Back to Spain We Go

One thing about having a child at school in another country means that you tend to visit there more than other places.  So, for our recent holiday, we were in Spain again.  A few of our days were spent in Madrid.  Having been to Madrid several times now, we didn’t see a lot of sights there, but we did go watch the annual running of the sheep (and goats) through the city center during Fiesta de la Trashumancia.  In truth, it was a lot of standing waiting for the sheep and the herders to arrive and a lot less watching them, but it was something different, so we figured we’d check it out.  

The rest of our time in Spain, we took day trips to two cities that we had never seen before: Segovia and Toledo.

Segovia is mostly known for its Roman aqueduct.

But there was a lot of nice architecture in the city.

And the views around the city weren’t too bad!

And while we were there, our son tried a Segovia specialty-cochinillo asado (roasted suckling pig) which is served by cracking it into pieces with a plate.

After roaming around the city, we went to a nearby area to check out a palace and its grounds including the Giant Sequoias brought from the US in the 1800’s.

Our second day trip was to Toledo which is well known as the origin city in the book, Don Quixote.  We found the statue of Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, as well as many shops focusing on the medieval theme with countless swords on display.

We toured many of the various houses of worship in the city including a synagogue and a former mosque. 

One of the churches also housed a famous painting by the Spanish artist El Greco, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.

The small streets, bridges and city gates were also quite charming.

And of course, what would one of our trips be without food?  We tried a few local specialties for lunch: sopa castellana (soup), carcamusas (stew), manchego cheese, migas (fried and seasoned bread dish), and sangria.

For a sweet treat, we got some Toledo marzipan from a shop in which the treats are made by nuns and part of the purchase price goes back into supporting the abbey, as well as a kind of cookie.

Our day trips were an easy hop from Madrid, and we had a relaxing few days exploring more of Spain, eating well, and enjoying the sun and warmer temperatures. And getting to see our college student was a pretty nice perk as well!