Segovia

Alcazar
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For several days now, a cold has been slowly working its way around the passengers on the coach. Sadly it seems to have reached me and I’m feeling a bit rough. Mind you so is everyone else. It also means that I’m not really up to scribbling notes frantically at every given opportunity. So the following accounts are going to be a bit shorter on detail. Luckily I still have my heavily annotated Eyewitness Travel Guide!

We head off from Burgos to the first of three stops today, Segovia. The countryside on route is fantastic. We were told to keep our eyes open for wildlife today, in particular for black vultures. We have seen quite a few large birds of prey this trip – even a kite yesterday, so we may have spotted them already. However we are left in no doubt a little further on when we spot a large group of 10-15 raptors circling above us, the could only be vultures heading for their meal of the day.

The town is simply dominated by an enormous Roman aqueduct.

Roman Aqueduct
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Before reaching Segovia proper, we make a brief photo stop in the shadow of a Bavarian castle, or at least that’s what it looks like. This wonderful building is the the Alcazar and in fact it is actually Moorish. It is a lovely view, just a shame the sun is right behind it.

Fifteen minutes later we stop in Segovia for lunch, but we can’t settle down without first visiting the major attraction. The town is simply dominated by an enormous Roman aqueduct. The stretch we are currently looking at is two storeys high and disappears around a 90º bend about 300 metres away. Yee, Susan and I climb up to the top to get a good view and of course take endless pictures of it and ourselves.

Roman Aqueduct
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The other notable feature of the town is the large number of artists. These aren’t the ones you find painting portraits in Paris, these seem to be students working on serious projects. As they are inevitably painting the same subject, the aqueduct, it’s interesting to compare their different techniques.

We find a nearby café and settle down to be served by a friendly waiter who doesn’t speak a great deal of English. Whilst the girls can’t decide between Spanish and French omelettes, I point out that the Spanish one is obviously better. The waiter smiles and of course agrees. Later I win more brownie points when I order a roll filled with Serrano ham – he gives me a thumbs up!

An artist at work
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Unfortunately all of this has left us very short on time. But we decide that half an hour should just be enough to run up to the cathedral. It is sadly a very fleeting visit and we end up running in the mid day heat back to the coach. We arrive with minutes to spare and typically someone else is actually late.