and they all lived happily ever after...

in a castle of course.


This weekend has been full of castles. And aqueducts. And cathedrals. Lots of beautiful stuff. 


Friday: Segovia

The Roman aqueduct in Segovia. It's incredible. SO huge.

The cathedral in Segovia. It's absolutely amazing to me how
these buildings were constructed so long ago. The inside is even
more beautiful, but I couldn't take any pictures.

"The Walt Disney Castle"--recognize it from Sleeping Beauty?
Well, it's actually a legit castle that the king and queen lived in.
(Segovia, Spain)
yes yes yes yes.

Well, you can't really see me...but you can see the
awesome view that I would have from my window if I lived
in a Walt Disney castle.
I thought the picture was worth posting.

Outside on the castle walls with Erynn and Chris--
two of my buddies from my Mexico study abroad.

Me otra vez. Still on the castle walls...but now you can see all
 the beautiful countryside.

A beautiful old church in Segovia. It was super simple.
But for some reason, I absolutely loved it.

Inside of that beautiful old church. The front of the church.
These murals were the focal point--everything else was starkly plain.
Such a contrast with the ornate cathedrals we've been seeing.

Saturday: Franco's tomb, El Escorial, and El Castillo de los Manzanares.

The tomb of Francisco Franco.

His tomb and the basilica is magnificent. But it wasn't a good magnificent. Walking through it was like hearing all the muffled shuffling of the "slaves" (political prisoners) that he forced to construct his tomb. Like feeling all the pain and injustice of his regime. We talked to our "mom" about it- for Spain, it was 40 years of silenced cries. 

El Escorial was a Spanish palace, completed in 1584. Unfortunately, I left my camera in my backpack (which I couldn't take with me), so I don't have any pictures. It's huge--very impressive. We walked 1.5 miles during our tour and we didn't even see it all. 


El Castillo de los Manzanares is another castle. I loved it because we didn't have a guide. We could just run around it and explore to our hearts' content. SO cool. Here are the pics!

The entrance to the castle.

Bethany and I inside the castle walls. 

I love spiral stairs. These are the stairs inside of the castle tower.

Guys, look, I've finally found my knight in
shining armor!

Welcome to my castle tower. :)

Well, that was picture overload, if I do say so myself. 


In other news, Irene (our "mom") makes the best paella ever. SO much better than what we ate at the Plaza Mayor. The tortillas espanolas are to die for as well. I think Spanish food is super tasty. However, it's still not as good as my mom's cooking. I don't know if any food is.


Speaking of which...Happy Mother's Day, mom! You're incredible, beautiful, and the best mom in the world. I know that I wouldn't be who I am without you. Thank you. I love you!!