As it got light out this morning, we could see hot air balloons preparing to take off from a field across the canyon from our hotel room. It was a nice sight to start the day to see them as they flew up over the Alcazar.
After coffee and breakfast in our room, we walked 5 minutes up to the Cathedral, thinking that it opened at 9:30 am. We discovered that it didn’t open until 10:30 so we walked another 5 minutes through the Plaza Mayor and down to the Roman Aqueduct, built about 100 AD. Through a series of aqueducts and underground canals the Romans transported water from the Rio Frio in the nearby mountains, 15 km to their fortress on the site of the present day Alcazar. At the edge of the old town is an aqueduct across the valley that is almost a km long, 28 m high and composed of 20,000 granite blocks held together without mortar forming 163 arches. Very impressive.
Eventually we walked back up to the Cathedral and wandered around in there for more than an hour. It’s quite a cathedral but we’ve seen a lot of cathedrals. Like many others, this one took over 200 years to build.
We took a break in our room and then walked over to the Alcazar to check the opening time for a visit tomorrow. From there we walked all the way along the city wall and then through part of the old city to a grocery store near the aqueduct for breakfast supplies and beer.
After we took our supplies back to our room, we walked to the little Bar Sorocco nearby. It was very hard to find a table outside in the sun but a retired Spanish couple saw us and asked if we’d like to share theirs. We happily accepted. Today was the warmest, sunniest day we’ve had this week. It was quite comfortable sitting outside. The couple we met live in northwest Spain for half the year and then avoid the cold and rain by living in Sevilla in the south for the winter. They were on their way there but were visiting children in Segovia on the way. Their English was better than our Spanish so we spent over an hour talking with them and learning more about life in Spain. These are the encounters that are often the most fun when traveling.
Finally, we enjoyed a beer and wine in the garden of our hotel, soaking up more sun. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold but we’ll dress warmly and visit the Alcazar.
After coffee and breakfast in our room, we walked 5 minutes up to the Cathedral, thinking that it opened at 9:30 am. We discovered that it didn’t open until 10:30 so we walked another 5 minutes through the Plaza Mayor and down to the Roman Aqueduct, built about 100 AD. Through a series of aqueducts and underground canals the Romans transported water from the Rio Frio in the nearby mountains, 15 km to their fortress on the site of the present day Alcazar. At the edge of the old town is an aqueduct across the valley that is almost a km long, 28 m high and composed of 20,000 granite blocks held together without mortar forming 163 arches. Very impressive.
Eventually we walked back up to the Cathedral and wandered around in there for more than an hour. It’s quite a cathedral but we’ve seen a lot of cathedrals. Like many others, this one took over 200 years to build.
We took a break in our room and then walked over to the Alcazar to check the opening time for a visit tomorrow. From there we walked all the way along the city wall and then through part of the old city to a grocery store near the aqueduct for breakfast supplies and beer.
After we took our supplies back to our room, we walked to the little Bar Sorocco nearby. It was very hard to find a table outside in the sun but a retired Spanish couple saw us and asked if we’d like to share theirs. We happily accepted. Today was the warmest, sunniest day we’ve had this week. It was quite comfortable sitting outside. The couple we met live in northwest Spain for half the year and then avoid the cold and rain by living in Sevilla in the south for the winter. They were on their way there but were visiting children in Segovia on the way. Their English was better than our Spanish so we spent over an hour talking with them and learning more about life in Spain. These are the encounters that are often the most fun when traveling.
Finally, we enjoyed a beer and wine in the garden of our hotel, soaking up more sun. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold but we’ll dress warmly and visit the Alcazar.
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