March 28–April 5, 2023 · Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, and Barcelona
By the time I put my first photos of Madrid on Facebook, I’d been awake for close to 32 hours. I was too tired to transfer the pictures from the camera. I had somehow found the energy to look for a geocache.
bapierson and I were in Spain to visit our son, LEGOexplorer, who was studying in Madrid. We got our first Spanish smiley at Plaza del Callao (GC941W3), a quick stop near the hotel. It was a good start to a trip where we got to see some of the country our son had been calling home.
Madrid with our own tour guide
We stopped at Km. 0 - Origen de las carreteras radiales (GC7B6NP) in Puerta del Sol. The marker is the starting point for Spain’s radial road network. The square was under renovation, and we were staying close enough to see how the work changed from day to day. I still made time for the Virtual at La Plaza Mayor de Madrid (GC8903K) and the one at Catedral de la Almudena (GC9P7MH).
On our second full day in Madrid, LEGOexplorer showed us around. It was fun having our son be the one who knew where to go. We finished the day with a tour and dinner at Botín, which opened in 1725. After spending the day walking around a city full of history, we got to sit down and eat in some of it.
Two trips out of Madrid
bapierson and I took the train to Toledo on March 30. We saw the old city from across the Tagus near Toledo (Cerro del Emperador) (GCGW85). It’s a good place to take in the city all at once before you get into the narrow streets. At the cathedral, La prueba del tiempo (GC6TW7T) gave me a reason to look closer at the stonework.
On April 1, we went to Segovia, where you can see a Roman aqueduct, a Gothic cathedral, and a medieval castle in one day. I logged Acueducto de Segovia (GC6EGXM) and Catedral de Segovia (GC6K3QJ). The aqueduct was the one I kept pointing my camera at. From the street below, the arches seem to go on forever.
Barcelona, with a stop at the LEGO Store
All three of us went to Barcelona. On our first afternoon there we walked down La Rambla and caught a Semana Santa procession. I worked La Rambla era una riera? (GC91G5R) into the walk. The EarthCache asked us to look for evidence that the famous boulevard had once been a watercourse. It’s the kind of detail I would have walked right over.
The next day we tried to see as much as we could. We went to La Sagrada Família and Park Güell (GC8920G), took the cable car up Montjuïc, saw the castle, and visited Barcelona’s cathedral. At the basilica, Sagrada Família Rocks (GC5XXXX) had me looking at the building stones while the rest of the place was doing its best to draw my eyes up. And yes, we found time for the Barcelona LEGO Store. With LEGOexplorer along, that seems like a reasonable stop.
We took one more day trip from Barcelona, which deserves its own story. Three Countries, One Day, and a Few Geocaches picks up with breakfast in Bagà.
We flew back to Madrid early on April 5. That was where we said goodbye to LEGOexplorer before bapierson and I headed home. He still had more adventures ahead of him. I was glad we’d had the chance to be part of this one.
Field Notes
- Travel dates: March 28–April 5, 2023.
- Companions: bapierson and LEGOexplorer.
- Main stops: Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, and Barcelona.
- First find in Spain: Plaza del Callao (GC941W3).
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