La Granja, Segovia and Ávila

 This past week I’ve taken a few day trips. Sunday I went with other students first to la Granja, a majestic palacio, or palace, about an hour from Madrid. The palace were absolutely beautiful and in pristine condition. It’s hard to imagine anyone every living there, but the lucky few from noble lineage had the pleasure of retreating to the beautiful setting 5 kilometers from Segovia. The inside of the palace was just as breathtaking as the jardines, or gardens. I could spend hours outside strolling through the gardens before finding a good spot to read.

After la Granja we went to Segovia, which boasts an aqueduct dating back to around the first century. Equally as impressive was el Alcazar de Segovia, a castillo,  or castle, that was one of the inspirations for the castle in Walt Disney World. While many groups have occupied and built on the castle, the first portion was built around 1122 A.D.

Later we took a mid-week adventure to Ávila, a smaller town located about and hour and half from Madrid. We saw giant murallas, or large walls used to protect the city. Teresa de Ávila has also made Ávila well known thanks to her prolific spiritual writing dating back to the 16^th century.

This weekend I head to Granada. I hope to post early next week with many pictures from my trip!