the morning we went to the Rastro, which is basically a huge flea market. They close the streets every Sunday morning and vendors set up. It used to be a place where you could get really good deals and bargain, but they don't bargain anymore and not all the prices are good. I was really cold, so I got a hat. There was also a marijuana thong for sale, among other things.
We ate lunch in this little restaurant near the hotel. Most restaurants are bars in the front, where you can get tapas, which is what we did for lunch that day, and they have real restaurants in the back. After lunch, we went to the Palacio Real and walked around a bunch. Then we did the Prado and the Parque del Retiro, which was GORGEOUS. Grabbed a quick dinner and then went to the Plaza Mayor. There were a bunch more stalls there selling stuff, though it was different stuff. Santa Claus there is sometimes wearing green instead of red, so we bought a green Santa Claus Christmas ornament. At night it was really cool, though a lot of the stalls were cloesd. Then we went and got churros y chocolate at a really popular place, the Chocolatería de San Ginés. I actually didn't care for it all that much. The chocolate was like really really rich hot chocolate syrup, and the churros got old after about three of them. But it was still fun, despite the smoke.
Everyone smokes in Spain, or so it seems. But somebody told us that there was a law passed, sort of an indoor clean air act, that went into effect yesterday--the day we left. Smoking is prohibited in bars, restaurants, and a bunch of other places.
On the 19th, we got our rental car in Madrid. Instead of whatever we were supposed to get, we got upgraded to this sexy Alpha Romeo. Pictures of it at some point. When we were on the highway headed towards Segovia, we discovered it had a fucking GPS navigation system! So getting around was a lot easier than expected. In Segovia we did the Alcázar (another word for castillo, castle) and the catedral, standard fare for any Spanish city. Driving along the highway you see old castles all over the place. The castle in Segovia, though, was the one that the Disney World castle was supposedly based on. I'll do pictures of that in the next round. What I do have right now are pictures of the acueducto (aqueduct, in case you couldn't figure that out) in Segovia! It was done by the Romans.. a long time ago, and the idea was that it would carry water for several miles (forget how many) downhill the whole way, filtering it along the way. Hence, beautiful pictures.
And yes, the sky really was that blue.
Shadows...
This was what all the street signs looked like everywhere, not just in Segovia. Little tile things on the sides of buidlings. They made nagivation especially difficult, but they were pretty!
Omg the blue sky. And that thing up there is a virgin Mary, I think. She's not up there all the time; it was for Christmas.
We spent the night that night and the next in Ávila.
That's all for now! Many many more to come. Next batch will have the castle/cathedral pictures from Segovia, as well as the plaza mayor in Salamanca. Maybe some Ávila pictures too. |
