This morning we left the Plaza Mayor hotel at about 9:30 am and took a taxi to get our train to Segovia. The Salamanca train station is quite modern. We had about an hour to wait before boarding and were able to use the free WIFI which was much better than the WIFI in our hotel room. It’s great that more public places now have free WIFI. And, instead of going to ticket offices, I’ve started buying tickets online and just getting the electronic tickets scanned on my phone. It’s much easier.
The landscape on our hour and 7 minute trip here wasn’t that interesting - just fields and small farming towns. The train station here is way out of town in a pasture. However, it cost only 10 euros to get a taxi to our hotel.
We’re staying at the Don Felipe Hotel. It’s costing us $124 CDN per night, which is more than we usually pay, but it’s much nicer than our last place. We’re right in the old walled city on a promontory overlooking a ravine and very close to the Alcazar or old fortress. No doubt the city was located here because it’s an easily defended position. The Alcazar was rebuilt in the 1860s and it served as a model for the castle in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. We have a balcony overlooking the small hotel lawn and courtyard. We can see the Alcazar not too far away.
After we got settled and Anita did some laundry, we walked about 5 minutes up to the main square by the cathedral to find a restaurant. We checked one place that we had seen in both Rick Steves and Lonely Planet guidebooks only to find that it was closed for good. Our guidebooks are old so this has happened both here and in Salamanca. However, we can’t be bothered buying the latest guidebooks anymore. It always seems like a waste of money.
We saw a pizza restaurant that was filled with students so that seemed like a good option. It was. For 18 euros ($27 CDN), we shared a very good, filling pizza and had a glass of wine and a big stein of beer.
After lunch we bought some pastries for the morning and sat and listened to a really good street musician for awhile. It was warmer here today, although still cloudy, so it was nice to be comfortable outside.
Tomorrow we’ll start visiting the tourist sites.
The landscape on our hour and 7 minute trip here wasn’t that interesting - just fields and small farming towns. The train station here is way out of town in a pasture. However, it cost only 10 euros to get a taxi to our hotel.
We’re staying at the Don Felipe Hotel. It’s costing us $124 CDN per night, which is more than we usually pay, but it’s much nicer than our last place. We’re right in the old walled city on a promontory overlooking a ravine and very close to the Alcazar or old fortress. No doubt the city was located here because it’s an easily defended position. The Alcazar was rebuilt in the 1860s and it served as a model for the castle in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. We have a balcony overlooking the small hotel lawn and courtyard. We can see the Alcazar not too far away.
After we got settled and Anita did some laundry, we walked about 5 minutes up to the main square by the cathedral to find a restaurant. We checked one place that we had seen in both Rick Steves and Lonely Planet guidebooks only to find that it was closed for good. Our guidebooks are old so this has happened both here and in Salamanca. However, we can’t be bothered buying the latest guidebooks anymore. It always seems like a waste of money.
We saw a pizza restaurant that was filled with students so that seemed like a good option. It was. For 18 euros ($27 CDN), we shared a very good, filling pizza and had a glass of wine and a big stein of beer.
After lunch we bought some pastries for the morning and sat and listened to a really good street musician for awhile. It was warmer here today, although still cloudy, so it was nice to be comfortable outside.
Tomorrow we’ll start visiting the tourist sites.
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