To Madrid, Segovia, and Toledo I go!

Woah. That’s pretty much the only thing I can say that sums up my five day trip to Madrid, Segovia, and Toledo with my program. So much traveling, sights, and history. I am blown away by everything I saw and everything that Spain has to offer. Now that I’ve been to a handful of cities in this beautiful country, I’ve noticed that every city is unique. There’s a different vibe that you get from each city, there are so many different sights to see, and every city contributes to the grand history of Spain.

To get to Madrid our program took about a four and a half/five hour bus ride. Wasn’t too bad and the view was nice to see. It’s very interesting because once you get out of Granada there's lots of rocky mountains and trees-similar to the sights I have seen back in the states. I have missed the green views so it was nice to see.

We arrived in Madrid and went straight to the Prado Museum (Museo de Prado), where there was two floors packed with varies paintings of famous artists including Greco, Velazquez and Goya. The main attraction of this museum is Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, which was quite breathtaking in person. Although there were a handful of paintings I liked, my top three were, ironically, not from these artists. I highly enjoyed a piece from Claudio de Lorena, one piece from Antonio DeGrain, and one piece from Antonio Gisbert Perez.

Temptations of Saint Anthony by Claudio de Lorena

Memories of Granada by Antonio DeGrain

The Execution of Torrijos and his companions at the beach of Malaga by Antonio Gisbert Perez

When I saw this last piece I could hardly control myself. It was the first time I looked at a painting and felt true emotion. I was connected with the people in the painting and felt as if I was a part of the piece. This piece in person is very large and well-done, like a still of a movie or a place in time, so clear. It was the last piece I saw of the day too, making it more special. After the museum, we arrived at the hotel and crashed after a long day.

The second day we went to Escorial, a small town about 30 minutes outside of Madrid. It was a very quaint town. Had a very relaxing, peaceful vibe with many little parks and stone streets. There were little restaurants and shops, and small families and couples taking walks around. This town is named after the Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, in short El Escorial, a palace of the king of Spain, church and monastery built by Felipe II during the 16^th century.  Also, the Escorial has been the burial site for the Spanish kings of the last five centuries.

The Courtyard of Kings



Hall of Battles

After the Escorial, we were given free time in the afternoon to explore Madrid. I went with some friends from the program to Parque del Retiro, the huge park in Madrid. Along the way, and in the park, we took pictures!

Lizzi (left) friend from the program and Ashley (right) my roommate!

The third day we all hopped on the bus and traveled to Segovia. I LOVED this city for many different reasons. First of all, the city’s main attraction was the Aqueduct, a Roman monument, which was absolutely incredible. The stones were bigger than my body and to top it all off there was nothing, I repeat, nothing holding them together; simply weight distribution. The Aqueduct was built in order to transport water from a nearby river to the city. It runs about 9 and half miles before it reaches Segovia.

Yep. Incredible.

Segovia was also one of my favorite places during this trip simply because of its eloquent charm. I loved how relaxed the people and the pace of the town seemed to be. It was bigger than Cordoba, smaller than Granada, but had many cute decorative buildings and big plazas and parks. Many people described Segovia as a feminine city because of the structure and style of the buildings.

While in Segovia we also went to the Alcazar, a castle of many Spanish rulers, state prison, and military academy. This was really really neat to visit. It wasn’t like a lot of the palaces we’ve seen. Instead, Alcazar is built upon a rocky hillside, which means lots of pretty views. Also, it’s not super big but has the ability to function for what it needed to. My favorite part was climbing the 152 step tower to look out on the top. I felt like a princess in the Alcazar.

Fun fact: the Alcazar was the inspiration for the castle in Disney's Snow White

Hall of Kings and Kingdoms of Spain

View from the Alcazar

Another view from the Alcazar

The prison

Climbing the 152 step tower with Ashley and friend Corey

I was so meant for this era!

 The fourth day we had a historical tour of Madrid. The first place we stopped was the Plaza de Espana which had a statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, honoring the stories written by Miguel de Cervantes.

We then continued on to the Templo de Debod, a copy of an ancient Egyptian temple, located in one of the many parks of Madrid.

After, we walked around the Royal Palace of Madrid and stopped at the statue in Plaza de Oriente. The statue of Felipe IV holds an interesting historical fact.....about the horse he's riding. This is the first statue to have a horse not be on four legs, but standing on its hind legs. Interesting, no?

Royal Palace of Madrid

We also stopped by two famous plazas, Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol.

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor

Puerta del Sol

 The last and final day we packed up our things and headed out to Toledo, the last stop before returning to Granada. In Toledo we were given free time to explore the city and simply relax before getting on the bus and having a five hour ride back. A group of us decided to hit up two attractions: the church where the famous Greco painting, El Entierro del Senor Orgaz, existed and the Cathedral.

Just a glimpse of the Cathedral

After, Ashley and I decided to walk along the river, enjoy the sunshine and take time to enjoy the scenery. We also noticed that the way we took was the route of Don Quixote.

Fun fact: Toledo is known for its different style of buildings: built with bricks and stones, as shown here:

I enjoyed Toledo a lot as well. Since it was the former capital of the Spanish Empire, the city is surrounded by brick walls and only accessible by crossing bridges on every side-which gives the city an interesting vibe. I felt as if I was separate from the world, in a tranquil city. However, Toledo is known for its bullfights, which gives the city a little edge to counteract the peaceful and beautiful yet slightly secluded feel.

It felt VERY VERY nice to get back to Granada. Although I appreciated this trip, there’s nothing better than the feeling of coming home. I did enjoy Madrid, even better I liked Segovia and Toledo. And I'm very grateful for the trip I was able to go on: to learn, to explore, and to experience different cities around the vastly diverse and beautiful country of Spain. In a way this trip reminds me of the verse 1 Corinthians 12:12 "Just as the body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ". All these different cities are unique and hold special value, yet they all make up the culture and history of Spain. The same with us all. We are all unique, spread throughout the world with different spiritual gifts and purposes, but are all united as the body of Christ to worship and love Him. What an awesome reminder for me, that even though I'm in Spain, I am connected with fellow believers in Christ around the world and am a part of something much bigger than myself. Praise God for His many blessings and gracious gift of love!