Segovia is a beautiful little city located about 1 ½ hours away from Madrid, making it a convenient place for a day trip. Our first stop in Segovia was in the center of town to view (in admiration) the Roman acqueduct which towers 90-feet above where we stood. It's an impressive engineering feat to see and then you realize, how old the city is and how much history it has. The aqueduct was built sometime between 98-112 A.D. Now, that is a lot of history for one small city!
Upon entering through one of the aqueduct arches, Segovia has an impressive town square which is home to the tourism office (where you can use the WC for 20 cent Euro), many shops, cafés and bakeries, and street performers. It's not as busy as most plazas I have been to, which makes it even better for someone like me who doesn't always like a crowd. It was probably also not so busy as we were there in January in the off-season.
After walking around the town square for a bit, my friend and I had lunch at a café, each of us ordering a tuna sandwich. The sandwiches were relatively small, which was perfect for us, but, as my friend mentioned, a lot of Americans would probably have a problem with it and expect something bigger, much bigger. We each also ordered a hot chocolate which was actually more like pure melted chocolate with the taste and consistency of pudding. It even formed that pudding skin on top. It was delicious! After lunch, it was off to a bakery to try the local Segovia specialty called ponche segoviano, a dessert made of cake, custard, and marzipan. This dessert was almost too sweet for us, but it's a must try if you ever find yourself in this city!
Next on our self-guided walking tour was the cathedral, a mix of Gothic and Renaissance style, although no rose window. It was beautiful, although we only viewed it from the exterior. Our walk then took us to the Jewish Quarter, which, oddly enough, is located on short, quiet, narrow cobblestone street behind the very Catholic Cathedral. From what we heard, there is no longer a Jewish community here.
It was now time to visit the Alcázar Castle of Segovia (El Alcázar de Segovia), which was the inspiration behind the Disney Cinderella Castle. Part of the castle had scaffolding around it as they were doing some restoration. When visiting a new place, I always try to take in the entire surrounding area, and the countryside surrounding the castle was absolutely stunning, and yet the castle was a bit unimpressive from the front entrance where we entered for our tour. Inside, our local guide, Gloria, gave the tour, starting in the very unimpressive courtyard. So far, as you can tell, I am not so impressed with this UNESCO World Heritage Site, but that will later change.
Walking around the Alcázar, I found the most impressive parts of each room were the ceilings, each one differing from the one in the room before. Some were gilded in gold or coffered, others had wood beams. Just stunning! On the walls of the Hall of the Fireplace hung Flemish tapestries, faded and in need of restoration; and in the Throne Room were, not only thrones, but portraits of the kings. But what I liked most were the stained glass windows as well as the window seat areas that overlooked the pastoral scenery behind the castle.
After the interior tour, we took a walk behind the castle, where you could walk down the windy road or down a flight of 200 steps. When we arrived down the hill, this is where we saw an impressive view of the castle! Now I understood what the fuss over this castle was about - it was breathtaking! Ending our Segovia trip was a walk along the river, which wound around the hill of the backside of the castle. It was lovely!
Here are some additional photos from our day in Segovia. Enjoy!
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