Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Spain, Part 4 - Segovia

On Thursday, we decided to take another day trip. We headed out to Segovia, another half hour train ride from Madrid. Of course, the boys were working, so Miranda and I headed out on our own. I felt bad for them because I think they would've really liked Segovia. It's an old city, like Toledo. It's famous for its ancient, but extremely well-preserved Roman Aqueduct and its Alcazar, or castle. Having had rainy weather for the past couple of days in Madrid, we were ready for more when it was cloudy and overcast as the train pulled out of the train station. But, when we arrived in Segovia, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day! From the train station, we rode a bus to the old part of the city and were dropped off right in front of the aqueduct. It was amazing!


Me in front of the Aqueduct. This was what we saw when we got off the bus.



The Aqueduct was totally amazing


Next to the aqueduct was this Telepizza. I was very excited to see it because it brought back fond memories from my mission in Portugal of seeing the Telepizza delivery boys zipping around on their scooters with the pizza boxes strapped to the back. I was happy to see that Telepizza was alive and well.



After checking out the aqueduct, we headed towards the castle by way of the cathedral. When we got to the cathedral, we opted to go in and I was reminded of how all of the old cathedrals start looking the same once you've been in a few. A lesson learned on my first tour of the Iberian Peninsula.


Segovia's Cathedral


After our stop at the cathedral, we continued on toward the castle, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of a small, old European town. I have no formal photography training or skills, but I'm pretty excited about how this next picture turned out. In fact, it's one of my favorites from the trip because I think it does a good job of capturing that atmosphere.


Just a little street in Segovia


After our stroll through the old city, we made it to the castle. Supposedly this castle is the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle. I'll let you be the judge of that, but it was pretty sweet regardless.


Me at the Alcazar.




At the Alcazar


After our tour through the castle, we headed back toward the Aqueduct and bus stop, hoping to stop in some shops along the way or perhaps get a bite to eat. It was lunchtime and we learned that the smaller towns in Spain adhere much more strictly to the Siesta rule than the big city of Madrid. NOTHING was open. In Madrid, the big shops and malls usually stayed open in spite of Siesta time. Not so in Segovia. So, we just wandered the streets back toward the bus stop.


A view of Segovia on our walk back



A look at the Aqueduct through the little streets of the city





Waiting for our train at the train station


We had a great time in Segovia! When we got back to Madrid, we met up with Mr. Frisby. After relaxing for a few minutes, we headed off to spend the evening at the Prado.

2 comments:

Gordita said...

Gorgeous! I love the photo of the little street.

Molly said...

I changed my mind. Can you bring me some churros con chocolate instead of gummy candies? Oh wait. Too late. Hahaha.

PS--My coworker is explaining to another coworker what a PDA is (not public displays of affection, but electronic PDAs). She is being really nice and listening to him even though she obviously knows what a PDA is. He is a little behind the times... Just thought you'd enjoy this little tangent.