We Also Saw A Lot of Cool Stuff Too!

Ouch, I got busted by my travel companions. No, no, no, I wasn't trying to give the impression that the entire trip was about meeting interesting new people of the good-looking male persuasion....
This first picture, for example, was not my fault. Who knew that "police officer" was universal for male dancer, and how could I know that someone was having a birthday in the restaurant? I guess we just got lucky....

Actually, given my last post (about race in Spain), I think I did well for myself while away. I usually engage in political conversations with men who are trying to chat me up; I have since learned that that is a defense mechanism, and I am becoming more comfortable socializing in a more casual way (I am also trying to learn how to date, but that is another blog altogether...). I only had one political argument (the others were more friendly), and that one was not my fault because the poor boy decided to talk to me about the war in Iraq... Cute, yes, but I am also an intellectual.... ;-)



OK, so we saw lots of cool stuff in Spain too. The last picture is one point of entry into Madrid's Plaza Mayor, an incredible public square that was the site of the auto de fe (think Spanish Inquisition) and an example of Madrid's Bourbon history and corresponding architectural style. We took daytrips to Toledo and Segovia, and a longer trip to the south to visit Sevilla and Granada.

This castle is in Segovia and is actually the prototype for the Disneyland castle made famous by some crazy princess stories ;-) (I did not grow up reading Cinderella or Snow White, and everything at Disneyland was frightening to me as a kid. I couldn't figure out why my dad would take me to such a torturous place...)


The next two are from Sevilla. If you are a Star Wars fan, like one of my travel buddies, you will recognize "Nabo" from the latest installments of Star Wars. Sevillians call it Plaza de Espan-ya. The other photo is of the most amazing gothic cathedral in Sevilla. I have to say, I may need to make a trip to Spain just to visit Sevilla again. It was the most enchanting city we visited.



Blogger won't let me upload anymore pictures, so one final post about Spain will follow! Stay tuned...