Castle #1, aqueducts, & storktown (Durfventures in Spain part 2)

(Read part 1 here)

We woke up bright and early Monday morning to take the metro to the airport, get our rental car and drive to Mérida  And by early, I mean we were awake around 4:00 or 5:00am... without an alarm or anything. Sometimes having jet lag has its perks since we were wide-eyed, bushy tailed, and ready to go instead of being really sleepy like I expected. Once we got our cute little car we successfully navigated the streets to get out of Madrid without any glitches, and that is quite impressive, ladies and gents! They have a major traffic problem, lemme tell ya. 

The drive to Mérida  which is a small-ish town about three hours drive from Madrid, was so fun. Madrid is cool and all, but I loved the Spanish countryside. Part of this probably has to do with the fact that I've never been a big fan of the beaten path.

There were lots of farms with quaint houses, vineyards, and olive orchards. 

One of the many castles we passed. They were all over the place!

A tunnel under a mountain. My siblings taught me from a very young age that holding your breath when you go through tunnels is mandatory, both to get a wish and just because that's what you do obviously. This one strongly tested my breath-holding abilities due to its length, but I am proud to say I made it, thank you very much. Please hold your applause until the end. ;)

We stopped by the cute little town of Trujillo on the way to Mérida. This was one of Dallin's favorite places from his mission, and I loved it too! Especially since it was Dallin, not me, that got to navigate these crazy streets in our car. 

Some of the many cute buildings I took pictures of during this trip! 

Trujillo's main attraction is the cool castle that has amazing views of the countryside! 

Dallin enjoying the view.

Can you see us?

These red flowers were springing out of cracks and crevices on the castle, and throughout the whole town too. I loved it! 

The castle also gave us a great view of this church.

After seeing the castle we went exploring around the town. There were lots of sweet arches...

...and lots of holding hands, which I found quite acceptable indeed.

After walking around the town we went on a little adventure exploring the city wall...

...and took advantage of a lovely photo op. 

Then if was off to Mérida! We got to stay with Petri and her family, who were some of Dallin's friends from his mission. Petri is probably the sweetest, nicest, cutest person that ever lived on this earth. She made us feel so welcome, and greeted us with lots of hugs and kisses which made me happy. :) 

Oh, and she is also an amazing cook! She stuffed us full of goodness every day. 

Spanish tortilla, amazing bread, and a rice dish made of magic. 

The first night she and Dallin took me around the town to see some of the sights. Mérida used to be the capital of Lusitania in the Roman Empire, which means there are awesome Roman ruins everywhere! 

For example, this cool aqueduct (which would be in better condition if the Arabs hadn't come in and destroyed it but is still awesome).

There is also a really cool Arabian aqueduct just a mile or so away that we saw. 

And the road goes through one of the arches!

More Roman ruins... this is the Temple of Diana.

My wonderful tour guides on the longest of the two Roman bridges. They are both still in use (wow!) and this one is almost a mile long and goes across the river. It really amazes me how long these have lasted and that even after 2,000 years they are still being used. Apparently this bridge has been restricted to foot traffic only for 20 years too! 

The Arab fortress and a section of the bridge.

Dallin, Petri, and me by one of the arches on the bridge. This picture makes me so happy. :) We love Petri!

The next day Dallin took me to see some more cool stuff!

Here is a Roman theater that I loved! Dallin got to see a play here on his mission and I am a bit very, very jealous. How cool would that be?!





Detail of the theater. Pretty cool to think that some Roman (or Roman slave) carved this roughly 2,000 years ago.

Outside the theater. If you look closely at the exterior of the theater you can tell which stones are original and which are restored since the originals have been worn down over the years.

Remember how I said there were roses everywhere?

Right next door to the theater is an amphitheater, which is basically a mini coliseum. Originally, the depression in the middle was deeper and covered with planks to make underground tunnels and chambers. Apparently this was sometimes flooded to stage naval battles, again similar to the coliseum. Pretty sweet!



Next stop was the Roman museum. Most of the original statues and such have been moved into here for obvious reasons. The museum itself was really cool with arches and natural light coming through the skylights.

Spanish candy! Mmmmmmmm... :) Both pretty and delicious!

Next we visited the Arab fortress, which was primarily made up of stones from the Roman fortress they tore down. The wall around it gave us a good view of the Roman bridge!

Just ignore whatever is going on with my face... the light was bad, to say the least.

The fortress has a cool cistern we checked out...

...and one of the best preserved sections of Roman road. P.S. the building to the right is where the stairs to get to the cistern are located.



My toesies on le road!



Later that day we went to this place Petri told us about to see this abandoned building the storks took over. I don't think I had ever seen a stork before this trip, at least as far as I can remember, but they were everywhere in Extremadura! Everywhere, I tell you! But this was the only time I saw so many nests in one place.



I s'pose this stork liked to have her space more than the others. (A bird after my own heart!)

We stayed one more night with Petri and her family, and then after a breakfast of Cola-cao and tostadas (not the kind from Taco Bell... haha! Very different!) we left Mérida for the next part of our adventure.

But not before getting hugs and kisses from Petri! :) Hopefully we can come back to see you soon!

Next up is the last part of our trip that includes beautiful Segovia, which has to be in the top 3 most gorgeous places I have ever been, and that is saying something! Stay tuned for some amazing castle pictures! :)

Durfventures in Spain (Part 1)

The night before we left for Spain, we grabbed some Panda Express and I got this fortune. 

Fitting, don't you think? 

I took this advice (side note: I think they should call them "advice cookies" instead... much more accurate) and was not disappointed in the slightest. 

Spain was beautiful and we had a splendid time seeing the sights, visiting friends from Dallin's mission, and eating an abundance of delicious food. I'm so glad we were able to go! It was a perfect trip. We only got a little lost once (truly a miracle since the roads there are a tangled mess!), and even though we were jet lagged pretty much the whole time we still had lots of fun.

Sunrise over the clouds on the flight there.

My first view of Spain from the plane... so purty!

Our first order of business once we landed in Madrid and dropped off our luggage at the hotel was head to church since we got there Sunday morning. Conveniently, the church, MTC, and temple are all right next to each other so we got to start off our trip with this beautiful view. 

Madrid, Spain Temple

This temple is stunning. The marble exterior and the walkways are such a bright white that it is hard to keep your eyes open at all when the sun is out which is quite the effect. I think I understand what it means to be "above the brightness of the sun" a little better after frying my eyeballs trying to keep them open. 

It was amazing to feel the difference between being on the metro/street and the temple grounds. There is such a feeling of peace, tranquility, and security -- just like coming home. One of the things I love most about traveling, especially abroad, is experiencing this wherever I go. I remember attending church for the first time in Russia and the relief I felt when I walked in was so overwhelming. It was nice to feel that here too!

Anyway, after that we spent the rest of the day walking around the city. Here are some of the sights we saw!

First, The Almudena Cathedral, or the Royal Cathedral. It took them 110 years to complete this thanks to a civil war that really did a number on the country in the 1930s. In the middle of construction they changed the plans from a more Gothic design to what you see here. It's really an interesting mix of old and new, especially inside! More on that later including pictures of the amazing roof inside. 

(I'm trying to do this chronologically and we didn't go in until the end of the week)

There were lots of street musicians and people doing all kinds of crazy stuff to make money, including this guy that was making these huge bubbles on the plaza between the cathedral and the royal palace that you can see in the background. 

This lady tried a slightly different tactic by dressing up in tan clothing and covering herself with sand from head to toe. I haven't been able to find a good job here so maybe I should see if this is a good option for gainful employment? (Answer: No.)

Interesting...

Plaza Mayor. There were cool plazas everywhere! 

(Fun fact:  a few movies have been filmed here including Vantage Point.)

Cool metro entrance at Plaza del Sol, which is kind of like the Times Square of Spain. 

I must say that Russia really spoiled me when it comes to the metro. The stations there are absolutely amazing, beautifully designed and full of art, while the metro in Spain is functional... the end. Apparently when Dallin was on his mission you could still smoke in here, and I am most grateful that is now illegal.

This is a post office... can you believe it?! I'm quite certain this is the most beautiful post office I have ever seen. 

Here's where Dallin made his first contact on his mission. :)

Lots of green and pretty things everywhere! Also, Spaniards really seem to like fountains because there were lots of them. Fountains and roses and statues everywhere. 

One of Dallin's former mission apartments!

Those things that look like huge chocolate cookies are palmeras. We ate lots of them because they are flipping amazing. :) It is a flaky pastry covered in amazing chocolate, and just thinking about them is makin' me hungry so let's move on, shall we?

Neither of us have ever really had any issues with jet lag... except for this trip. I had no idea it was possible to be so tired and yet somehow still be (kind of) awake. It is pretty rude to yawn without covering your mouth in Spain, so my hand was over my face most of the day, or at least that is how it felt! 

Mid-afternoon we couldn't take it anymore and went to our hotel to crash before waking up bright and early for our drive to beautiful Mérida the next day!

...to be continued.