Adventures in Central Spain ~ Toledo, Avila, and Segovia

Hello everyone! Just a little update on my travels in Spain. A couple of weekends ago, we had a holiday on February 28th. It was Dia de Andalucia, the day that Andalucia became a region. Claire and I took the opportunity to go back to Madrid and take some day trips to nearby cities. It was another exciting adventure and I loved it!

We left Sevilla after class on Wednesday evening and took the bus to Madrid. It was a 6 1/2 hour bus ride and we arrived at 12:45 in the morning. Our Airbnb was a lovely little apartment in Madrid. From there, we went on three day trips to Toledo, Avila, and Segovia.

On the first day, we went to Toledo. We slept in and then headed down to the supermarket and bought some groceries. Navigating the metro and bus stations was quite a challenge. There are so many different metro lines in Madrid. They are so deep underneath the ground and many of the major bus stations are connected to the metro stations. It went relatively smoothly, although we did have to ask for directions once and we also had to have someone help us with purchasing a metro card. The bus ride was only an hour and it was beautiful.

Toledo was just as beautiful as I remembered it being. We ate our lunch of salami and ham paste sandwiches and bananas in the plaza. Afterwards, we walked around Toledo and looked for little souvenirs and window shopped. Walking around the old city was wonderful and it was a great way to spend the afternoon. We also bought some marzipan, which is a sweet pastry from Toledo, made of sugar, almond flour, and honey. It is some of the best pastries that I have ever had! We were exhausted after the day and we sat and rested on a bench with a beautiful view of the Cathedral of Toledo. That evening, we went to daily Mass at the Cathedral. It is such an amazing cathedral and it may be my favorite one in Spain. We watched the sunset on our way home. It was a wonderful way to end the day.

The Cathedral of Toledo

On the second day, we took the bus to Avila. The bus left at 8:30 in the morning, so we had to get on the metro at 7:30 in the morning to make it to the bus in time. We navigated another bus station, which felt more like a small, unorganized airport. The bus ride was relaxing and so beautiful. The bus ride wound through the mountains and it was around 1 and a 1/2 hours. When we got to Avila, we realized that we did not have a map of the city, so we set off in the general direction of the historic section, and it ended up being a short walk. By the time we reached the walls of the historic city, it was still pretty early in the morning, so we stopped to get some coffee at a little cafeteria in Plaza Santa Teresa. What a perfect way to start our day in Avila!

The city of Avila is situated on top of a rolling hill overlooking the countryside. The snow-topped Gredo Mountians are off in the distance. The historic section of the city is surrounded by these massive stone walls that must be six feet thick. They are classified as an UNESCO world heritage site. Within the city, almost everything is named after St. Teresa of Avila, from plazas. to streets, to restaurants. There are also statues of her in almost every plaza.

St. Teresa of Avila is one of my favorite saints and it was very special to spend a day in the city that she grew up in. We walked around the walls and then visited la Iglesia de Santa Teresa, which was built on the birthplace and childhood home of St. Teresa. The church was simple, but beautiful, and so peaceful inside. Since it was still early in the morning, very few people were there. There was a small chapel off to the side, with a beautiful statue of St. Teresa and a room that was decorated as the room St. Teresa was born in would have looked like. There was a plaque describing it as the birthplace of St. Teresa. Another plaque was there to commemorate Pope St. John Paul II's visit to the little church. It was wonderful to travel with just me and Claire because it gave us so much time to do whatever we wanted. I was able to sit and pray in the church for a few minutes. It was so peaceful and powerful.

We also got to visit the museum of St. Teresa, which contained some of her possessions, manuscripts, and a collection of statues and paintings of her. We also visited a relic room and got to see some of her clothing and her finger!

By the time we were finished with all this, we were tired and hungry. Our original plan was to find a grocery store in Avila to buy food to make sandwiches, but we had trouble finding a supermarket in the historic section of the city and we were unable to buy food in Madrid before we left because most supermarkets in Spain do not open until 9:00 am. Instead, we found a cute little restaurant and ate lunch on the terrace. It was so relaxing! After lunch, we did find a grocery store so we were able to buy food for dinner and breakfast the next day.

Our next stop was the Cathedral of Avila. I think this cathedral may be tied with the Cathedral of Toledo for being my favorite cathedral in all of Spain. It is also very unique because it was built into the wall of the city, acting as both a cathedral and a fortress. The inside is made of a mix of white stone and stone with iron veins, making the interior white and red. Construction on the cathedral began in 1095. St. Teresa went to the cathedral often and there is a plaque next to one of the statues of the Virgin Mary, identifying it as the statue that St. Teresa prayed to after the death of her mother. I just could not get over the fact that everywhere I was walking, St. Teresa had walked hundreds of years before.

We also got to visit the first convent that St. Teresa founded and visit the chapel where the first nuns took their vows to become members of the order. After a long, but laid-back day of sightseeing, we walked back to the bus station and caught our bus back to Madrid. On the way back, I turned around, and out of the rear bus window saw one of the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen.

The walls of Avila

On Saturday, we packed our backpacks, checked out of our Airbnb, and navigated our way to our third bus station in Madrid. From there, we boarded a bus to head to Segovia, a little town 1 and a 1/2 hours from Madrid. Our bus left at 8:00 am so we arrived nice and early. As we wound through the countryside, I knew that Segovia was going to be my favorite little town so far and I was not disappointed. It was like a little fairy tale town nestled on a hill, surrounded by bright green fields, blossoming trees, and snowy mountains. There was a towering cathedral in the center of town and a gorgeous castle jutting out from the point of the town. Walking through the narrow little streets, I felt like I had gone back in time.

We bought our groceries (which we quickly realized was a bad idea because we had to carry the bag with us all day) and then headed to the aqueduct. It was colossal and ran straight through town. I could not believe that it was still standing, considering it is 1000 years old! After the aqueduct, we walked to the edge of town and toured the castle. It was just what I imagined a castle would be like, complete with tapestries, suits of armor, and a mote. After visiting the castle, we walked down a winding little stone staircase to this little path along a creek below the castle. It was sunny and warm, and it felt so good to be outside walking through the trees with the gurgling stream. We found this large grass field with an amazing view of the castle and we had a little snack. Then, we walked up the road and looked at la Iglesia de la Vera Cruz, which was founded by the Knights Templar. After that, we visited two more churches, one that Pope St. John Paul II had visited while in Segovia, and the other in the Carmelite convent that St. John of the Cross founded. His tomb is in that church, but unfortunately we were unable to go inside because it was closed for construction.

By now, we were ready for lunch so we found a little trail that took us up to this bluff overlooking the castle and the town of Segovia. The view was breathtaking and the sun was so warm. We sat and ate lunch, admiring the view. We really wanted to leave the city and get out into nature, so after lunch we went for a little hike through the fields and looked at views of the mountains and the city. I could not get over how beautiful everything was. I did not realize how much I missed nature. It felt so good to get out! We also visited the cathedral of Segovia and did a little souvenir shopping. Our Airbnb was this tiny little room on the top floor of an apartment very close to the city center. Even the ceiling was slanted because we were right underneath the roof. It did not have WiFi, but it was cheap and very close to the city center. We did not realize that we would not have WiFi and we also realized that we had no idea where or what time to go to Mass that night. Our solution was to go for a run and find all the different churches. It was a lot harder than we thought. Most of the churches were so ancient that they just had historical information posted on front, but no schedule for Mass. Ironically, the church we finally located was only two minutes from our Airbnb. It was quite the adventurous run.

That night, we went to Mass at San Miguel and then went out to dinner at this little restaurant near our room. We got to sit outside, next to a fire. It felt so fancy. Most cities in Spain were celebrating Carnival that weekend, so after dinner, we went to the main square (Plaza Mayor) and watched some live music and admired all the costumes. However, we were so tired from all our travels that we only stayed for half an hour before going to bed.

The castle in Segovia

The next morning, we woke up early, boarded our bus for Madrid, and started the long journey home to Sevilla. In Madrid, we ate sandwiches in the park and then headed another bus station. From there, we rode the bus for 6 and a 1/2 hours back to Sevilla. It was probably the hottest, and most uncomfortable I have been in a vehicle yet. I sweated so much, but I survived. I was so happy to be off that bus when we arrived in Sevilla.

Traveling was so much fun, but I was glad to be back in a familiar city. It almost felt like coming home... It is hard to believe that I have been in Spain for almost two months!