Thursday, October 01, 2009

Thursday night in Madrid

Yes, before the ballet, we had drinks under the fabulous rotunda at the Palace Hotel? It was quite posh, and rather shocking to get the tab for karen's $20 mojito!

The ballet was modern and exciting, as was the Opening Night crowd. Afterwards, we went to a nice neighborhood place for a late, light supper (omelet with shrimp and a glass of champagne).

We got up early thursday, and took the crowded metro to the bus station, and then found the bus to Segovia, getting there around 10:30.

We walked to the astounding aquaduct and tok a couple of quick photos, before heading up into the old town, in search of breakfast, which was successful and horribly overpriced (but the espresso was strong and yummy, as always).

We found the main square and paid the 3 euros (each) to enter the immense cathedral, where we spent over an hour checking out the many bizarre chapels, altars and genuine old art, all with its rather singular purpose. The cloister was especially nice, with the expected rich Treasury room, filled with gold, silver and crystal goodies.

We continued downhill to the amazing Alcazar (look it up), where we toured the many restored rooms, with ornate ceilings, great stained glass, many suits of armor, and sweeping vistas overlooking the city and surroundings (we paid the extra 2 euro each for the privilege of climbing the narrow, winding 152 steps to the top of the tower). The Alcazar was a great thing, worth seeing.

We were getting tired and trudged back to the magnificent aquaduct, where we spent over two hours taking pictures and eating some pretty darn good Turkish food (plus a large, cold beer).

It was a long day and being a tourist is hard work. We got the 5:30 bus and pulled into a bustling Madrid by 7. After more Metro madness, we are back at our peaceful haven.

Made a bunch of Skype calls and are now ready for bed. The wifi seems to crap out each night at 10:30, so I will post this in the morning.

We fly to Girona tomorrow early afternoon - on to the next phase!

No comments: