Hola Avila!

Basilica de San Vicente, Avila, Spain

Since I am currently sick in bed, I decided to take this opportunity to write about the day trip that I took this past weekend to Avila, Spain! This small town is about an hour and a half outside of Madrid by bus, but it is well worth the drive! My friend and I took a bus through a company called Avanza bus, which was a very nice service that I would recommend to anyone looking to take a day trip from Madrid.

View of the city from the walls!

When we arrived at the bus station we had to walk an easy 15 minutes to get to the heart of the town. When we got there, we were surprised to see an overwhelming number of medieval buildings and structures. The whole town was absolutely beautiful! We had a chance to visit the Basilica de San Vicente (pictured above) and the Cathedral within the city walls. We also were able to walk the entire length of the city walls, which provided amazing views of the entire city and the surrounding countryside!

View of the Cathedral from the city walls

The medieval city walls!

After we had walked the city walls, we happened to stumble upon signs for a circus later that day! We decided that it would be pointless to miss out on a circus, and so we decided to stay to see the circus! We stopped by a small cafe to get a glass of white wine and a toasted croissant with peach jam (which was absolutely heavenly) before heading over to the circus. We also met the cutest little puppy named Luna (pictured below) who I played with for about 5 minutes to satisfy my puppy craving! Once we got to the circus, it was so much fun. The performers were all great and it was a very unexpected experience, which made it that much better! Sometimes the spontaneous decisions are the best ones you can make!

Luna, my love ❤

Overall, it was another very successful day trip to Avila, Spain. Budget wise it didn’t hurt either: 8 euros for the bus each way, 7 euros for the circus, 2.50 euros for entrance to the wall, 4 euros for the wine and croissant, and 3 euros for entrance to the Basilica, for a grand total of 32.50 euros. Not too bad for an amazing day trip and memories from Spain that will last forever! I would highly recommend this day trip to someone who has a little more time to spend in Spain, in addition to the classic day trips of Toledo and Segovia.

I only have three more days until I depart for PARIS, FRANCE and I could not actually be more excited! I have been dreaming about this city since the day I was born (well, almost!) and I cannot wait to see it in person! After that, my parents will be coming to Spain to visit for my Spring break. After visiting Madrid for a few days, we will travel to Barcelona, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal for a few days each! Stay tuned for my Paris and spring break travel posts!

Happy travels!

Madrid to the Mountains (In less than an hour!)

 

Farm country with my favorite animals…cows!

A few weekends ago, my friend Erin and I decided to venture to the mountains that surround Madrid. We really had no idea where we were going, and decided to just hop on the first bus that would take us to a mountain town. This turned out to be a great idea and we were pleasantly surprised by what we found there! The bus we took was to Manzanares El Real, a town we had never heard of. But as we got closer and closer to the town, we started to get more and more excited because even the bus ride was beautiful! We passed the Manzanares River, many rolling fields, and a few small farms that were just adorable. As soon as we got to Manzanares el Real, we were even more surprised by how much there was to see there! We had just wanted to go for a hike in the mountains, but ended up spending our day exploring more than anything else!

First thing we did when we got to Manzanares El Real was go to the tourism office. If there is one thing that I have learned while abroad, it is that tourist offices are gifts from god. Every time I have ventured into one, the people have been extremely friendly, especially helpful, and incredibly resourceful. I know that was a lot of adjectives, but really they are great. I am considering going to the tourism office when I get back to San Diego because they have been THAT wonderful. Needless to say, I would suggest anyone and everyone to visit a tourism office at some point if you are ever lost or looking for something interesting to do. The angel at the tourism office told us of a less direct path to get to the mountains, which passed by a medieval castle, medieval bridge, and hilltop church.

Medieval Castle in Manzanares El Real, Spain

The first stop on our trek to the mountains was the beautiful castle shown in the picture above. As you can see, it wasn’t a bad day to be outside (Blue skies far as the eye can see!) and we walked into the castle and explored a little bit. We didn’t pay the entrance fee, but you can still walk around inside the castle wall without paying. Leaving the castle, we walked along an old country road, across the medieval bridge, and passed by the remains of an even older medieval wall. Our next stop was the hilltop church, about 20-25 minutes past the castle on foot. It was a little bit of a hike to get to the church, but it was so worth it. The view of the church against the mountains and the view of the town below was breathtaking. We also saw the monument that marked this church as part of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage for Catholics to Northern Spain that still happens today.

Exploring inside the castle!

The Hilltop Church, Manzanares El Real, Spain

Camino de Santiago marker

After we had drank in our share our the scenery by the church, we continued on our way to the Manzanares El Real mountain range, where we spent the rest of our day hiking and exploring the mountains. We happened upon some lovely waterfalls where we stopped and ate the lunch that we had packed for the day. There were several options for trails, and most of them were easy to moderate terrain.

Hiking in the mountains!

Waterfall picnic

 

It was such a lovely day and we spent several hours walking around and exploring the mountains that surrounded us. Then we hiked back down to the town, grabbed a slice of pizza at a local pizza shop, and caught the bus back to Madrid! Overall, it was a lovely day trip and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a very inexpensive day trip from Madrid. The only things we paid for were the bus ticket (3 euros each way) and the pizza (2 euros). If you have any questions about this day trip or any suggestions for another one, leave a comment below!

Stay tuned for my next Madrid post! In the meantime, happy traveling 🙂