Day in Segovia

We planned to make today a side trip to Segovia, an historical town outside of Madrid. To get there, we had the joy of riding the high speed AVE train, which got us there in just 35 minutes. Although is it April, Segovia is surrounded by snow capped mountains, which I didn't expect. Apparently, there's even a ski resort outside of town, which reaches 6000 feet above sea level.

After a quick bus ride from the train station, we arrived at the first attraction in Segovia - the ancient Roman aqueduct.





The aqueduct dates from the 2nd century, and was functional as recently as the last one hundred years. Not only is it well preserved, but it's a great example of arched construction. In fact, it's so well built that it doesn't even use mortar to hold the pieces in place - it stands strong from it's own weight, and nothing more. Pretty amazing.

Next, we strolled through Segovia to the Cathedral. Laurel seems to have singled out cathedrals and churches as the single most boring thing in Spain, but we have been able to get her interested by reading up ahead of time and finding some interesting art within. The Segovia Cathedral - like so many churches in Spain - was build over 250 years.

This one is unique in that is was started in the Gothic period, and finished in the Renaissance, so it's a mixture of both styles, with the Renaissance part plopped on top of the Gothic part. It also had a cool painting called the "tree of life" inside, with some people partying on top of a tree, the grim reaper about to chop the tree down, and Jesus imploring the revelers to "come to Jesus" before it's too late.

The Tree of Life painting inside Segovia's Cathedral

Finally, we went in search of the Alcazar, a fortress turned palace turned munitions school on the edge of town.

Although the original structure has been rebuilt, it's still an impressive building, showing how a real fortress is located and constructed.  It's perched high atop a cliff, surrounded by a dried up moat. Inside is an armory, some of the royal palace rooms, and a museum exhibit dedicated to the history of cannons, guns, etc. as a part of the munitions academy that was there from the 1800s.

What Laurel lacks in interest in churches, she makes up for with a zeal for weaponry, and the armory here was almost as good as the one in Madrid's Palacio Real.