Cuenca, Spain

Just got back from Cuenca today! It's a really small town about 2 hours southeast of Madrid. There wasn't really a lot to do there but it was definitely a beautiful town. The first thing we did was walked through a big park with crazy shaped rocks. Sounds kind of lame but it was really interesting. There was a path that lead you in a big circle so you could see the whole park. I guess it used to be some sort of body of water some centuries ago which is why there were a bunch of little caves and the rocks were shaped so cool. A lot of them were small and skinny at the bottom and then huge on top like a tornado shape. After the park we went and checked into our hotel, Cueva de Fraile, which was monastery in the 16th century. It was really nice we had a four bed room and there was a living room and then a downstairs with 2 more beds and a desk.

Casas Colgadas

Later we went on a walking tour from the top of one of the mountains to the bottom. It was so interesting because we were basically walking through a neighborhood but the streets were as small as sidewalks, and barely anyone was driving. On the tour we saw the famous "Casas Colgadas" (Hanging Houses), Cathedral of Cuenca, and the Museum of abstract are. Hanging houses are buildings that were built at the very edge of the mountains, if you open the window and look out you'll be looking into the valley. One of the buildings, actually, is the museum of abstract are. It was really interesting but not my favorite type of art. The Cathedral was so beautiful. It look kind of small on the outside but turned out to be pretty big inside. One really interesting thing inside was there was a figure of an angel in sculpture work near the ceiling and it is smiling. Well there are only 3 of these angels in the world and they say that if when the Apocalypse happens if you go to any of those three places you will be saved. 

Angel in Cathedral of Cuenca

Today we went to a place called Cuencaventura where they have numerous outdoor activies such as horseback riding, cliff jumping, ATVing, etc. Unfortunately, it was extremely cold this morning in Cuenca so I wasn't really up for jumping off cliffs into water. I went horseback riding instead and it was great! Saw some great landscapes, rode across a river, and through some woods. After we went to lunch in this little area with about 15 houses and one restaurant. Looked like a campground where all the cabins are, and so pretty with the mountains in the background.
Overall, Cuenca was a really beautiful town. Didn't spend much money, but this excursion was included in my program. I really can't imagine it being too expensive though. Definitely glad I got to spend the weekend in such a beautiful little town with so much history.