This weekend, I had a wonderful opportunity to visit my friend David. He lives in a small town thirty minutes outside of the city of Segovia and about an hour outside of Madrid, the capital. We arrived in Madrid on Friday and headed to his town for a relaxing night.
On Saturday, we started our day at a soccer game of David’s, in which he played goalie. It was an informal game but it was pretty cool to watch. Later, we went into the city of Segovia, one of the major cities of the province of Castile y Leon. We walked through the old cobblestone streets and looked at the beautiful architecture. On our walk, we came across a Roman aqueduct, built back when the Roman Empire was in control of what is now Spain. It was amazing. Apparently, you don’t have to go to Italy to see Roman architecture. 
After the aqueduct, we went to the main plaza where we saw the outside of a large and beautiful cathedral. Next, we went to the castle. It was built in the 1120s for the King, Alfonso the Sixth. We were able to all of the rooms, including the throne room and armory. Also, we climbed 150 narrow stone steps to the top of the tower. From the top, you could see all of the city of Segovia, including the sunset. It was beautiful. When we got back to the village, a group of David’s friends came over for dinner. All of them eat, sleep and breathe soccer. They watch it, play it, play it on Playstation and talk about it. 
On Sunday, we took the bus into Madrid. We walked up Gran Vía, the Broadway of Madrid. We saw the Plaza España, which houses a beautiful fountain. We went to the Puerta del Sol. There, you can see the symbol of Madrid, a bear with its paws on a tree. There were street performers everywhere. Cutting through the plaza was a long line to buy lottery tickets. On New Years Eve, Puerta del Sol will be packed full of people, waiting for the New Year. During the twelve bells at midnight, everyone eats a grape per bell, to bring good fortune in the New Year. After, we walked to Plaza Mayor, the main plaza in Madrid. It was all decorated for Christmas and was very busy due to the Christmas market. In the outer buildings that closed in the square, there were little souvenir shops and restaurants.
Yesterday, we mostly hung out with David’s friends and walked through his village. We took a drive to another city called Avila, where we saw an old wall, encompassing the inner city. It was beautifully preserved.
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