Segovia
My study abroad trip includes two weekend excursions! Our first journey was to Segovia on Saturday, July 12. All I knew about the small, historic city was that it featured a very scenic, fairy tale-looking castle, so I was pretty excited to go learn some more! I woke up at 6:30 AM, a full thirty minutes before my normal wake-up time, because the bus was set to leave la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos at 8:45. Like usual, I awoke before my roommate and left as she was emerging from her room with sleepy eyes. The bus ride is only about an hour long, but I’m not exactly sure the true duration as I slept all the way there.
Itinerary:
El Alcázar
Plaza Mayor – Free time
(I went to the Gothic Cathedral, watched a dance performance in the plaza, and visited the church in which Queen Isabel I of Castille got crowned the Catholic Queen)
Lunch – Cochinillo
Roman Aqueduct
Our first stop was the Alcázar. The name is an Arabic word for “palace.” It was originally built in the 12th century, and the sections of the palace/fortification that were built with a golden stone show this history. There are parts of the building that were renovated under Philip II who no longer liked the aesthetic of the old castle. The sections changed by the 16th century king can be identified by their stark, grey look, as well as the grey slated roofs. My favorite parts of the palace were the ornate ceilings and beautiful tile work on the walls. I also enjoyed the really nice views of Segovia from the tower. Walking up the spiral staircase made Segovia’s Alcázar my third vertical tour/trek, the others being the bell towers in Bath Abbey in England and St. John the Divine in NYC!
There were two tours given – one in Spanish and one in English. The first day of my program, I took the English tour around the center of Madrid with Elena (the English guide). This time I decided to challenge myself a bit and follow Ana, the Spanish docent. All of my friends went with the English guide, even those who had originally taken the Spanish one the first day. Though I wanted to hang out with them, I realized that doing that wouldn’t push my limits, and so I left them for the duration of our visit. I found that I had no difficulty at all in understanding mi guia española. One thing I would have liked, though, would have been a more historic background on what we were seeing. At this point, almost a week after the fact, I don’t remember anything of substance that was said… except, I guess, for the initial information about the architecture that I mentioned above.
I was prepared to do a lot of walking, but it wasn’t as tiring and exhausting as I had imagined. The weather was also fabulous, so I wasn’t dying of dehydration and heat. We were given about an hour of free time once we walked to the Plaza Mayor. Most people just wanted to go shopping and drink coffee. I was a little bit disappointed by this sentiment because we were only going to be in Segovia for one day – we should be taking advantage of the occasion! I didn’t have enough time to put the Segovia map (we were given one at the beginning of the day) to use, but I did break away from my group of friends to visit the Gothic Cathedral bordering the large plaza. This building is the last example of Gothic architecture in Spain, as it was built in the 16th century, a time already belonging to the Renaissance and the Early Modern world. The exterior of the building is quite magnificent, as the parapets feature pinecone-like motifs, making them look like part of a little bosque (forest). The inside belongs more to the Renaissance style. Many of my peers were against going to the cathedral because it cost three euros and because they had “been to a church before.” Though I agree that many churches look similar, I always like to go inside. Like the Alcázar, I enjoyed the really pretty ceilings. There was also a cloister area with some old relics and church objects. I discovered a love of Cordoba filigree work! Upon exiting, there was a crowd outside the door – I think there was a planned wedding or baptism!
When I emerged from the church surrounded by the crowd of people, I also heard some music. I followed the sound to the center of Plaza Mayor to see an even huger crowd of people surrounding some dancers. Segovia was celebrating the XXVII Festival Folclórico Internacional: “La Esteva.” The festival featured various dance performances from around the world, but I only got to see three – Spanish Huesca, Irish Step Dance, and Puerto Rican traditional dance. I was lucky enough to be able to sit right up front on the ground – I was able to see everything AND I got to rest my legs!
The last thing I did during my free time was to visit La Iglesia de San Miguel, the church in which Queen Isabella of Castille was crowned Isabel La Catolica. It wasn’t very impressive at all, but I liked the idea of being in the same place she was crowned.
For lunch there were two options: suckling pig (cochinillo) or trout (trucha). Of course I probably would have preferred the fish, but I wanted to have a Spanish culinary experience, so I picked the pig. I was very hungry and hence excited for my new food experience, but the build up was really the best part. I wouldn’t say I was disgusted by eating a pig I had just seen, but I started off tasting the skin, and I think that’s what turned me off. The piece I got was HUGE, including una pata (leg and foot), and the oreja (ear).
The last activity of the day was to walk down to the aqueduct, which was built by the Romans in the first century AD. The structure was very impressive, even more so when I found out that it was built without any sort of mortar! To be honest, it was a little scary to walk underneath. Being silly Marina, I thought one of the stones would fall!
On our way home, we stopped by a field from which there was a great view of the Alcázar. We took a group picture before heading back to the bus for a siesta during our trip home.
