Day 4

Day 4:

 After exploring all around Madrid, Day 4 brought a day trip to Segovia. We woke up at 8 once again, ate breakfast in the hotel and were off. A bus picked us up outside the hotel and we began our drive north to Segovia. After a half an hour of driving that was full of Toby's interesting DJ'ing, we stopped at El Escorial de San Lorenzo, a magnificent palace built during the height of the Spanish empire. As we walked through the exhibits we saw architecture museums, the royal monastery,  a massive basilica, and an ancient library. Throughout the castle there were huge courtyards and lots and lots of royal gardens. Set against the landscape and the northern Spanish countryside, Escorial truly was the highlight of the day. We then took a quick walk around the small surrounding town and got lunch at one of the cafés before returning to our bus. After another hour of driving we finally arrived in Segovia. As we pulled up we were greeted by the famous aqueduct that has stood in Segovia since it's construction in 1 A.D. After the aqueduct, we walked up and down the hills of the city of the Segovia; eventually ending up at Alcazar de Segovia. Alcazar was a massive castle looking out over a cliff into the Segovian countryside. The castle was surrounded by a giant, unfilled moat allowing for only one entrance to the ancient structure. Once inside the castle we were excited to get to the top and see all the great views that were awaiting us, however there was one obstacle- an enormous spiral staircase. But after struggling up the many flights of stairs we were greeted with a fantastic photo op. After our visit to Alcazar our group split up. The future juniors went with Señora Cohen to house museum of Antonio Machado and the future seniors headed to Cathedral de Santa Maria de Segovia before switching locations later in the day. The Cathedral was huge. Inside the enormous ceiling was decorated in ancient art and magnificent stained glass. Surrounding the sides of the main hall were smaller chapels and in the back there was a beautiful enclosed garden courtyard. The house museum was not as lavish as the Cathedral, but the history of the life of Antonio Machado was very interesting. Antonio Machado was and is one of the most influential and important writers in the history of Spanish literature. The house that we visited was his primary residence for 13 years of his writing career. Besides the many beautiful poems that Antonio Machado wrote, he also started Universidad Popular. Along with a group of academics, Machado created a unique environment for intellectual thought and learning. Finally after a long day of tours and sight seeing we sat outside a cafe in the main square of Segovia before driving back to Madrid. There we had the pleasure of celebrating Izzy's 16th birthday 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉. We ate an awesome Segovian cake, sat and relaxed as the sun began to set on Segovia and our day. When we returned to Madrid, Aiden's phone got pick-pocketed during our 1 minute walk from the bus to el Museo de Jámon, and he spent the rest of the night racking up a hefty telephone bill on Max's phone as he searched for his own phone. Unfortunately the search was unsuccessful and the first casuality of the trip was recorded. We enjoyed a multi-course meal at our dinner at el Museo de Jámon, after which we returned to the hostal and passed out in anticipation of our travels to Oviedo the following day. For me, our trip to Escorial and all of the attractions in Segovia were the highlight of the trip so far. The incredible structures along with the beautiful Spanish countryside made this day very special. 

- Graham aka Tito y Ari aka Richard