Part 7: Madrid Day 4 -- Day Trip to Segovia (B)

20170414

The Trip

The Photos

The photos below are what we saw.

We went to the restaurant and it was crowded beyond any reasonable explanation.  We finally got seated and on our way past the bar we could see the selection of hams available.

When in Segovia, get the suckling pig.  Crispy and delicious, little eyelashes and snout notwithstanding.

After eating and two bottles of house wine, we headed out on the street.  Most of the crowds had moved to Plaza Mayor for the parade.

The side streets were very narrow.

A view of the cathedral de Segovia on the crest of the hill.

There were a number of churches, monasteries and convents in Segovia.

While not as bid as the main cathedral, this was still impressive.

The main cathedral is huge and impressive with the flying buttresses.

Inside was just as impressive as outside with huge columns and vaulted ceilings.

Very detailed craftsmanship on the ceiling.

The intricate sculptures were anticipated, but the pig was not.

This structure was truly dramatic.

A marble statue surrounded by granite of various types.

The patterns in the granite were a great contrast to the white marble.

The dim lighting made sharp focusing a problem, but this photo came out acceptable.  Incredible detail in the carvings and nice patterns in the dark marble.

We asked a street cleaner the directions to the aqueduct and we followed them.  Turns out that the religious precession followed the exact same path so we followed the band.

Drums and horns.

We were able to get in front of the precession to get this photo.

On the path to the aqueduct we passed yet another church.

There was a very nice statue in front of the church.

We turned per our instructions and walked up the narrow street and spotted this interesting building.

The terminus of the old Roman aqueduct before it went underground in the city.

On the shade side of the aqueduct we could see the snow-covered mountains in the distance toward Madrid.

This is an engineering marvel: not a lick of concrete was used in its construction.

We spotted this complex pattern in the wall of a house near the aqueduct.

The path comes down the face of the cliff via stairs.  Note the height of the aqueduct relative to the size of the people.

Each of the stones was hand cut.  The aqueduct was built to supply water to the Roman fortress at Alcazar.

Another portion of the precession arrives near the aqueduct.

The cupola has a statue, but I have to imagine that the Romans had a different got there and it was subsequently replaced by the Spaniards.



The aqueduct, in combination with Alcazar and the cathedral are the defining landmarks of Segovia.



The next installment in the precession prepares under the aqueduct.



We got a cab underneath the aqueduct and took it to the high-speed train station.  From the station we got a clear view of the mountains to the south.



A view of the coupling between cars of the high-speed train.



Outside of the train station we got a view of some of the large nearby buildings.



There were lots of precessions going on in Madrid as part of Semana Santa.  This TV setup was just outside our hotel.

Segovia was a really cool place.  The Alcazar is huge, although only a small fraction is accessible to tourists.  Seeing the Roman Aqueduct was a truly one-of-a-kind thing and a must-do if you are in the area.  It was a warm day when we were there, but the altitude of Segovia makes that situation unpredictable.  Look at the weather forecast before traveling.  Also, beware that Segovia is a popular place and there are limited tourist accommodations in town, so a bit of pre-planning goes a long way.

Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.