This morning when we woke up I was very happy to see this farmers market in the plaza outside our hotel. We bought some fresh fruit and some very good pastries.
We sat outside the cathedral and ate our yummy breakfast while some of the sellers organized their tables.
By now our feet were killing us!
The first stop for us this morning was the
Cathedral.
Here is one of the many skulls I found inside the cathedrals.
This particular cathedral is know for this extreme example of Gothic art.
We found this great water fountain for us to wash our hands. We did notice that there are not many drinking fountains in Spain. The few drinking fountains that we did find were water coming out of a statue. Here we are walking from the
cathedral(which you can see in the background) to the
Alcazar.
This
Alcazar has been used (like many other big palaces) for a few different uses.
In the Middle ages this was the home to the monarchs of
Castile,
then it was a prison for 200 years - (you can't tell from the picture how huge this really is) try to get across this mote-
and then a Royal Artillery school until it burned in 1862.
Now it is a museum.
The ceilings were so
elaborate.
To get to the top of the
Alcazar we had to climb 152 steps, but it was worth the view.
You can see the cathedral in the background.
Today was a busy day. After lunch we drove to La Granja and walked around Spain's mini Versaille. We enjoyed the art inside as well as the gardens outside.
Here is Daniel's same smile from his high school graduation picture. I thought I would include it to bring back those good memories.
The gardens were so peaceful and the weather was almost too cold. The colors from the trees were such a dramatic combination with the huge bronze statues. It was a perfect afternoon for Daniel and I.
It was 6pm when we took these last pictures.
We came back to Segovia and had a nice dinner by the aqueduct.
This is what I wrote in my journal for Oct. 8:
After El Escorial we drove into Segovia, arriving fairly late, which is where we stayed for 2 nights. Before we went into the Cathedral we happened to run into an open air market that was in the main square. One of the desserts I had was very yummy. It was a coconut covered cake-like cookie filled with caramel. :)
We ate our newly found treats and went into the cathedral and once again were impressed by the MANY hidden secrets. This particular cathedral seemed to have more skulls than I remember at other cathedrals. I became a little obsessed trying to find all the skulls. I learned on one audio guide that a skull can represent guilt. HMMM.... that was something to think about as I would see paintings of Priest's looking at a large book with a skull on it. HMMMM...
Then we walked across town to the Alcazar, of course picking up a little snack on the way. Before we even started the tour our feet were killing us. Daniel was saying how different all this walking is for him. He usually is sitting at work all day. So we were both looking for somewhere to sit at any point in time!
After the Alacazar we tried to find our car, but had no success. So we decided to get something to eat for lunch. I had a baguette frances (scambled egg on a baguette) and I can't remember what Daniel had. Then we went to the hotel and asked the lady how to get to the car. Of course it was very close, we were looking for the car in the streets in front of the hotel, but the car was in a street behind the hotel!
We finally made it to our car and took a 10 minute drive to La Granja. La Granja is known as Spain's mini Versaille built by Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV. Once again we listened to a great audio guide. There are so many things one would miss if they did not listen to the audio guide. For example, in La Granja there is a lot of oriental art. I was wondering why, when the narrator explained that Philip V's wife was fascinated with the Orient, so she would go visit and bring back art and statues. Very interesting! Then we walked around these HUGE gardens and water fountains. By now it was almost closing time and we were practically the only people around. The weather was brisk and the leaves were changing color and falling to the ground. It was so picturesque from the bronze statues in the water fountains to the swans swimming. After the gardens we had another ham and cheese baguette and a delicious tender pastry.
We drove back to Segovia and parked our car with ease... miracle. Then we walked down to the old Roman Aqueduct and had a relaxing dinner on the main plaza. By now we were learning that everything that is put on your table is charged to you. So when they gave us bread, anchovies, olives and water we had the waiter take it all back. The waiter does not expect tips (nor does he work for them), so we did not feel bad asking him to do this. Instead we had a great paella dinner. The night before we were burned by this tactic of bringing food to the table that we did not ask for. The night before we paid over $7 for 2 pieces of bread and 2 pats of butter. So yes, the next night we told the waiter we did not want bread, butter, anchovies, or olives. After a stroll along the aqueduct we went back to the hotel. This was the only hotel we stayed in 2 nights. Next time I plan our trip I will plan on staying 2 nights in each hotel.
The next morning we found a great little store to buy breakfast. We then drove back to La Granja to see Philip V's crystal factory. This was a great museum where we found displaying all sorts of glass from many many years ago. Then we watched some men blow crystal goblets. It was fun to watch. It made me think of the Chahule glass blower DVD Olivia and Sam love to watch. This museum was much different than the cathedral and palace tours we had done the previous days. So I really enjoy this. Then Daniel bought me a beautiful crystal water pitcher. Thank you Hubby!!
We drove out of La Granja thru a beautiful mountain range and came down into Madrid. The entire drive down was so pretty, and Daniel and I had a nice conversation. It was a great way to begin the end of our trip.
