Madrid, Spain - pre-Flight Walk (11/3)
Well, we're camped out at a hotel near the Madrid airport for a night's sleep before we fly home tomorrow.
After a leisurely breakfast this morning we toted our stuff to the bus for the ride to Madrid and a taxi to our hotel. Now that we've become more aware of afternoon restaurant kitchen closures, we had another great lunch and then set out to walk a loop through the area of our hotel.
I used the 'look for green' areas on Google maps to link together a walk that traversed several neighborhoods, a very large and barren area, a number of parks, and had a couple of freeway crossings. It was very windy while we walked and we remarked a number of times that we were glad not to be in the mountains dealing with the wind.
We had a big surprise out in the barren area when we encountered a long set of concrete walls that had been painted with very interesting graffiti-style murals. What a surprise! Then we walked through what looked like a tree farm and came upon a very cool cycling skills area. Several young riders were taking advantage of the area and we enjoyed watching them for a while.
Then a freeway crossing, more park, an upscale neighborhood, another freeway crossing and we were back.
Tomorrow morning we rustle up some breakfast, get on the plane for our first flight, and head for Seattle.
Highlight video
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Segovia, Architecture and Artifacts
Segovia, Architecture and Artifacts (11/2)
Our walking today had both a practical side and and aesthetic side.
Tomorrow we head back to Madrid (and eventually back to the USA) and will travel to Madrid by bus. So, today we scouted out the route that we'll need to take to walk to the bus station tomorrow since we get easily confused by the winding, narrow streets and don't want to tote our luggage further than necessary.
That was the practical part.
Then we headed out to do a walk paying special attention to the architecture of the old city of Segovia. And we saw a lot since the city goes back a couple thousand years to the Romans, at least.
Here's some nuggets:
The wall, of course. Now it's integrated into the city, sometimes with buildings connecting sections together.
Many buildings along Calle Cervantes and Calle Juan Bravo with Moorish-like decorated facades.
The interior of the Catedral de Segovia which is just huge and unbelievably lavish.
The Iglesia Corpus Christi which was a synagogue before the Jews were expelled in 1492 and subsequently converted to a church.
It was great to see the mixture of architectural periods, try to guess the design fads that were governing as each building was designed, to marvel at the skill of the workers that made it all happen, and to see the influence of so many cultures on the buildings here.
We had another great lunch in the middle of all this, right in the neighborhood where we're staying.
Tomorrow, a bus to Madrid, an overnight stay, then our flight back to the USA.
Highlight video
Our walking today had both a practical side and and aesthetic side.
Tomorrow we head back to Madrid (and eventually back to the USA) and will travel to Madrid by bus. So, today we scouted out the route that we'll need to take to walk to the bus station tomorrow since we get easily confused by the winding, narrow streets and don't want to tote our luggage further than necessary.
That was the practical part.
Then we headed out to do a walk paying special attention to the architecture of the old city of Segovia. And we saw a lot since the city goes back a couple thousand years to the Romans, at least.
Here's some nuggets:
The wall, of course. Now it's integrated into the city, sometimes with buildings connecting sections together.
Many buildings along Calle Cervantes and Calle Juan Bravo with Moorish-like decorated facades.
The interior of the Catedral de Segovia which is just huge and unbelievably lavish.
The Iglesia Corpus Christi which was a synagogue before the Jews were expelled in 1492 and subsequently converted to a church.
It was great to see the mixture of architectural periods, try to guess the design fads that were governing as each building was designed, to marvel at the skill of the workers that made it all happen, and to see the influence of so many cultures on the buildings here.
We had another great lunch in the middle of all this, right in the neighborhood where we're staying.
Tomorrow, a bus to Madrid, an overnight stay, then our flight back to the USA.
Highlight video
Friday, November 1, 2019
Aqueduct of Segovia
Segovia, Spain - Aqueduct of Segovia (11/1)
Today we walked from our apartment to the Aqueduct of Segovia. What a structure! Built in about the first century AD (estimated) it brought water to the city of Segovia until mid nineteenth century; a life span of use of 1800 years! On our way there we passed through a section of the city that we'd not visited before, Calle Cervantes and Don Juan, the center of visitor shopping, which we passed through as quickly as possible.
There's a large plaza for viewing the aqueduct and wide streets leading away from it so one gets a much better sense of its scale and of the engineering and construction skills that went into building it.
After a great lunch we took a round-about walking route back to our apartment, avoiding a sudden downpour by sheltering under a bridge. Just in the few days that we've been here we've noticed a lot more color in the trees' leaves; fall is coming.
Our efforts to shop for some breakfast food were stymied, however, as this is a holiday today and all of the grocery stores were closed. I guess if you live in Spain then you learn how to plan around holidays.
Tomorrow is our last day in Segovia, then back to Madrid, and finally home to Seattle.
Highlight video
Today we walked from our apartment to the Aqueduct of Segovia. What a structure! Built in about the first century AD (estimated) it brought water to the city of Segovia until mid nineteenth century; a life span of use of 1800 years! On our way there we passed through a section of the city that we'd not visited before, Calle Cervantes and Don Juan, the center of visitor shopping, which we passed through as quickly as possible.
There's a large plaza for viewing the aqueduct and wide streets leading away from it so one gets a much better sense of its scale and of the engineering and construction skills that went into building it.
After a great lunch we took a round-about walking route back to our apartment, avoiding a sudden downpour by sheltering under a bridge. Just in the few days that we've been here we've noticed a lot more color in the trees' leaves; fall is coming.
Our efforts to shop for some breakfast food were stymied, however, as this is a holiday today and all of the grocery stores were closed. I guess if you live in Spain then you learn how to plan around holidays.
Tomorrow is our last day in Segovia, then back to Madrid, and finally home to Seattle.
Highlight video
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