LaJuliana graduates on May 13! We(her parents and older brother) will arrive on the 12th and stay for 2 nights. We take a 3 night trip to Barcelona - to have a reunion with our exchange student from 2005, and then we are back in Madrid (the 17th)until we leave on the 21st.

When we are there the (17-20), we will probably take a day trip to Segovia. Are there any nearby castles that we can take a bus to see? Are they only the buildings or do they have historical items in them? We plan on seeing Palacio Real in Madrid.

We think on the 12th we will try the former Madrid Vision tour, www.emtmadrid.es. Which route should we take, Modern Madrid or the Historic Madrid tour? Opinions?

Thanks all!

I vote for the Historic Madrid tour on the emtmadrid!
AS you may know, Segovia has THe best fairytale castle, actually the Alcazar which you can go inside and tour.
The is a very well preserved castle in the pueblo of Manzanares el REal that is used for making movies. I'm sure there is a bus that goes out there. It's about an hour outside of Madrid.
Do a google search, I found castillosnet.org in English.

Have fun!

You'll be lucky, 18th may, the royal palace is FREE!
new rates.....http://www.patrimonionacional.es/Home/Palacios-Reales/Palacio-Real-de-Madrid/Tarifas.aspx
only in spanish

near Segovia see La Granja de San Idelfonso, which Felipe V of Spain built as remembrance of his birthplace Chateau de Versailles, grand son of Louis XIV. The royal line of the current king ,the Bourbons.
http://www.realsitio.com/sito/sito00.htm

We leave tomorrow, very excited! We may not be able to day a day trip after all. Looks like LaJuliana has some work scheduling conflicts. THere is certainly plenty to see and do in Madrid. We will just have to save those for the next time!

Couldn't YOU take a daytrip on your own without her or ... would that be strange? She'll be working, afterall. Maybe I could go in her place?! Think about it! I'm always looking for excuses to take daytrips and, since LaJuliana can't make it I could be her back-up.

Saludos, MadridMan

P.S. It's GREAT that LaJuliana HAS WORK!!

MM,
It would be great to have you with us! And LaJuliana may be able to go on the 20th.

We were just hesitant about going because she is availble in the morning and after 5. We want to maybe be able to see her around her work times. My husband knows some Spanish and even if he didn't, that would not stop us from a trip.

We have just not yet decided what to do. Our family will all talk about it Thursday and Friday and let you know.

We, also, have apparently not decide between Segovia and Toledo.

LaJuliana's work is part time for the summer at school. She will be assisting ESL students with their writing. She also has 2 classes complete.

Hope to see you soon.

In bcn using husbands blackberrym. Wewould very much like to go to toledo on thursday. Will be able to use a real computer on monday to better arrange plans. Lajulianna has beento toledo and said to go.

I STILL say you should go to Segovia and have a cochinillo lunch . However , Toledo is impressive .. and check out the art work in the cathedral ( paintings by Goya , Caraviaggio etc... ) .. A favourite food is "ciervo" ( deer or venison ) .. There are plenty of farms around Toledo that rear deer for the table . Delicious . Also , buy yourself a knife .. Toledo is famous for it's steel products having made knives and swords for hundreds of years . I bought a pocket knife a few years ago and
it doesn't leave my pocket here in England . Though you do have to understand that , in Europe , it is illegal to carry a knife in towns and public spaces .

Hi We could not decide, but my husband really wants to see Toledo. We are spending our last night in Barcelona - it has been fantastic! We will be back in Madrid late Tuesday. Should be able to make arrangements on Wednesday for Toledo. Are you up for a day trip on Thursday, MadridMan? Wish you were here, Steve so that you could come also.