Our group of seven had an uneventful flight from Albuquerque to Madrid. We arrived around 9am and were really thankful that our accommodations were ready, and they would allow an early check-in. Later that afternoon, after we had a nap and a shower, we were ready to hit the town.
The Motely Crew
We had gotten tickets for the Hop On/Hop Off bus and we were able to take a short walk to catch the bus. It gave us a chance to do something low key and get an idea of what we wanted to tackle the next day. Found a good tapas bar for dinner and enjoyed walking around the neighborhood. Our apartment was in a great area near the Opera Metro Stop. We even managed to find the San Grimes restaurant known for its churro with chocolate. I wasn’t able to partake, but everyone seemed to enjoy.
Our second day of the HoHo Bus, we hopped off at the Temple Debod. It is an actual Egyptian Temple in the middle of Madrid. A new dam, the Aswan, was commissioned to be built and control the waters of the Nile back in the 50’s and 60’s. This meant a number of antiquities would be lost, covered by water. The Temple of Debod was one of those and was gifted to Spain by the Egyptian government. The temple was dismantled and reassembled in its current location in 1972. It was interesting to see the interior of the temple which still has a number of hieroglyphics. A number of other temples and artifacts were gifted to other countries as well for preservation.
View by the Temple 
Back on the bus and over to Retiro Park. It was a beautiful day to walk around the park and enjoy the weather and grab a bite to eat. The park was also nearby the other bus route, so we were able to take that one as well. A football (soccer) match was taking place that evening and the stadium was crowded with fans.
The black swan didn’t have a mate. 🙁
Turtles in the sun.
The following morning, we had a bus tour scheduled to Toledo. The bus takes you to a panoramic viewpoint of the walled city which was really neat to see. You are also given a 45–50-minute walking tour of the labyrinth of the historic city streets.
Don Quixote 
Locks, Locks, Locks 
After we went ahead and visited the famous Toledo Cathedral. The Gothic cathedral was started in 1226 and finished in 1493. It was pretty impressive. It was raining and since we were already hungry, we stopped for lunch. What we didn’t pay attention to was the opening times of the various sites. Many of the sites still close in the afternoon for siesta. Maybe next time we’ll have to include an overnight visit. It was time to meet the bus and head back to Madrid.
The group split up the next day and some of us chose to take a tour of the Madrid Bull ring. It was a fun self-guided tour that incorporated some virtual reality where you could become a matador and tour a bull farm.
Doesn’t Lorraine make a great Matador??
We jumped back on the metro to a stop closer to our apartment and just walked around exploring the area a bit more on foot.
Our time in Madrid was up and the next morning we were moving on to Segovia. So, we picked up our 2 rental cars and made it to our first stop, the little village of Pedraza. We couldn’t take a tour of the castle that day as a wedding was taking place, but we were able to tour the historic jail. The tour was in Spanish, but luckily, I brought my own interpreters with me. 🙂 Pedraza won an award last year on being one of the prettiest villages in Spain and yes, I would have to agree. It was very beautiful.
Spikes! Yikes! 
Then it was on to Segovia, another walled city for us to explore. Our hotel was right on the Plaza Mayor. There is a Plaza Mayor in almost every city in Spain and is usually in the center of the city. Segovia is an easy city to walk around and visit all the sites on foot. We got out and explored a bit as the weather was pleasant. There was a festival going on that night and the plaza was filled with partiers until well after mid-night.
Our first stop the next day was to the mint. Segovia had been home to the Royal Mint for a few hundred years, but the Royal Mint was eventually moved to Madrid and the property eventually fell into ruins. It was restored as a museum in 2007. The mint was interesting to see the progression that money making had gone through from a hammered coin to one that had been created via automated machines.
We then decided to walk over and check out the Roman Aqueduct. Built around the 1st Century AD, this portion of the aqueduct still remains. The use of it as an aqueduct stopped in 1973, but it is still a marvel to view. Especially when you see its size and the fact that the Romans used no mortar to hold those granite blocks.
The Devil that Built the Aqueduct. 
He was taking a selfie.
Just stay right there.
We went back at night too. 
Our last stop of the day was the Alcazar. This castle was said to be the inspiration for the castle in Disney’s Snow White.
On our way out of town the next morning, we swung by a park that provides a great view of the Alcazar from below.
