OK, here I am to tell you about my recent day trip to the very lovely Segovia. I swear by the time I tell you about Salamanca and Toledo it will be Christmas and I’ll have been to numerous other places by then which I’ll want to share. I have just been so very, very busy. Both at work, at home, with my offspring, catching up with friends, various bits of DIY at home……………………….but here I am now with a quiet hour to share Segovia with you.
Is it worth taking a day out of a trip to Madrid to go there? Yes! And what’s even better is it can be seen very easily in a day. It takes just 27 minutes on the fast train from Madrid Chamartín/Clara Campoamor station. You can also get there on the bus, but I love the trains in Spain. In the UK, I only ever really take the train when I have to, as they are overpriced, usually late, unreliable and often cancelled. I went to Bristol the other week to see one of my children and it cost me £100 return, broke down at Birmingham on the way there, resulting in a change of train and the return train was cancelled. I have travelled extensively in Spain and Italy by train and their rail systems are far, far superior to that in the UK so don’t be nervous about relying on it, it’s excellent and cheap.
The easiest way to get to Madrid Chamartín/Clara Campoamor from the centre of Madrid is to use the Metro, as Chamartín is north of the city centre. Just make sure you get on the Metro going in the correct direction! 😂 Being a bit of a smalltown girl, I can find Metro systems quite confusing, and this is the day I found myself hurtling the wrong way on the Metro. 🤭 If that happens, just jump off at the next stop and reverse direction!
When you get to Segovia there are usually a couple of buses waiting at the station to ferry you to the town because the station at Segovia Guiomar is out of the city centre and a bit too far to walk. It only takes around 10 minutes and you can get one of two buses, one to the town centre or one straight to Segovia’s most famous site, the Roman Aqueduct.
I got on the one to the town as I needed breakfast, but you could get on either, as Segovia is really nice and compact to walk around and it is only around 15 minutes walk from one end of town to the other. First stop was a nice little café for a pastry and a café con leche to fuel me for the morning, and then a steady stroll to the aqueduct.
Directly at the side of the aqueduct is the Tourist Information office. They are really helpful and if you visit Segovia I recommend you go. They give you a free map and will draw you a walking route around town on the map, so you can see all the main sites in the day without missing anything.
So what’s special about Segovia? Well, it’s so special it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. It is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world in terms of its architectural configuration. It is a Roman walled city, and perhaps its most important site is its Roman aqueduct. You can’t possibly miss it, it’s huge! It is a masterpiece of hydraulic engineering, built to provide Segovia with water and has 167 arches. It is made of huge granite slabs, but what is even more impressive architecturally, is that it is completely self supporting, there is no mortar involved, just the laws of physics! Impressive stuff. A few photographs and a walk around the aqueduct and off I disappeared into the old town, ready to explore, armed with my map.
It was the worst day of the week weather wise. It rained all day so the photos don’t really do Segovia justice, but the town, being quite small, has a really nice friendly feel to it. It’s a lovely little escape from the hustle and bustle of Madrid.
My first stop in the old town was the ‘Casa de los Picos’, or ‘House of the Peaks’. Quite a quirky building to look at from an architectural perspective. Named ‘House of the Peaks’ due to the many diamond shaped peaks on the exterior, which apparently had both defensive and ornamental function back in the day.
Keep walking up the street and you will pass Saint Martin Church and eventually arrive at the central point in the old town, the Plaza Major. It’s quite a plain square compared to Madrid and others but lovely nevertheless. It was a good, covered, people watching spot for the second coffee of the day whilst I considered my next move.
It was raining quite heavily by now so I decided to walk to the far end of the town to visit the Alcázar. You can find an Alcázar in quite a number of Spanish cities like Seville, Cordoba, Toledo and a few more. An Alcázar is a type of Islamic castle or palace built during Muslim rule. Having been to those in Seville and Cordoba I thought I’d visit the one in Segovia as it is supposed to be the most famous. From the outside it looks a little bit like the Disney Castle. Just before you go inside though, be sure to have a look at the top of the trees outside at the storks roosting amongst the branches. You’ll likely hear them before you see them as they clack their bills together during courtship and it’s really loud.
The first thing I noticed about the outside of the Alcázar was a really unusual and pretty pattern on the outside walls. Each intersection of the stonework is studded with volcanic rock in the mortar. It makes for a really pretty effect.
Inside, the Alcázar is just as impressive. There are old Arabic tiles, beautiful stained glass windows, ornate gold ceilings and lots of artwork, including one painting of the coronation of Queen Isabella of Spain. She was crowned at the Alcázar of Segovia. It’s worth climbing up into one of the towers to see the artillery room and admire the view over the river and town and across the flat plains around the town.
After I had spent a couple of hours in the Alcázar I was ready for my lunch, but not before a little surprise! I’m on the Camino again! 😁 I get so excited when I see a little shell on the pavement, I just want to follow it. If you know, you just know! It transpires that Segovia is on the The Camino de Madrid which goes northwards from Madrid, through Segovia, then on to Valladoid, joining the Camino Francés at Sahagún.
The food you have to try in Segovia is roast suckling pig. A quick search showed I was not too far away from a lovely little restaurant called El Sitio in the old town. It is very well known for this dish and it is a traditional Spanish restaurant which will give you a really authentic experience.
It was a Tuesday lunchtime and it was heaving with people and I had not booked. I looked a bit out of place as I was on my own and was quite obviously the ‘tourist’. I had to use my very best Spanish and my biggest smile to try and explain that I wanted a table for one, I had not booked but really wanted to try the suckling pig. They just managed to squeeze me in and were so lovely, recommending what I should try if I wanted to sample local cuisine. Go check them out if you are in Segovia, it’s an amazing little place.
To start they recommended Sopa Castellana (Castillian Soup). I have no idea what was in it but it was nice. The only thing I was not sure about was the barely cooked egg floating around in it as I’m a bit funny about runny eggs. But sometimes you just have to try these things and I liked it lots. It was like a garlicky, savoury broth with all bits of meat and bread and an egg floating in it. It tasted so much better than I’m making it sound.
Then came the meal I had been waiting for, roast suckling pig (vegetarians look away now). It was plonked in front of me and I was delighted to see it waving at me, yes, complete with little trotter, how cute! And it was so very good! The most delicious, juicy, sweet pork with a lovely crispy skin. I can cope with the trotter no problem, I might struggle a little bit if I got the smiling version!
And of course it would be rude not to squeeze a little dessert in. Nothing elaborate but one of my favourites when in Spain. I am a great lover of custard! All desserts should come with custard! I can eat custard on its own, and the good thing is in Spain you can! Natillas is a traditional Spanish dessert and is quite simply a cold chilled custard flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon, served with a plain vanilla Maria biscuit. The perfect ending to my lovely lunch.
After lunch I went to discover the cathedral. It’s a very pretty one and the highest point in the town. It is late gothic in style, with some huge vaulted ceilings. There is lots of gold, a beautiful organ, some lovely stained glass and a very pretty cloister. It is a lovely cathedral to visit and I was lucky enough to be wandering around while the organist was having a practice so I had some lovely music to accompany my visit. The acoustics were fantastic and I really wanted to put a request in for a rendition of my favourite Widor’s Toccata but thought I might be pushing my luck because it’s quite a big ask!
I was running out of time on my little day trip and I soon had to go for my return train. I just had time to have a wander through the old Jewish quarter of Segovia. At its peak this area housed five synagogues and was one of the richest and most populated communities in the whole of Castille. It is a neighbourhood of Segovia which was traditionally populated by the Hebrew community from the 12th century until the late 15th century, after which the Catholic monarchs promulgated the Edict of Granada which said that all Jews had to convert to Christianity or leave Spain. It’s a pretty little area which will transport you back in time. It is a worthwhile window into history, and another timely reminder of how religion can drive us apart if we don’t respect each others beliefs, or each others decision to not have a belief, sadly a lesson we appear to be no nearer to learning six centuries later.
That was all I managed in my short day trip to Segovia. I would definitely recommend it as a day trip. It’s nice, small and compact and has a really nice feel to it. It’s easy to get to and you can quite comfortably see all the main sites in one day. It gets a big thumbs up from me.
Next up Salamanca…………but it could take me a week or two as countdown has begun…………… 19 days from the marathon and I’m meeting myself coming backwards in addition to having bright pink and black tape stuck all over my lower back by the physio in an attempt to hold me together! 😂 I honestly do think I might fall apart if it is peeled off, but he told me with great delight that he chose pink and black tape to match my trainers, how thoughtful, that’s service with a smile for you! 😁 Today though, is the day I fell in love with Strava. Normally I don’t get on with it as I’m not really interested how fast or far I’ve gone. I’m usually just relieved to have finished each run and think the mapping would be far more useful if it told you where all the cake stops were en-route. 😆 However, today it told me I am ‘Superior’! My VO2 max (which I’ve no idea what that is but it sounds impressive!) is in the top 5% for my age and gender. But wait for it!!!!!!! My fitness age is 20 years old!!!!! Oh gosh………….I LOVE Strava now!
Tonight though is a lovely trip to see possibly my favourite Opera……….Carmen………where I shall indulge in a few treats that probably don’t sit well with my training plan and I will try so desperately hard not to sing along to the Habenera and spoil the performance for everyone else. 😂