Vibrant and Gorgeous Madrid and Segovia
Traveling to Spain was an adventure of a lifetime. I really enjoyed my trip to Spain and would highly recommend going there. During my trip we decided to visit four main cities, Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, and Segovia.
Once we arrived in Madrid we decided to visit The stadium. Since we went to Camp Nou in Barcelona we had to go to The Bernabeu in Madrid. My brother is a huge fan of Real Madrid and was really excited to see the stadium. We spent a few hours observing the stadium and all the trophies.
Later that evening we went to try the famous churros and porras! It’s basically churros and a cup of chocolate that you can dip them in, and they’re very famous in Spain. The oldest and most popular place for churros y porras is San Gines the Chocolateria. The Chocolateria is also popular among the locals and is open 24 hours, so you can buy churros anytime! We decided to go in the evening and sat at a table outside and enjoyed the night.
The next day we decided to do all of the touristic sightseeing by starting at the Puerta de Alcala at Independence Square. Then we passed by the Cybele Palace on our way to the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace is a huge palace surrounded by a square and is 135,000 square meters. We spent most of our day there because we decided to visit the interior of the palace as well. Inside the walls there are tons of halls and rooms to explore. There is also very famous artwork and beautiful architectural designs inside the palace.
After the tour we were hungry and ready for dinner. Since we had already tried the famous spanish churros we had to try another famous dish called paella. Paella is a dish that consists of rice, beans, veggies, and usually seafood and meat as well. Since we are vegetarians we ordered a veggie paella which was delicious. we enjoyed our meal at a local restaurant near the Palace. After our amazing dinner we decided to walk around for a while and digest our food before going back to the hotel. We walked past the Congress of Deputies and it was all lit up because it was dark outside. We also took pictures with the lion statues at the front of the building because they looked cool. We went home that night in love with the city of Madrid.
The following day was our last day in Madrid and we decided to take it easy. We relaxed by just going to The Retiro Park. We rode our bikes in the morning from the hotel to the park. Before riding around in the park we decided to have some more churros at one of the stands in the park. We could not turn away another opportunity on having Spanish churros! After the delicious snack we rode our bikes around for hours. It was so much fun! There were statues all around the park and we would pass them on our bike, for example the fountain of the monumento del Angel Caido.
The next day we took a train to the city of Segovia. The short trip makes it a lovely destination to visit for the day. The small city of Segovia is filled with a ton of cathedrals and historical monuments. The most famous thing to visit in Segovia is the Alcazar de Segovia. The castles features make you feel like you are in a Disney Princesses movie. It is quite a large castle containing a small museum displaying artifacts just like most other palaces and monuments. We spent a few hours there, admiring the castle and feeling like a princess. Additionally below the castle there is a open area with grass and it is the best location to get a great photo.
After visiting the castle we decided to have lunch at a vegetarian restaurant we found. The food was delicious and we got a chance to rest our legs. After the break we continued our sightseeing and visited the Aqueduct of Segovia, which was built during the Roman Empire. You can literally walk across the Aqueduct to get from one side of the city to another, which is what we did. After passing the Aqueduct we visited two plazas, one was Plaza Mayor and the other was Plaza de San Martin. Both beautiful plazas with lots of little shops and local restaurants.
Our final destination in Segovia was the Cathedral of Segovia and it was located in Plaza Mayor. The Gothic style Cathedral was built in the 16th century and at the highest point of the city. It also contains many amazing pieces of art inside the Cathedral.
Sadly, that concluded our trip to Spain. Our trip to Spain not only enriched us with European cultures, but also African cultures. It informed us on so many historical events that occured in Spain with the gift of exploration from traveling. We were so fortunate to visit Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, and Segovia and can't wait to further our experiences in Spain in the future.
written by Isabella