Segovia

Today we headed to Segovia, a 20 minute, high-speed train trip.  It has a 1st century aqueduct, a beautiful alcazar palace, and the best suckling pig in Spain.

We returned for a visit to the Reina Sofia museum where the boys saw works by Dali, Picasso and Miro.  For dinner we had bocadillos at the famous El Brillante, where calamar sandwiches rule.  For our last night out we swung by Plaza Cibeles.

Avila

Yesterday we headed to Avila in the morning to see the picturesque city with its fully intact walls.  The city is very well known for its beef so we lunched on chuleton and homemade desserts.  We returned to Madrid to tour the stadium for Real Madrid and also to witness a clash between striking minors and the police half a block from our hotel.

First day in Madrid

Our bus ride to Madrid was uneventful once we got past a slight technical difficulty with the bus.  We checked into our hotel and made our way to the Prado Museum.  The boys had to find some of the major works of Greco, Velazquez and Goya.  We then had dinner at Casa Paco, a true Madrid classic.  Woodberry has being going there for many years and many alumni return if they have business in Madrid.  We put off dessert for a night run of churros and chocolate at the famous Chocolateria San Gines.

Last day in Valencia

Tomorrow we head to Madrid, so after classes we headed to the Central Market one last time.  Some boys wanted saffron and olive oil to bring back as presents, so we made an impromptu exercise of it and had then film their transactions.

The spiraled columns of La Lonja, famous market from when Valencia was one of the main trade centers of the Mediterranean.

There are many scammers when it comes to saffron.  This stall is a sure bet to get the best stuff.

Calpe

Saturday, we took a bus to Calpe, a city about 2 hours away with a huge monolith that Woodberry boys love to climb.  Mr. Collier took the challenge this year to climb with the boys as I lounged on the beach.  I'll include a photo of my son Robbie on the beach with the rock in the background.

A magic night

We had the true pleasure of having a magic show in Valencia's private club for magicians, called La cuchara mágica (The Magic Spoon.)  They not only performed some great tricks, but also served a very tasty meal with a seafood paella as the main dish.

Chef Jordi from our market tour stops by to join the fun and make sure the paella is off to a good start