oops...

i can´t believe that it has almost been a week since i blogged last! the past five-six days have been filled with so much that some of it is becoming a blur ;)

we´re in Sevilla now, Spain´s fourth largest city. it is hot, HOT. we got into the city yesterday afternoon from Granada and it has pretty much been in the high 80´s. thank god for a/c!!!

lessee here. i really should mention some of the places we´ve been, eh?

last friday, we took a day trip to Aranjuez, which is a short drive south of Madrid. nothing too special...just a small town that was once the spring and fall homes of the royal family. there´s a massive garden that the Spanish Bourbon monarchs built three hundred years years ago, in an attempt to replicate Versailles. now, i´m sure it´s nothing like it...but it´s still pretty damn impressive.

as i mentioned last week, the royal wedding was last saturday. everything was closed off for the limo procession and the security was tight; on one block, lois and i were stopped and searched at each corner by the police. later, when we were in the pharmacy, the 60-year old pharmacist told us that the cops confiscated an apple in her pocket because she ¨might throw it.¨ lol

what else...rain. and lots of it. in fact, it rained every day for the first six days we were in madrid. and when we went to Granada (5 hours SE) for two days, it rained there too. luckily, we were able to do the important things in the morning before the afternoon downpour.

anyway, back to our goofy itinerary.

tuesday was a long, but very worthwhile day. we went up to Segovia, which is about an hour north of Madrid. it´s known for three things - a massive aqueduct, a stunning cathedral built in 1525, and the Alcázar (a really cool castle).

the Segovia aqueduct was built around the first century BC. made of granite, it´s about a half mile long, has 166 arches, 120 pillars, and is around 100 feet high. other than its age, the other cool fact about this massive structure is that it was built WITHOUT any cement or mortar! how ´bout a pic?

the cathedral, although started in 1525, wasn´t finished for another 200 years. supposedly, it is the last Gothic structure built in Europe. go see this site.

if any of you have been to Disneyl*nd, or even watched the show as a kid, then you´ve seen the Alcázar. really. what´s the first thing you envision when you think of Disneyl*nd? the castle, right? well, the Alcázar served as the primary model for Walt´s little castle. and it is awesome!!!

i hate to cut it short, but we gotta head back to the hotel and pack for tomorrow. i´ll update from Cadiz...