The taxi from the train station (holy cow did they put the train station way the heck away from town) was quick and we rolled into our fancy hotel in old town. I mean, it was fancy back in the day. Still kind of fancy. Lots of pictures of movie stars on the walls and grand staircases (and a teeny-tiny elevator). But we weren't there for the hotel, were we?

First thing we did was walk down to the aqueduct. Really? You went to look at an aqueduct? Yeah. Because it was built in the first century and didn't cease serving the town until 1973. Yeah. 19-whatthewhat-73! And it was built with no mortar so it's just -- checks notes -- standing there. It was super impressive. And although the touristy section is exposed above (way above) ground it ran through town underground. There are badges embedded in the roads identifying where it is. (Looking for the markers reminded me of looking for hidden Mickeys in Disneyland.)

We visited the cathedral because how could you not? Huge. Cold. Empty. Lots of gold. Lots of treasure spent on building it instead of helping the people who would sit (or kneel) in it. Neat, but I feel guilty liking it.

Same goes for the castle at the other end of town. Overly opulent and full of interesting things to see. Plus great views from the towers.

Of course we found more doors. But then we added textured walls to our architectural amazement. It seemed every building had a slightly different pattern.

The next day we rented a car and headed across the "mountains" to El Escorial. It's a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school all rolled into one huge complex. Sure, there were more incredible doors, but the big draw and the reason we added it to the itinerary was so Mrs. Moosefish could see the library. Tons of books from times when all books were rare. Oddly, they were shelved with the spines facing in. Each was numbered so presumably you could find the one you were looking for, but it was clearly more for presentation than utility. (And that's probably why the pages were all painted with gold.)

Since it was a royal palace you know there were rooms upon rooms with amazing murals and art. Plus the ubiquitous thrones. Gotta have thrones.

As ambivalent as I was about the royal palaces and cathedrals, there was no waffling about the next destination. The Valley of the Fallen was built by Franco or rather the victims of his fascism. A huge cross (and I mean huge) towers over the facade. And beneath it is a hall carved from the mountain. All built by political prisoners. And it houses the bodies of political prisoners that were previously buried in mass graves all over Spain. Franco had them dug up and reinterred. When you read about Franco and the things he did to gain and consolidate it sounds eerily familiar. Our visit left us bummed out for the drive back to Segovia.

We visited a 13th century church that clearly held the Holy Grail/True Cross/Ark of the Covenant/other stuff acquired by the Knights Templars before they made their way to Oak Island. (If you know, you know.) The church was not actually Templar, but built by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Don't tell us it ain't the Templars, though. We're believers. (Not really.)

One last dinner and packing before bed. We caught a bus back to the train station for the short trip to Madrid. Holy cow those trains are fast. One went by without stopping that made us all go WOOOOOOWWW! We rode with tons of commuters and then made our way to the airport.

Way early, as is my style, but we weren't caught in any long TSA lines... oh... right... they don't have long security lines. Nonetheless we were there when we boarded and didn't miss our connection in New York. One of our AirTags got out of a bag, though, and is now reporting its location from 266 Wyckoff St in Brooklyn. Hmph. At least our bags made it to Seattle.

All of Spain gets a thumbs up from us. It was hot as heck and we saw lots of problematic places, but 100% worth the expense and time. Lilly is so enamored of Spain she's already planning a return trip. I wouldn't be opposed to return, but we have other exotic locales to visit first...