Saturday, March 7, 2009
Woke up and had a delicious breakfast at the hostel - hot chocolate, fresh bread and butter, and frosted flakes with cold milk! Couldn´t ask for anything better :) We tried to fill up as much as we could so we wouldn´t spend much money on food for the rest of the day. When we checked out, they gave us back our €10 deposit for the sheets but we never paid it when we checked in! Taylor tried to explain but the guy kept insisting and saying he´d take it as a tip if we didn´t grab it so we walked off with a little extra $$ in our pockets -that´s almost $7 each! Sara showed us where another cheaper hostel was and we booked it for the night but it ended up being the same price without breakfast .. oh well, you win some and you lose some. It was really cute and clean though and we ended up being the only two in a room with 4 beds so everything worked out just fine. Back to the Metro, then yet another bus station, then to Segovia! (and MORE free posters!!) Right away we went to the aqueduct - no big deal, just a 9-mile, 2000 year old Roman creation with no mortar, just stones - that still carries water. The stairs to the top were closed for restoration, like about half the stuff we tried to see this weekend, but we still got some awesome pictures from a lookout above the tourist office. It was another beautiful day - blue skies and warm enough to go coatless! We wandered through the town, which was full of beautiful little anonymous churches and narrow streets. We went to the cathedral next, yet again, amazing. All of the cathedrals are unique and this one had a style and color different than any of the other ones we´ve seen so far. Walked all the way around it, peeked in, then ate our lunch in Plaza Mayor which has great views of the main façade. So pretty! And our lunch wasn´t bad either - cheese & evoo bocadillos with the biggest, juiciest apples I´ve ever had. After that we wandered toward the Alcázar, the military fortress turned prision turned something else that burned down I can´t remember when then was rebuilt and now it looks like a Disney castle! (Yeah, so history isn´t my forté.. the stories are really interesting but I just can´t remember them!) There were some really pretty views from the top of the city walls, the mountains on one side, the plains on another, then behind us was the city with the cathedral in all its glory. We walked back through, saw the aqueduct once more before catching the bus back to Madrid. Made dinner (more sandwiches with some packet pasta - pretty good once again) then showered with NO FLIP FLOPS. I´m can´t believe that´s the one thing I forgot to pack, ugh. Luckily the showers were pretty clean and I felt gross enough to brave it. Did some reading in my Let´s Go Europe book then fell asleep!
