Madrid
Trip Start
May 11, 2006
1
9
28
Trip End
Jul 12, 2006
Hola from Madrid, the capital of Spain! I have been in Madrid for three days now and tomorrow I leave for a much smaller town called Alicante in southern Spain. Since being in Madrid I have been on two daytrips. The first one I went to the town of El Escorial where we took a bus to El Valle de los Callidos (The Valley of the Fallen)! This is a beautiful valley high in the mountains that run north and west of Madrid. The valley was the site of the largest battle in the Spanish Civil War and atop the far corner of the valley is a basilica and monument to those that lost their lives. It is a very dry and mountainous climate and the valley and mountain tops are strewn with boulders. The monument rests atop the highest outcrop of boulders and is a gigantic cross that can be seen for miles before even entering into the valley. A huge basilica rests underneath the monument and is also enormous inside with huge statues of the archangels and some of the most beautiful and large tapestries anywhere. It is a beautiful part of the country and although I have been before I really wanted to go back because the valley has a feeling about it as though the spirits of the past are still present and looking over you. The second day here in Madrid we wandered around the streets after catching up on some sleep and then went to see x-men 3 in what we thought might be in english with spanish subtitles, as it turns out it was all in spanish! I was still able to follow it somewhat because it is an action film, but I will definitely have to see it again when I get home. Today we took a daytrip to the town of Segovia to see Kevinīs host parents when he came to Spain for three months. Segovia is home to a huge roman aquaduct and castle! I have also already seen the sights in Segovia so most of the time today was spent visiting with kevinīs host parents. It was really fun though and I got to eat some homemade spanish cuisine, which was really good and really filling! Tomorrow we leave for Alicante and the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea (nude beaches!!). Hasta Luego!
