Day 2: Segovia

In all my four destinations that I had chosen to visit before my big return to the United States, Segovia was the most anticipated!

 The picture above is the reason why!! This is a aqueduct from the FIRST CENTURY! Isn't is just beautifully amazing!? The people below give you an idea of its size.

 Although I traveled alone I just had to get a picture with it.

 This is the view from above of the other side of the city in which I did not explore. Since I only had six hours at most to explore each destination, I really had to make a concrete list of what it was that I wanted to accomplish.

 I was enjoying the views and reading my map while I overheard a couple who were clearly Americans. I then offered to take their picture and they kindly returned the favor. It is nice not to only have self shots from my last week adventure.

 Next I decided to get lost in the small streets and alleyways of the city. This is a real requirement to enjoy the most of the cities and towns in Spain!

 Truly you could take an adventure in Spain or Europe for that matter and only visit the churches and Cathedrals. Often I have heard that others have seen enough enough churches but for me I still like to sneak a peek into the churches or Cathedrals when I have the opportunity. The architecture and art alone is breathtaking and it often reminds me of the book Pillars of the Earth.

 What I am disappointed with often is how my camera cannot capture the beauty, especially of stained glass.

This picture is actually from the courtyard within the church.

 I am not sure why but I was a little surprised how many beautiful the views were and how green!

 In Segovia there is an Alcazar which is actually the castle that was used to design Snow White's castle. This picture below does not show all that the castle has to offer but I love the picture with the flowers below.

 It has long been on my list to see the castle in Germany in which the Disney castle is designed but I was definitely able to settle for now on Snow White's castle.

 When I was visiting the Cathedral I also paid to go up the tower but they only have set times during the day and I had just missed it. I still decided to visit the Cathedral and then would later return for the climb to the top of the tower. I always like to pay the extra for the towers because they provide excellent viewpoints for pictures.

 Don't you agree?

 This was the best attempt of getting myself with the background.

 Another stop on my list. This House of Points dates back to the Renaissance.

 In Segovia I paid a little more for my menu of the day for lunch. This is because I had to try the roasted suckling pig in which they are famous.

 Here is a better view of the Cathedral.

Lastly, as I was heading back to the bus station I saw this statue which is from Holy Week. Next stop, Salamanca.

Day 1: Cuenca

I am a little behind since I have been busy traveling and visiting with friends but I am planning to play some catch up. My last week in Spain I had the opportunity to do some traveling on my own. My first destination was Cuenca.

I did A LOT of walking over the week but the views were phenomenal.

Cuenca is famous for these hanging houses that are built into the rock.

Some of the views reminded me a little of Ronda, Malaga actually. 

I crossed over this little foot bridge to get some better looks at the beautiful scenery.

I got lucky with wonderful warm and sunny weather for the day. I spent about six or seven hours wandering the streets, getting lost in little alleyways, and taking many photographs.

In each city I tried to take at least one photograph with me in the picture. It was different but a nice change of pace to do all the traveling on my own. With a map in hand I tried to take full advantage. I packed sandwiches for the bus rides at night and ate a full lunch during the day. I wanted to make sure to check out all the local cuisine.

The facade of this cathedral reminds me a bit of Notre Dame in Paris.

It was quite a hike up to this view point and there was a whole class of art students sketching. My drawings have been coming along VERY slowly but my last week of travels was very inspiring.

Do you see the eyes in the mountain?

I found this during my wandering of small streets within the city.

Since I had some spare time before my bus came I decided to walk to the opposite side of town and found a nice surprise.

Day 1 was definitely a success!!

Greece Part 2- Oia, Santorini

 Woke up at the crack of dawn to catch our nine hour ferry to the island of Santorini. We did not realize that for a few more dollars we could have reserved seats so we spent the nine hours camped out in the restaurant section... but no worries we upgraded for the return trip.

 Finally reached the city of Oia (pronounced ee-ah). This is at our hostel! 

 Here is only part of my photo journey in Greece. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect. If you notice at this book store there is a sign that says: Rent-A-Cat 5 euros.

 There are so many little churches in Greece. This picture almost does not look real. I am excited to start going through my pictures of the past two years and choose some to draw.

 The stores are all open late for tourists and as we were walking around at about 10pm we found this fish spa.

 The tanks are filled with little fish, a type of Carp,and they eat the dead skin. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was the weirdest feeling... I could hardly stand the tickling feeling but the results were great.

 The owner showed us pictures on her phone from the previous week from when the Kardashians were there at the spa.

 We finished off the first night with some local white wine!

 Here you can see a map of the island. The small part that is in the center is actually the volcano. Although this island is not a beachy island there are some black sand, white sand, and red sand beaches.

 I didn't ride the donkeys because I do not agree with some of the treatment of animals but they are quite cute. 

 Just look at these outstanding views!!

 I know that these are just little toy donkeys but I do really like this photo.

 Took a little pit stop during our photo walk.

 If you look at the bottom left of this photo you can see a pool. I think this should be the hotel in which I stay when I return... haha 

 This may not look like much but it was my favorite meal. It was just a mixture of vegetables with a light tomato sauce and feta cheese.

 We walked REALLY FAR in the heat to a black sand beach. 

 We were really hoping for an amazing sunset. It is said to be the number one place in the world to view a sunset. Sadly there was always too much of a cloudy haze every night but we ate dinner at a really nice restaurant on the top deck. It was one of those restaurants were you pay an arm and a leg and walk away still hungry since the plate was so small but I loved it all the same. I have become a big fan of octopus!

 We made some new friends. They go to school in Portland and hopefully I will be visiting them later this year.

 A few hours before we headed back we got some pool time in too.

 And sadly after five wondrous days in Greece it was time to leave.

Well I have finally made it back to the USA but I will first be posting about my last week or so in Spain... I visited many new sights and said too many goodbyes or rather "see you laters."