Segovia

Monday was the day I got a metro pass and went all over the city while Mario was in class and then with him when he was done.  We were both exhausted by the end of the day.

Mario took Tuesday off from his tutoring so we could do a day trip.  We opted for a city about an hour away.  Again, we were brave and pulled the little rental car out from the parking garage of the hotel.  Mario and I were filled with major anxiety every time we got in that car.  Our car insurance doesn't cover rental cars in Europe.  We paid for the insurance there but it still had a huge deductible. The parking garage had a tiny amount of space to drive and it had several poles that we had to weave in and out of.  It only had room for one car to go at a time, so there were lights directing us when to proceed and when to stop.  We saw a lot of cars with dents in their doors, so I'm assuming they were from those tiny parking garages.

Anyway, we had borrowed a GPS and we were on our way to Segovia.  It was a great drive but a little intimidating because we didn't understand all the highway signs.  I remember at one point Mario thinking one sign was trying to tell us that traffic was going to be coming head on.  I think in reality the sign was trying to tell us to shut off our headlights.  Big difference.  I was desperately searching my little Spanish book that I bought at the airport for clues to what all the signs meant.

After paying outrageous amounts for tolls, we finally made it to Segovia.  It was well worth it.  It was a beautiful city with an amazing aqueduct, cathedral and castle.  Mario and I paid to take a tour of the castle.  We enjoyed walking around the city for a few hours before heading back to Madrid.

the dungeon

overlooking Segovia from the castle tower

the castle

On the way back from Segovia, we stopped at a small outlet mall.  It had a couple of familiar stores, North Face and Nike.  It was so small and still expensive, so we didn't purchase anything.  After the outlet mall, we took a quick nap and then took the metro to the Temple that evening.  I tried to talk Mario into driving the car to the Temple, but he had enough of driving for one day.  I think it took about 45 minutes to go by metro.  It was so nice to be in the Temple.  I was so glad to hear some of the Temple workers speaking English.  I had to wear the headset since I was the only one in the session that didn't speak Spanish.  I thought maybe I didn't need the headset since I go so often, I probably have it memorized.  Oh my goodness, was I wrong.  I really needed that headset.  Mario did well in Spanish and he said he understood everything.  He's awesome.  Maybe one day I can do it without the headset.

Tuesday was probably my favorite day.  It was so relaxing (other than the driving).  It was so nice to spend time with just Mario.  We had so much fun together.  Mario said he has never heard me as laugh as much as I laughed on this trip.  We really did have a great time and it made us both realize that we'll be just fine when the kids all leave us.  We have much to do and see even when it is just the two of us.  We both feel so lucky (blessed) to have each other.