A brief visit to Spain to finish things off

After a stressful 36hrs of travel, a series of late trains and an over night in Strasbourg I finally made it to Madrid at almost midnight Saturday. Jeremy, my friend Melissa’s husband, met me at the station, from there we went straight back to their house and straight to get some much needed rest.

Sunday morning we met up with Andrea and Josh to go visit two castles in surrounding villages.

First we visited Coca Castle, simplistic but they didn’t have much of any barriers, so we were fairly free to roam and explore.

We even climbed around in some of the unblocked passageways in the fortress walls. Unfortunately they all lead to dead ends or piles of garbage left by partying locals

Next we went to Segovia, where after a very American lunch of McDonald’s, Andrea and I went on a tour of Alcàzar de Segovia castle and tower. The outer design concept was one of the castles Disney took inspiration from for the castles in his movies and parks.

The ceiling in one room was shaped like the inside of the bottom of a boat.

Monday was a very quiet relaxing day, because I had no plans and Melissa and Jeremy had an appointment for baby Neomi. I went to San Lorenzo for a late lunch but didn’t really tour around much because lots is closed on Mondays, in August. But when I met up with Melissa and Jeremy we stopped to see the Silla de Felipe II on the way home.

Silla de Felipe II (literally the seat of Felipe II) is a patch of rock formations on a ledge that looks out over the horizon and across to the next mountain range across the valley. It is rumored to have been the spot where Felipe II sat to direct/observe the construction of the Monastery in San Lorenzo. However, that rumor is likely just a story designed to attract tourists. But it’s an awesome view either way. (the bigger/longer brown stone wall in the front of the town is the Monastery)

The next two days Melissa and Jeremy had more appointments with Neomi, so I toured around with their friend Alicia (from Indianna).

On our first day we went to Toledo. A lovely village famous for its handcrafted swords and pottery. Famous swords, such as the ones used in Lord of the Rings, were designed and crafted in Toledo.

BIn Toledo, Jeremy and Melissa told us to find specific shops, one a sword shop and the other a pottery shop. And to try to talk to the owners, one they could speak some English and two they were really cool to talk to.

In the sword shop we found the 3 fingered man who showed us the pocket knives he handcrafted himself and explained many of them. He had ones with wood handles, metal handles, with fabric coverings, ones that were ribbed, even handles made from animal horns or antlers. He also found it highly amusing that Alicia and I lacked the thumb strength and finesse to close some of the knives with locks.

When we found the pottery shop, we thought I was a cute little shop. Then the owner turned on the light and lead us down into the basement where there was a long room with every wall filled nearly floor to ceiling with hand crafted pottery. He also smashed his products against each other as a means of showing off that the product wasn’t breakable. They are also dishwasher and microwave safe

  While in Toledo we also visited the Cathedral and one of the Synagogues.

We also had lunch in this little pub that served traditional bocadillos (like a sandwich but served on a rustic baguette-style loaf) and a house-made Tinto de verano (a traditional Spanish summer drink, resembling sangria). Ironically this small pub was run by a German fellow who we had a nice chat with while we ate because at 2pm while the country was beginning their siesta, we were hungry.

On my last day, and Alicia and I’s second day touring together, we went to San Lorenzo so that we could tour the Monastery/Castle (they are within the same fortress).

We also wondered around Felipe II Park, where we found an outdoor fitness park.

Thursday morning before I caught my train to Toulouse, Melissa and Jeremy showed me around Mardrid city centre a little.

Puerta del Sol is the exact middle of Madrid province and city, the place where all the roads in Madrid begin.

The town hall, the recent dictator put a lot of money into amping the building up.
The Plaza Mayor where the Spanish Inquasition took place. The world’s oldest continuously running restaurant. Opened in 1725 and still retains the original 18th century firewood oven.