All Around Madrid and Segovia! : Travel Blog #3

Madrid flew by in a flash! However, we were all highly impressed by the experience! From the attractions of the city itself to the delights of nearby Segovia, we had an incredible experience!

The first thing we noted about Madrid was the plentiful quantity of gorgeous and lush parks everywhere. We were craving grass and sunshine after Barcelona so we spent plenty of time outside playing fútbol and soaking up that Spanish sun. Bringing a soccer ball to a public place is the fastest way to make friends here, a fact we learned almost instantly!

While in Madrid, we did three main awesome things which I'll talk about below!

1) Park Retiro

I can confidently say that this has been the very best day of our trip so far! From the absolutely amazing picnic in the sunshine with incredible Spanish cherries, to the picturesque rowboat adventure on a little lake with saxophone music drifting lazily towards us in the background, it just couldn't have gotten better. We visited the Crystal Palace which was just stunning, saw the only statue in the world depicting Satan falling from heaven, and strolled through miles of gorgeous grounds.

2) The Royal Palace and Oldest Restaurant in the World: Botin

Although pictures were heavily restricted inside the palace, we strolled through the living quarters that have housed Spanish royals for centuries past. The throne room was especially cool! The current royal family does not live there, but almost every past family has. Words cannot describe how beautiful it was! Outside, nearly ten steps away was the Cathedral where the current King Felipe and Queen Latizia were married. We went to mass there although it was entirely in Spanish. Afterwards we went to the absolute oldest restaurant in the entire world! We had the same suckling pig (unweaned baby pig) that they have traditionally been serving for three hundred years! It was an amazing and unforgettable experience.

3) Day Trip to Segovia

We took an hour long bus ride from Madrid to the beautiful city of Segovia for the day! Here we went to a stunning castle that was the real-life inspiration to Walt Disney for DisneyWorld's own castle! The original castle was really cool! Afterwards we checked out the ancient Roman aqueducts that were impressively still fully functional until about fifty years ago. The Romans were insane at architecture and engineering! This day trip was so worth it, and every part from the bus ride to the actual attractions was fun!

Madrid was an incredible experience!