SEGOVIA

Madrid, Spain
Day 28
Segovia

We GOT UP EARLY this morning! We were not going to have a repeat performance of missing out on going to Sergovia. So off we go, to the metro, after we had our breakfast of toasted breaksticks, oil and tomatos (and yummy espresso coffee) to get to the ´hidden bus station´to Sergovia!

Didn´t tell you that yesterday did i..the reason why we also didn´t go to Sergovia yesterday is because we couldn´t find the station where the bus left from! No kidding. It´s hidden! Well, it´s stuck behind the main station, over the road and underground and the ticket guy said, just go there....!! (in spanish!) so we went just over there..and over there, was a huge shopping centre! ´

But today! Hola! We found it!

We travelled 90 minutes to Sergovia, did the repeat thing, got something to eat (bread stick) when we arrived at the station (what is it about these stations, they make us hungry!) and then headed off to discover Sergovia!

We went the wrong way..but what´s the right way. There´s nothing signposted. Weird really, the whole place is like a place a hundred years ago! In fact, we´re discovering the whole of what we´ve seen in Spain is like a hundred years ago! Smoke everywhere...people carrying breadsticks everywhere...Honestly it really does feel old and quaint and a bit out of date.

About the smoking. People smoke in restuarants! (restaurantes) And it´s socially acceptable whereever you are. Even the bus driver today was smoking. It´s so strange. A lady i was watching was smoking a cigarette just before she hopped onto to the bus and flicked the cigarette away and i just thought..whoa, she shouldn´t be doing that!

How conditioned are we.

How non conditioned are they.

Even in Africa they don´t smoke in cafes!

So! We walked and walked..to see what we could find in this magical, medieval town of Segovia. And...then, looming out of nowwhere we saw it...

The Aqueduct! it was right there in front of us and it looked fantastic! This is a water system that is 800 metres long, 30 metres high, that transported water to the town from a mountain spring. What an engineering feat! The designers at the time didn´t use an ounce of mortar to build the structure. Greg was impressed. Most of the architecture in Spain has been redesigned by the Roman architects and this is one example why.

Now that we were on track we found the Segonia Cathedral. The last gothic cathedral in Europe. What a fantastic site that is. It wasn´t as outlandish as any of the other cathedral´s we have seen but it´s still lavish. It took 200 years to build. The paintings, once again, are just wondrous. We saw the room of Saint Gregory! Of course we had to take a pic of that! With our very own St Greg in it!!

Walked the beautiful, narrow cobblestone streets, freezing our asses off i might add, stopped for a coffee to warm up and lapped up the ambience of the spanish bar. (We love these bars).

Then we found the Alcazar of Segonia. This is where Philip 11 married his fourth wife Anna of Austria. The room was worn and lavish.

We went through the old castle, fireplace and throne halls.

The paintings and flemmish tapestries are intricate and amazing. So many stories held within.

There were little windows to peer outside..to observe the enemy. We went throught the castle tower and observed the city ruins beneath.

I can see why the court moved to the Madrid as a royal residence. It seemed cold.

And afterwards it was turned into a prison.

In a way, castles and royal premises of the day, did seem a bit like prisons. You have to wonder how happy they were locked in these lavish castles.

We went up the Tower after that, 157 long, narrow and winding steps! Mum sent a text as we reached the top and i quickly tex´d back and put my gloves back on. So COLD. From the top we could see snow on the mountains!

We were hungry again after this and had dinner (is it dinner or just a continuation of a feast!?) at a place that was as homely as can be. Little girl watching Spanish Ninja turtles and the muppets on tv (weird how western shows are translated into euro languages here!) and families all mixing in the bars, or cafes that they are.

Our day in Sergovia ended up eventful. From a dismal start to a wonderful finish.

On the bus, we observed so much grafitti on the walls on the highway....and i started wondering where all that started. In the cathedrals and castles there is grafitti dating back to 1921 and you have to think...even the granfather´s were marking their names on monuments!

On the train back....we noted the shoes.....pointy, not unlike the pointed armour in the Segovia Tower.

All for protection i imagine!

Home for us now....almost curfew!