This entry will mostly focus on the couple of day trips I took while in Madrid. One to Segovia and the other to Toledo. Segovia is the first one I took and is known for its Roman aqueduct and castle, which was the one Disney used as inspiration for the castle in Sleeping Beauty. Toledo is the old capital of Spain (until the 16th century) and is an amazing old medieval town set upon the cliffs overlooking a river on 3 sides and with the old city wall on the 4th side. It's is also known for it's quality of steel and swords.

I went to Segovia with Reyna (one of the girls I spent New Year's with). The aqueduct in Segovia was built in the 1st century AD and is still in amazing condition. In fact it was still in use and providing water to Segovia right up until the mid 19th century. Those Romans knew their engineering. The town also has a pretty awesome cathedral and of course the castle. We paid I think 6 or so euros to go inside the castle which was a complete waste of money. But the outside of it was nice. There was also some nice views of the surrounding landscape. Apparently Segovia is also known for their suckling pig, of which I got a magnetic bottle opener of. Unfortunately we weren't there long enough to try it and left well before dinner time. Maybe one day I'll find myself there again and can try it.

Toledo I did on my own nearly a week later. It was probably even better than Segovia, though it didn't have an awesome Roman aqueduct. What it was though was an awesome medieval feeling city. Built probably in one of the most defensible spots imaginable, accessible from only one side, and that side is up a steep hill and blocked by a wall and towers. The other 3 sides are cliffs overlooking a river. Absolutely amazing views from each side. The city has since spread out on the flat lands outside of the wall, but everything inside the wall is still very old style. Basically exactly how it was 500 odd years ago. Narrow winding cobblestone streets and old buildings. A very nice city to just get lost wandering around in.

There were also sword shops absolutely everywhere. Dozens on every street. Every souvenir shop was selling them. I actually almost bought one. The problem was that although the sword was 45 euros the shipping to get it home was an extra 75. I couldn't really justify that for something that would probably just end up collecting dust somewhere. The other option was to buy a letter opener. But since when do I get physical mail anymore?

The rest of my time in Madrid was spent really doing nothing. I did the tapas experience again and went to El Tigre a couple of times. But mostly I was just waiting for my laptop. So despite spending 3 weeks in Madrid with not a whole lot to do, I never actually got around to planning very much. Neither of the hostels I stayed at had any computers to use which didn't exactly help. So in the end, when I finally had my laptop and it was time to leave I decided to go to Granada where Reyna had gone to study Spanish. She had been there before and had a lot of good things to say about it. So I figured it was a good a place as any, and with the added bonus of already knowing someone there.