If I Were A Spaniard: Segovia

This is my first time visiting Europe in a season other than Winter, it is Springtime here in Spain and the weather is beautiful.

It is the perfect weather for my regular acts of gallivanting, perfect for pretty dresses and walks in the park, perfect for being outdoors and sitting in cafes and it is the perfect weather for hay-fever.

Me oh my, has the pollen gotten to me. The severity to which my allergies have been here in Spain made me initially think that I had the flu. Intense coughing, constant sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, constant headaches. It was probably the burning itch in my eyes and throat that made me realise this was as a result of hay-fever, that and the fact that after 2 weeks none of the symptoms had improved. Now I am taking antihistamine tablets but when the barrage of trees and flowers and grass is this heavy I think I would need to take the whole packet for the pills to have any effect.

Who'd have thought flowers could be this dangerous?

Aside from my allergic reaction to something as stupid as plants I have been relishing the weather in Madrid. The last little place I went to visit was Segovia; a gorgeous little village about an hour from Madrid. For the most part the streets and buildings have remained untouched allowing you the opportunity to feel as though you were visiting another time rather than another place.

While there I even made new friends, Emma a 78 year old lady from Peru who now lives in the USA and who constantly spoke to me in Spanish and would laugh at herself when I would stare back at her without comprehension. The other friend was Carlos, a 64 year old Mexican man from Texas, USA who as a history teacher was able to offer us a little more insight into our surroundings.

We had lunch together and walked the streets. Emma and I were very similar both of us refusing to pay 5euros to enter this massive church based on the principal that it is wrong to charge people to visit a place of worship and that 5euros was just too expensive. Actually we didn't enter any of the old buildings that required an entry fee. For the most part I am a little tired of seeing the interiors of most of these places which to me all look the same now. I've been inside a tonne of castles and walked through a whole bunch of museums. I've gazed at different styles of architecture and examined loads of churches. I'm done with the whole old thing. I'm bored of being a tourist. Once I said goodbye to my two new friends I headed straight for the stores and I shopped. I won't even deny it, I found it far more enjoyable than anything else I did in Segovia.