 |
| Maddy and I resting during our visit to Segovia, Spain. |
I've been through handfuls of cathedrals, monasteries, ancient cities, and even places where Spanish royalty once lived, but that's all not that exciting unless you are here soaking in the history. Check out these beautiful places we toured while we stayed in Madrid this weekend!
 |
| Miss Brynn and I eating lunch in front of Segovia's infamous aqueduct! |
 |
| Castle that Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand used to vacation at in Segovia. |
 |
| The famous aqueduct in Segovia! |
Best Part of
Saturday: Getting to visit El Escorial (no pictures allowed inside),
which was massive and impeccably crafted including gorgeous ornate ceilings,
beautiful handcrafted tiles in all different shades/patterns, graves and
coffins made of fine metals and stones, and my favorite part, a statue of Jesus
Christ hanging from the cross carved completely out of one giant slab of marble. It was given to Spain by Italy and was
even made with white marble with swirls of muted blue to look like the veins
under a dying Jesus’s pale skin.
 |
| Picture of my favorite Jesus Christ so far at El Escorial! Pulled from the internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benvenuto_Cellini |
Funniest Part of
Saturday: Katie, being the rebel that she is, touched the most
beautiful coffin in El Escorial, so naturally I poked it to be as cool as her.
The security guard saw us, laughed, muttered something in Spanish, and ruffled
the sculpted hair of the tomb showing us it didn’t matter…. LOL.
 |
| Where some of the most elite Spanish royalty are taken after their passing. Stunning! Pulled from the internet: http://perroviajante.com/2011/07/12/patrimonio-iberico-monasterio-y-sitio-de-el-escorial/ |
Worst Part of
Saturday: Waiting on the buses for 45 minutes, which were steaming hot,
for a girl who dropped her precious iPhone. That’s over 90 people who had
nothing nice to say about her holding us all up before our journey back to
Madrid.
 |
| Church on the main square in Segovia. |
 |
| Katie and I on the streets of Toledo, Spain. |
Best Part of
Sunday: Getting to see the
gorgeous and immense cathedral in Toledo, Spain. We were able to see crowns
from Spanish royalty, a handcrafted bible printed on lamb skin (a gift from the
King of France back in the day), stained glass windows all done in sections,
and the window opening in the ceiling that lets light shine upon a wall of
carved marble figures during sunrise to show that “God is light.”
 |
| A very confusing picture of the unbelievable cathedral in Toledo. |
 |
| Fancy crowns presented in the cathedral. |
Funniest Part of
Sunday: As we entered a room full of portraits of all of the cardinals
and with walls painted with enormous biblical scenes, the security guard
quickly grabbed his Spanish trash magazine (tabloid?) and shoved it inside his
little security desk. BUSTED.
Worst Part of
Sunday: Trying to sleep on the bus… There are only so many ways you can
contort a body. If you have any questions about those ways, my sore self will
happily fill you in.
 |
| The outside of the sky high cathedral. |
Places Visited:
El Escorial - a monastery,
chapel, school, burial site, and home
Segovia, Spain - home
of the famous aqueduct built by the Romans and of a castle formerly used by
Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand
Toledo, Spain - built
to mimic Italian cities and was formerly a border city when Spain was split,
also home to many different religious structures because long ago that city was
home to Muslims, Jews, and Protestants all living happily together
No comments:
Post a Comment