Advertisement
Published: September 12th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Aqueduct
El Aqueducto Romano Well, I suppose that I'm doing this a bit backwards as the first city that I'm writing about is Segovia, rather than Madrid, but so far in Madrid I haven't taken any photos or done the touristy things- instead I have just been living here and soaking in the Madrileño life. I almost don't even know what to write about Madrid because I know no words can describe the life, passion, excitement and flavor of this city- as of right now I'm still in a state of wonder and I wouldn't be able to verbalize everything that I would want to say.
So anyways - back to Segovia! Segovia is only about an hour and a half from Madrid however the bus ride there makes it seem like you're traveling through a different world. Just outside of the bustling city of Madrid is the beautiful Spanish countryside, full of mountains, mustard colored dirt with deep forest green trees against a light blue sky. There's also the occasional cow grazing among this mix of earth and rock. Even though van Gogh never painted Spain, the different colors and textures of the countryside are something that can only be best described as
van Gogh-esque...
Needless to say, I didn't fall asleep as most of the others on the bus did on the way there- I was raptly staring out my window watching this moving painting.
Segovia is a city so rich with history. Here you can see in the beautiful architecture the merging of three very old and very different worlds: the Christian world, the Muslim world and the Jewish world. Here you come across mosques which were once Jewish temples, where now Catholic mass is given. You still see the remnants of the Romans when they first settled here around TWO THOUSAND years ago. Perhaps one of the most famous sites here is the Roman Aqueduct of Segovia. This structure has been standing for 2,000 years and it a masterpiece of Roman engineering- as these 20,400 stone blocks are untied by neither mortar nor concrete, but rather by a perfect equilibrium of forces which has resisted passing storms, wars, and earthquakes. El Aqueducto was built to bring water from the outside Frio River into the city of Segovia and it has still been in use for those 2,000 years only up until just 15 years ago!
I also
Alcazar
view from the Alcazar castle found that I not only fell in love with the huge and ancient cathedrals and castles, but also with the tiny winding streets. All of Segovia seems to be this warm yellow-orange color. Our teacher later explained to us that when these structures were built hundreds and hundreds of years ago that they were actually white, but they have now changed to this yellow-orange color because of years of being heated in the sun.
We walked up to the Alcazar of Segovia which was built around the 12th century and which is where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand once lived in the 15th century (they're the famous King and Queen which financed Columbus to sail off in 1492). It was not only beautiful to see the inside the ancient castle full of armor, beautiful stained glass windows and intricately decorated ceilings- but it was also so fascinating to see the thrones where the King and Queen used to sit and also just to be in this space which has held so much history. From the windows of the Alcazar you could see all of Segovia- especially the church of Vera Cruz - which was built in the 10th century
by the Knights Templar and which is "rumored" to have been built in order to protect a piece of the actual cross were Jesus was nailed to, hence it's name "Vera Cruz" ("true cross" - that translation is for you Mom!) We also walked ALL the way up to the top of Alcazar- and I nearly thought I was going to pass out. Not only was it a winding and extremely narrow staircase but the steps were so outrageously steep!! My legs were shaking once we reached the top. But it was worth it for the view.
Also in Segovia is the Cathedral of Segovia which is absolutely beautiful. I won't need to describe it - just look at the photos!
Now let's get to the important stuff - the food. In Segovia I had lomo and it was fantastic! I also enjoyed the desert that Segovia is most famous for- tarta ponche..... OH MY GOD! It was absolutely incredible- I just wish I can bring un ración home for all of you. Tarta ponche is ... I honestly don't even know. It's like this sugary dough with like this filling that tastes a little like creme brulee
Segovia
the cathedral de segovia but it also has this orange-y flavor... anyways it was good.
All in all of have been greatly enjoying myself here. I am speaking Spanish more and more each day and I understand nearly everything. I don't speak in English whenever I speak to locals. If I'm lost or If I have a question or even if I'm just ordering in a restaurant- I always speak Spanish... even if it's not perfect just yet. I wish you all were here!
Well, so much for my first "entry" in the future I don't think that they will nearly be this long but I'm still so excited about everything so It's hard to contain myself. It's also 1:30 in the morning here right now and I've only been getting an average of 4 hours of sleep each night so they'll be much better written once I'm back to a decent sleep schedule. I'll be writing about Madrid soon, and we have a 3 day excursion to Valencia within the next two weeks. My goals are also to visit Marrakesh, Istanbul, Berlin, Rome and Prague - not sure if I can get them all in but if I can I'll make
Segovia
view of segovia - you can see the church de vera cruz here... sure to write about them. I MISS YOU ALL VERY MUCH!! Take care and hasta luego!
Lauren
Advertisement
Tot: 0.062s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0371s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb