Yes, we are leaving, but there is still more to see. We just need to be a little quicker about it. First to the Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion y San Frutos Cathedral, which dominates the town and which we’ve been watching from across the square for three days. Its many naves and apses and chapels and paintings and sculptures are entirely overwhelming. Not to mention two pipe organs and a choir loft that holds 400. Never let it be said that Segovians of the time were an under-stated people.

But wait, there’s still time to see the printmaking museum if we hurry. It’s name is lost to us now, but we enter through a tiny door and are happy to follow the progress of print-making through time, ending with black-and-white photos of 20th century artists engaged in their print-making experiments — Matisse, Dali, Jasper Johns, Rauschenberg, and more. A quiet dinner at our own hotel, followed by an early turn-in. Because Thursday we know we will rise, eat, and check out.

But wait! There’s the Jewish Quarter to explore (even though all of the Jews were unceremoniously tossed out in 1492 or were burned at the stake), the street market that pops up out of nowhere in the morning right under our window — where one can buy piles of garlic or giant underpants.

On the way out of town, we make a side trip to La Granja, acquired by Phillip V in 1719, and converted into a Versailles-like amazement surrounded by miles of gardens. A perfect segue into our arrival in Madrid.

In comparison to sleepy Segovia, Madrid is a little like sticking your face into a spinning fan — huge, crowded, loud, city living dialed all the way up to ten. After a knuckle-biting third trip through the same set of streets, we find a parking spot underground, dump the car and limp to the Hotel Moderno, where we discover Jane and Jim relaxing at a table right outside. Hallelujah.

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