Madrid/Segovia

My weekend in Madrid has been the craziest one yet! Not only did I fit most of the major sightseeing in a weekend, I also took a small day-trip to Segovia, a tiny city 30 minutes north of Madrid. Here's a lowdown of my weekend:

• My roommate Katie & I took a bus to Madrid—it was only 35€ roundtrip, so much cheaper than flying! The 6+ ride was not so fun but, once again, the gorgeous Spanish countryside made up for the uncomfortable ride.
• We were lucky enough to have our friend Ardena help us out ALL weekend in Madrid, from housing to public transportation to sightseeing. Because she's grown up in the area, she helped us do everything as efficient as possible; there would have been NO way to finish it all without her help!
• Our first visit in Madrid was to El Palacio Real, the official residence of King Juan Carlos I & family. Although they don't really live there, the palace is used for important meetings & ceremonies. The architecture & design inside the building were breathtaking, but pictures were not allowed.
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• There were soldiers dressed in camouflage & holding huge guns outside of various buildings in Madrid. I thought this was so odd so I took a picture of them (see below) & then proceeded to get yelled at by the men. Let me tell you something, there is nothing scarier than getting yelled at in Spanish by a guy holding a ridiculously huge gun!
• We visited El Parque de Retiro, a beautiful park in Madrid comparable to Central Park in NYC. After our picnic in the park we decided to rent out a small boat to row & turned out to be one of my favorite activities in Madrid :) I cannot wait for Sevilla to warm up a bit so I can kayak down the Guadalquivir river!
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• At 6PM we started our museum visits since free admission was during the end of the day. First stop: Museo del Prado! This museum was very old-school, with lots of religious artwork & portraits of old people...still impressive! We then visited La Reina Sofia, which holds the famous Guernica by Picasso. This modern art museum was realllly cool—the pieces make you think. I LOVED seeing the early advertisements used during the Spanish Civil war. It's so interesting to see the evolution of art & advertising.
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• On Saturday Katie & I took the Renfe train to Segovia, a city known for a giant Roman Aqueduct. By some miracle the Romans built the whole aqueduct solely with stones—no cement or adhesive in between the stones!
• We toured the Castle of Segovia (Alcazar) & it has been my favorite castle yet. Most of the items inside have been preserved, even the royal bedchamber! The view from the top of the tower was so beautiful. The castle was home of Queen Isabel before she married Ferdinand.
• I finally got my fix of chocolate & churros, for the high price of 3.50€...definitely worth every euro :)
• Katie & I decided to cheap out on lunch by buying our own bread, meat, & cheese from a grocery store in Segovia. After finishing our food, I still had an obscene amount of cheese leftover! I decided to give it to someone in need of food instead of just throwing it away...see video below for full story (the audio is slightly off, but you will get the picture). Weirdest thing EVER. hahaha
• I got the sweetest fanny pack (riñonera) during my visit to the Madrid market, El Rastro, Sunday morning. El rastro is basically a giant flee market on the streets of Madrid, with everything from clothes to electronics. The side streets hold vintage & antique items, like purses & home furniture, and made me excited to put my knowledge from HGTV to use when I finally have a place of my own. The shops definitely validated the phrase "one person's junk is another person's treasure."

I am home for the day & then off to Italy tomorrow! The agenda for today: finish my tarea, run some last minute errands, & pack before my flight. Until next time, hasta la próxima, alla prossima!!!