Spain: Only in Spain!

After our delightful day in Segovia, we had a nice little siesta, then headed downstairs to do some more exploring of the city.  Just as we came out of the hotel, this van happened to drive up and 3 finely costumed gentlemen got out.  It took us only a second to realize these were the real deal - matadors!  Of course, this is Spain.  What else would they be?
Everyone had been talking about the big bull fight that night.  It was the last one of the season and one of the best bullfighters in the world was going to be there.  People in our group had be scrambling to find tickets because it was sold out.  We had no plans to go to the bull fight, but it was pretty darn exciting to see the matadors themselves.
Their costumes were beautiful - so intricately embellished!  They must cost a fortune.  And of course I loved the pink socks!

The matadors hopped out of the van quickly and made a dash into the hotel like they were rock stars avoiding the paparazzi.  But since we were guests at the hotel, we followed them inside.

The three of them just waited in the lobby for a while.  I knew from reading Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, that traditionally, matadors go to a hotel to get ready for the bull fight because it is bad luck for them to get dressed at home.  We were told by some of the folks at the hotel that these were the lower matadors that were trying to work their way to the top.  They were like assistants to the main matador, and would get in there and distract the bulls and such.  The lower matadors usually have their suits decorated in silver, where the main matadors are blinged out in gold.  These guys were here waiting the big star matador who was getting ready upstairs.  They traditionally come to the hotel and escort the matador to the bull ring.

Now it was interesting watching these guys as they paced the floor.  They were serious as a heart attack, and you could cut the tension with a knife.  Apparently getting in front of a two ton angry bull is no laughing matter and these guys were really trying to get in the zone and ignore the gawking American tourists.  Nobody dared ask for a photograph.

That is why I was horrified when Dennis decided to try to get a little closer. He snuck over behind them and was kind of hiding behind that spiky little plant, touching the leaves like he was totally interested in that tree and completely oblivious that there were three matadors standing there.  It was hilarious!  I was mortified.  Finally he pops out from behind the plant so he is standing right next to the guy, who is completely ignoring him, and wants me to take his picture!  Look at the stupid smile on Dennis' face!  Too funny.

The other two matadors, who are apparently not stupid, saw what Dennis was doing and gave in and offered to take a picture with him, just to get rid of him, I'm sure.  So of course, I handed my camera off to someone and jumped in the picture myself! I think this picture is hilarious.  We are the happy tourists and they are just so serious and it is pretty obvious that having their picture taken with these two fools is just about the last thing in the world they want to do at that moment.

And of course, as soon as we got our picture, all the other Americans had to jump in and get their pictures taken too!  Poor guys.

They were saved only by this.  The main matador, all decked out in red and gold came hurrying through the lobby with his entourage like some kind of mega rock star.  He was in and out and into the van so quick that I could hardly get a picture, and the other matadors were right with him.  Off to the bull fights!  It was pretty exciting and we felt so lucky to have happened to be there just at the right moment, even if we did make fools of ourselves.

Only in Spain!

I kept thinking about that matador that night, hoping he was safe.  I later heard that a matador got gored that night.  Hope it wasn't true.

After our fun little adventure with the matadors, we decided to go exploring some more.  We were happy as clams to find a pressed penny machine for Derek.  We had assumed there would be none in Spain since they don't use pennies there, but sure enough they had a pressed Euro machine! Cool.
A restaurant had decorated their walls and ceilings with intricate Spanish hair combs, mantillas.  I thought it was beautiful.

Colorful street vendors where you can buy flamenco and bull fighter posters custom block printed with your name. Fun.

Only in Spain!

Someone pointed is in the direction of an antique flea market that ran the length of one narrow street.  It was just so awesome!

I love this kind of thing!  Dennis and the other couple we were with weren't so interested, but this was right down my alley, so they were kind enough to humor me with a walk through it.

 Up above they had hung open white umbrellas as a kind of canopy over the street.  I thought that was just so fun!

Old globes, silverware, vintage prints, and everything cool you could think of lined the narrow street under pretty canopies and white umbrellas.  Everything was displayed so eye-catchingly!

I really loved the pillows make from ticking, and that rocking horse.

I wish I could have taken it all home, but at least I got to shop with my eyes, and take some of it home with my camera.


I did take home something, though - a wood block print letter "V" from the basket above.  Dennis didn't get it, but I just had to leave with something, right?  I was happy.

What a treat!  I'm so glad we ran across that place.

Around the corner we ran into something else very fun.  A flamenco store where the flamenco dancers come to get their chunky heeled noisy shoes and flouncy dresses.

I LOVED the window display!

Oh how I wish I could have gotten a pair of those, though I doubt they would have anything in my size - except maybe in mens.

Only in Spain!

We found our way back to our favorite people watching spot, the Plaza Mayor where we sat for a while under the umbrellas and sipped Schwepps Limon and watched all the craziness.

We especially liked the fat Spiderman who was willing to take pictures with folks, for a few Euros, of course. And the meat shop with the bull heads lined up on the wall.

Only in Spain!

After getting our fill of crazy people watching we made our way into the Mercado San Miguel, the beautiful covered food market that we had seen many times from the outside, but had never had a chance to go inside.

It was awesome!  Busy, crowded, and filled with all kinds of the most beautiful and mouthwatering foods!

Hot, freshly fried potato chips (we had some of those!) and gigantic pans of bright yellow paella.

In the meat booth there were tons of tasty jamon of course and every kind of sausage you could think of.

Small chorizo looked like fingers in their little paper sleeves.

Only in Spain!

And then there were the nuts and pastries, of course.  Brightly colored macaroons,

Fluffy, delicate meringues,

And cookies of every shape.

There was also ice cream, Italian gelato, to be precise.

Everything was beautiful and looked mouthwatering!

There was also a flower booth that reminded me of the flower markets in Paris. Delightful!  Only this one had a selection of pretty hand painted fans.

Only in Spain!

We walked a little further and found this colorful little candy store that was just something to behold with its long Italian licorice strands and gummies in every shape and size.

Rainbow swirled suckers and pacifier lollypops.  It was every kid's dream, which is why Dennis loved it so much.  Like a kid in a candy store.

We couldn't help ourselves.  We bought our boys the plate of various large gummies on the bottom right.  They got quite a kick out of it.

Of course, we deserved a treat too, so we found another gelato place and got a few double-deckers.

The gelato was amazing - as good as anything we have had in Italy. Unfortunately, you can not find good gelato in the States, which is why it is crucial that you go to Europe as often as possible.  I was so happy to have my gelato fix!

A fun little cookie shop where you chose your cookies and then choose a darling tin to put them in.  The cookies were delicious (free samples) and the tins were just adorable, but both were a bit pricey, so we didn't get any.

Finally, we made our way back to the Puerte del Sol.  This was Friday night, and this place was crazy busy!  Street performers were everywhere!  Here are some Guatemalan acrobatic dancers, and there is a Mexican mariachi band.

I could NOT believe how many people there were there!  This was about 11o'clock at night and the streets were PACKED!  No wonder they call this the Times Square of Madrid!  Just look at all those people.

Only in Spain!

Spain: Segovia - Fantastico!

On Friday of our trip, we were taken on another day trip out of Madrid.  This time we were bussed an hour and a half ride up into the mountains of Spain to visit the city of Segovia.  The drive to Segovia was much more interesting and beautiful than the bleak drive through La Mancha the day before.  The giant cross was huge and we could see it from miles away!

This area really reminded me of Italy.  We saw a lot of cattle grazing, and couldn't help but wonder if any of the bulls would someday end up in the ring with a matador.

Mapfre, the company that so graciously sent us to Spain is very big there and we saw their offices everywhere.

Segovia!  What can I say about Segovia?  It is another medieval city, much like Toledo and other medieval cities... but with one distinctive feature.

See the stone wall with the arches?  As we were driving we saw a short stone wall cutting through town, and as we drove along it, it got taller and taller, and then the arches appeared as it got taller.  Then we turned a corner and drove downhill, and when the bus turned back again we saw this...

The Aqueducto!!!

A real Roman aqueduct build roughly 2000 years ago.  It is 13 miles long coming form the nearby mountains.  Most of it is completely underground, but a couple miles of it are above ground, and the tallest portion, nearly 7 stories high, runs right through the city of Segovia.

This aqueduct is truly one of the coolest things I have ever seen!  Really mind blowing when you stand underneath.  I love the reflection of it in my friend Ann's sunglasses.

The aqueducts were made without mortar of any kind.  The stones were cut so precisely that they fit together so well that they can be stacked up.  It really is a marvel of engineering!

It is wild to stand under those tall arches and try to imagine what it took to build that without today's machinery and technology.  I tried to imagine it covered with scaffolding, and how they were able to lift those large stones way up there, probably with slave labor - lots and lots of them!  It is really hard to imagine.

But there is so much more to Segovia than the Aqueduct.

Segovia is beautiful!  Different from Toledo in many ways, but just as old and charming.

The architecture in Segovia is just fantastic!  Most of the buildings have the coolest patterned relief designs on the facades.  I haven't really seen anything like that before, but here it is everywhere.  Interesting patterns and textures with fine details.

Unlike the winding narrow streets of Toledo, there was one main street running through the oldest part of town that ran from the aqueduct to the castle, so we were in less danger of getting lost.

I loved the window boxes spilling over with flowers!

Aren't those walls just cool?

In the middle of the old city is a large square with a a gigantic Gothic church.  The guide told us that this church was the very last cathedral to be built in the Gothic style, complete with flying buttresses and gargoyles.  Can't have Gothic without flying buttresses and gargoyles, can we?

The hundreds of knobby spires were just cool.

The same square also had some government buildings...

... And a theater with a good old gazebo right in the center.

A few old ladies were selling beautiful Spanish shawls.  Of course, we were taken in.  Dennis did some good negotiating, and I chose a beautiful green shawl embroidered with colorful roses and flowers, and a gorgeous black lacy shawl the was beaded with roses.  Unfortunately, when we got all the way back to the hotel later and opened the bag we saw that we had been taken!  The green shawl was there, but instead of of large, lovely beaded lace black shawl, there was a tiny little cheap black thing with plastic beads!!!  By the time we discovered we were victims of the old switcheroo, it was too late to do anything about it.  I was so mad!

What is with this lion sticking his tongue out?

See the lady shaking out her rug?  What would it be like to live in a place like this?

Hi kitty, kitty!

At the end of the road through town is this fancy gate announcing the entrance to the castle of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella - Alcazar Castle!

Now this is a true fairytale castle with a moat and turrets and everything!  Cinderella would be proud!

The view down from the castle wall.

The princess in me was loving this!

The view into the moat from the bridge.  Very interesting.

And there is my prince charming!

A royal welcome to Alcazar castle!

The walls are patterned with circles and inset with chunks of iron.  Look at those gigantic heavy doors!

Old armor.  Check out those long pointy shoes.  I can imagine what they would use those for. Ouch.  And look at that short little suit of armor.  Who would have possible worn that?  It makes Dennis look like a giant.

Horses get armor too!

The royal dining hall was actually quite small, but I loved the blue tile work and the beamed ceilings.

But the ceilings of the next room were simply incredible!

This was the throne room - and these are the actual thrones of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.  They are always mentioned together because they actually ruled jointly.  She was an amazing woman who insisted on having equal power with her husband and many of the responsibilities were split right down the middle, and with her half she did as she thought best.  She was considered a great queen.  Of course, it was Queen Isabella who commissioned Christopher Columbus to find a new route to the East.

Beautiful stained glass windows and more incredible gilded ceilings.  The giant mural of Queen Isabella is actually a contempory work.  It was really beautiful.

Another large room had reliefs of all of the kings and queens and a list of their accomplishments below them - and more incredible ceilings.

The views out of the castle to the valley below.

This is queen Isabella's bedroom, and her actual bed.

Great tile work!

In the castle's own chapel.

From there we went outside to see the turrets and battlements of Alcazar.  It was so pretty up here!!!

There was a geometric garden down below.

You could see the enemy coming for miles from here.

Fun picture, huh?  We were having a great day together!

Back inside we saw an armory with more suits of armor,  and old spears, cannons, and cross bows.

I kept thinking how my boys would have loved this place!

The courtyard of Alcazar.

Heading back outside with another view of the huge door and the moat.

Alcazar was beautiful!

Making our way back through the old city of Segovia.

We wandered off on our own down some quiet streets.  Not so much the danger of getting lost here as there was in Toledo.

You just can't help but peek down every small street and alleyway (hard to tell the difference in these old cities sometimes.)  Everything is so picturesque!

In the window of a meat market - the famous Spanish chorizo and jamon.  Check out that Iberico ham - nearly 80 euros per kilo.  That is over $100 per kilo, or nearly $50 per pound!  That is why we ate as much of the stuff as we could while we were there.

We had walked by this building earlier that morning, but now I loved the patterns of light made by the afternoon sun.  Very cool.

Time to eat.  There were a lot of interesting restaurants along that main street, but we were promised something even more special for lunch.

We had lunch at this famous old restaurant right in the shadows of the amazing aqueduct- Candido!  How cool is that?

  Look at the great old fascade of this place!

I was hoping that we would be eating out under the umbrellas with the aqueduct looming overhead.

But they took us instead to the large upper room with beamed ceilings and multi-paned amber windows.

Th view out the old yellow windows was terrific.  The aqueduct was right there!

I took the shot above leaning out of the window.  You can see how the aqueduct gets shorter as the elevation rises.

The decor was old and rustic and of course there were a fair number of hams hanging from the ceiling - always a sign of  a respectable establishment in Spain.

Another long, long lunch that took a few hours.  It started with some good bread, of course, and a yummy salad (one of the few good salads we had in Spain).  Then the servers brought out a series of appetizers - tapas - as is Spanish tradition, including chorizo, of course, and those yummy stuffed roasted red peppers that that gentleman is serving up.  I had seconds and thirds of those!

Next came the soup.  Now, I have to tell you about the soup.  First, it contained the biggest beans I have ever seen.  Spain is famous for these huge white beans and you can get them in the souvenir shops, so I was glad to get to try them.  The soup also had chorizo, of course, and one other mystery ingredient.  It was fleshy and chewy, and I couldn't eat it!  People were speculating on what it was.  Someone suggested tripe.  Ew.  But when asked the waiter cleared it right up for us...  He was very proud of their PIG EAR SOUP!  Yep.  Pigs ears.  Only in Spain.  They sure love their pigs here!  The soup was actually pretty good, and luckily the pigs ears were in large enough chunks that they were easily avoided.
The main meal was simply a half of a roasted chicken and some fries.  I have said it before, food in Spain is very rustic.  Even in the fanciest of restaurants you get pig ear soup and a half chicken.
I must, however, say that the hot lava cake for desert was incredible!  It was worth nibbling on a pig ear to get to that!

A picture of the top floor where we ate and the paned windows we looked out of.

While the others finished up their meal, I decided to climb up to the top of the aqueduct before the bus arrived.

The view down to the restaurant from the top of the stairs.

The aqueduct up close.  It was fun to think how this was here first, and everything else was built up around it much later.

Love those tile rooftops!

The view of the square above.  It used to be that cars and buses would drive right under the arches of the aqueduct, but then a few years back, someone decided that that wasn't such a good idea, worried that the vibrations might damage the aqueduct, so they made a turn around there instead and the aqueduct is pedestrian only now.

I love the dramatic shadows made by the tall arches in the afternoon!

At the top, the arches got smaller again.  We could reach across with our long arms.

Some of the detail on the aqueduct.

Saying goodbye to the Aquaducto of Segovia.

Then there was nothing left to do but enjoy the beautiful ride back to Madrid.