Segovia

We are finally on our own  schedule as we pick up our car today and head for Segovia, about a 4 hour drive from Granada.  Rita plugged our new address into the Tom Tom as I put our Kia Picanto into first gear and off we went.  It was a beautiful day and the trip flew by without incident and we arrived at our lovely hotel (used to be a Convent) just outside of the old town.  It was quite a bit cooler than Granada as we are 3,000 ft above sea level and the clouds started moving in quite quickly. We checked in, unpacked and headed out to get acquainted with our new surroundings.  Segovia's old town is quite small and is known for its Roman Aqueduct, Cathedral and Alcazar.  We are here for two nights and we experienced clouds, rain and sunshine.  The aqueduct alone is reason enough to visit this charming town.

In the 1st and 2nd centuries Segovia was a Roman military base that did not have enough fresh water so they built a nine-mile aqueduct from the Rio Frio to the Alcazar at the end of the city.  Most of it ran underground but the section above ground is 762 m (2,500 ft) long, 30.5 m (100 ft) high, has 118 arches and was made from 20,000 granite blocks without any mortar.  The "acueducto romano", built over 2,000 years ago, was still in use late into the 19th century.  In fact the aqueduct can still carry a stream of water today.  Truly an extraordinary engineering accomplishment and remarkable workmanship that has stood the test of time.  How many of today's structures can say the same?

Heading into the center of old town you start to see its imposing Cathedral 

Plaza Mayor has always been the heart of old Segovia as several Cathedrals were located here, including the current one and the twin towered town hall was erected here in 1609 ensuring its prominence to the general population

The Cathedral took over two centuries to construct (1525-1768), was the third to be built on this site and is the last Gothic Cathedral built in Spain.  Segovia's Cathedral is considered a masterpiece of Basque-Castilian Gothic architecture and is known as "The Lady of Cathedrals"

The Alcazar, built on a stone peninsular dates from 1122 but was badly damaged by fire in 1862 and restored to its original state in 1882.  It is one of the most distinctive castles in Spain due to its shape - like the bow of a ship.  Originally built as a fortress it has served as a royal palace, state prison, royal artillery collage and military academy.  Today it is a museum.

 Went for a long walk on our second day as the weather was much better.  Segovia is placed on a high rocky hill for protective reasons and we followed the medieval steps that take you down to the valley bottom and followed a lovely trail that took us around the old town and into the Jewish quarter.  It allowed us some wonderful views of the old town above us.

Segovia's culinary claim to fame is suckling pig and quite a few restaurants offer it on their menu.  If you are a vegetarian stop reading now.  Roast suckling pig:  21 days of mothers milk, into the oven, and onto your plate.  We chose Restaurante Duque to try this specialty as it claims to be the oldest eatery in Segovia (1895) and has been run by the same family for four generations.  It was an interesting experience as the meat was very tender and juicy but we were not a big fan of the skin.  You also do not get anything else on the plate.  In fact veggies were not even on the menu.  Don't think we will be ordering suckling pig again any time soon.