Its been almost two weeks since I arrived in Spain and so far is been great! The language, food, and amazing history on every turn has made my days full of new experiences.
On my first full weekend in Spain I traveled with some new friends I made, to a town outside Madrid called Segovia. I met them through the Interexchange Program that brought me to Spain in the first place. One awkward email to a group of total strangers later and we now have a crew! Three are from the US with one token Canadian who is our best Spanish speaker. On this trip to Segovia I only had two travel companions though, but both had way better spanish language skill than me.
The bus ride from Madrid only took about an hour and half and we spent a lot of the time discussing our travel plans as well as continuing to getting to know each other.
Once we arrived in Segovia we decide to use of a tip from our friend's "host mom" and travel outside Segovia to the nearby town of La Granja to visit the impressive, "Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso."
The difference between the climates of Madrid, Segovia and La Granja was amazing. Just 20 minutes away from the grassy hills of Segovia we were in a magical snowy town that once housed the Royal Family of Spain.
The Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso was originally a summer palace for King Phillip V of Spain. King Phillip V was the first of the Bourbon Kings of Spain which means he was related to the same French royal family as the famous Louis XVI of France. King Phillip V however did not end up with the same fate as the other Bourbon monarch and ended up presiding over the longest reign of any Spanish King.
The Palacio Phillip V made is now a museum on the inside with many sculptures and a surprisingly impressive amount of tapestries.
I have to say that I'd never given any thought the skill required for making a tapestry but the ones contained in the Palacio were very impressive. Most depicted Greek Myths and Biblical stories with extreme detail. I would show pictures but were not allowed to photograph inside the building...
The outside grounds however were all the impressive starting with the sculptures that decorated the almost four miles of gardens.
The main feature that draws the most visitors to the gardens, are the many fountains. Unfortunately during the winter this attraction has limited viewing, but the impressive lead and bronze statues depicting different mythical creatures and gods were still worth the cold walk through the ice.
Once we finished touring the Palacio it was around "siesta" time so we went to a local restaurant for some warmth, food, and my new favorite drink.. Tinto de Verano (wine+sprite+ lemonade) Afterwards we hopped on another bus and headed back to Segovia to see what we could see..
Part II coming soon..
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