Ready or not, we finally said adios to the South of Spain and the Costa del Sol. We headed back to Malaga where we boarded a rapid-rail train and headed back to the immaculate capital city of Madrid.
Once there, we went underground. No, we didn’t go into hiding, but we traveled underground. In order to relieve downtown traffic, they built tunnels with roads under the city that many of the buses used. I felt like a groundhog or a prairie dog.
When we emerged back above ground, we were in the city’s historic center where we strolled the streets of Old Town. It was a Sunday afternoon and there was a festival atmosphere with outdoor musicians (including a harpist), magicians and a strolling, larger-than-life cartoon character known as Stitch (without Lilo). The Plaza Mayor is the main public square in the heart of old Madrid. Behind a statue of Phillip III stood a massive building known as The Casa de la Panaderia, with its 237 balconies overlooking the square. Its construction was completed in 1619. Down on the square we encountered a 10-foot-tall King Kong, who hugged all the ladies.
Later that day we visited the Bernabeu Futbol Stadium. The 83,186-capacity stadium with its chrome-colored exterior and retractable roof looked like a giant spaceship. It is the home of Real Madrid soccer team, so of course, we returned with an official Real Madrid soccer ball for Drew. In November, the Atlanta Falcons will play the Cincinnati Bengals there.
On our final day, we visited the historic town of Segovia. There we saw the second of our two aqueducts. Not to diminish the importance of the aqueduct at Alhumbra, but it paled in comparison to the imposing Segovian structure.
The town and the aqueduct were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. The massive stone aqueduct is approximately 11 miles long. Rising 93 feet at its highest point, it came into view long before we reached it. Apparently, no teenagers have been brave enough to paint “Bill loves Jean” on this ancient water tower.
A section of its 167 arches serves as an unofficial welcome entrance to the city. The Romans built the gigantic structure around the same time Jesus was born, and amazingly, it still stands over 2,000 years later. It was built of unmortared granite blocks, with no cranes, elevators or power tools. While portions of the aqueduct have been rebuilt through the years, it still provided water to the city up until 1973.
At the far end of the city, we toured the royal castle of Segovia known as Al Alcazar. As we approached the entrance, the numerous pointed turrets reminded me somewhat of the castles in Disney World. Huge storks flew overhead. Construction began on the magnificent castle in the 12th century but was completely mostly during the first half of the 1400s. It burned in 1862 but was rebuilt.
This castle is surrounded by a moat, which we crossed over on a bridge, but unfortunately not a draw bridge. The curtain-wall exterior was used for archers to launch their arrows toward approaching enemies. I guess we looked friendly enough because they didn’t shoot at us and actually allowed us to enter peacefully.
The interior was just as awe inspiring as the exterior. The Pine Cone Room has golden pine cones on the ceiling. The King’s Room was described as “Gothic.” I can’t think of a better label. I hoped since my last name is King, that they might let me stay. That did not happen, but it was certainly a visit well worth our time.
The next day, we said goodbye to the spectacular land of Spain.
Bill King can be reached at bkpreach@yahoo.com.
