Madrid, Toledo & Segovia
When I decided to go to central Spain for the weekend I knew that hitting up 3 cities in 4 days would require planning...and lots of it to make sure I made the most out of the trip. I can't tell you how many hours I spent perusing travel forums and blogs, but I can tell you that I loved every minute of it (planning is my drug, what can I say?)
I arrived in Madrid on a Friday morning after a sleepless night aboard an eight hour bus and dragged myself to a café to order a coffee ("No sir, I would not like a beer at 7:30 in the morning") in the hopes that some synthetic energy would get the day rolling. Nothing in Spain opens before 10 am, so I spent the first few hours strolling around El Parque del Buen Retiro. Some 350 acres big, the park is huge and in the early morning (before the mob of tourists descend upon the city) it's full of locals walking their dogs or going for runs — no need to point out the irony of me reveling the lack of my fellow tourists, I'm well aware of the hypocrisy. The plants were in bloom, the lighting was great for pretending to be a photographer, and it was a pretty perfect way to start off the morning.
I eventually wandered next door to the Reina Sofia Museum, famous for housing Picasso's Guernica. I'm gonna be honest here: modern art isn't my favorite, but it feels sacreligious to have free access to some of the world's best museums and not go. I emerged a few hours later and decided it was time to ditch the big city and head to Toledo. I was a little underwhelmed by Madrid, expecting better architecture and more things to see, so I moved on in the hopes that central Spain would redeem itself.
Most touristy places offer free tours of the city and you only have to tip a few euros at the end, so I found one in Toledo and requested to join. Despite the tour guide's worries that I wouldn't be able to understand everything ("I'm speaking with you in Spanish right now aren't I? Give a gringa a little credit por favor"), I hopped along and had some educational fun. Known for being the meeting place of 3 different cultures, the tour took us through the town's mosques, Jewish neighborhoods, and convents.
After the tour ended I wandered through the charming streets of Toledo until I found my hostel. There I met an Italian girl and we decided to explore the city together — one of the great things about travel is that every day is a chance to make a new connection. (Pro tip: stories about boys doing stupid things is an international phenomenon that transcends language barriers, and is a great way to solidify any female friendship). We hunted down the best place to watch the sunset before grabbing some dinner, where we were serenaded by a slightly tone-deaf Jamaican singing hits from the seventies. We heard rumors about a Holy Week procession coming through town so we made our way through the streets until we found the route. Comprised of over a hundred women of all ages dressed in black, there was something awe inspiring about the environment created by the ominous drums beating and the candles contrasting the night as they walked through the town's narrow streets.
The next day I hugged my Italian companion goodbye and headed to Segovia, yet another Spanish city to receive the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site. Home to one of the best-preserved Roman aqueducts in Europe, the stone arches stretch the length of the town and are its main touristic draw. Being a walled city, you can also walk around the the edge of the town — and as happened to me, get temporarily stuck on the wrong side of the wall. Should I have figured that the walls designed to keep out foreign attacks could also keep out a tourist? Probably. But I wanted to hike around and didn't fully consider the fact that once outside you have to find a way back in. However, while searching for stairs to let me back in the city, I took what may very well be my favorite picture of Spain to date; proving yet again that getting a little lost isn't so bad.
After I found my way back inside the city limits, I heard drums in the distance and followed the sound, discovering yet another religious procession. The odd thing about Spain is that although it doesn't go all-out to celebrate Easter Sunday itself, it definitely likes building up to it. This procession took place at sunset instead of during the darkness of night, and the participants were wearing the more stereotypical semana santa clothing that I had expected to see.
I spent the night in Segovia and headed back to Madrid on Sunday, where I started walking with a general idea of where I wanted to go but let my feet take me wherever they so desired. Madrid's redemption came in the form of several markets with local vendors selling their wares (shopping + art + food = perfection). I also learned that Madrid's aesthetic at night is 10x better than it is during the day; I don't know what it is but something about the way ornate buildings get covered in light is absolutely mesmerizing.
Monday morning I set out to see the Prado Museum, waved my handy dandy student visa, and was granted free access to some of the world's most renowned artists. El Prado has an incredible, never-ending collection of art, but is it weird to complain about museums having too much stuff? You can really only spend so much time looking at paintings before your feet start hurting and your stomach is growling, yet you don't want to leave and risk missing something. Missing what exactly? I'm sure it's not realistic, but I have a paranoia that if I leave prematurely I won't see something impressive; so I stay until I can't possibly tolerate looking at another painting or walking through another exhibit.
The weather was incredible so I eventually left the museum and went to El Palacio Real. Here I learned that neither my American privilege nor my student status extended to the Royal Palace, where you have to be a European or Latin American citizen in order to get free entry. I didn't feel like paying to see some fancy furniture and pretentious chandeliers, so I sat on the cathedral steps and people watched for a while before my small bladder and Europe's lack of public restrooms meant that I had to go in search of a place to buy food (I've learned while traveling that eating = admittance to the ladies room). I ended my time in Madrid with a picnic at El Templo de Debod (a gift from Egypt as thanks for the Spanish government's help in the preservation of the pyramids) before boarding another night bus to take me back to BCN.
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