Segovia

Friday we had train tickets to Segovia for the day, so we got up and going at 7 despite bad sleep. We took the 1 line of the metro about two blocks from our hotel to the north train station, Chamartín. We thought we planned for plenty of time, but we left a few minutes late, and despite lucky timing for the subway, we only arrived at the train a minute or two before it departed. We boarded at the back and walked along a mostly empty train to our reserved seats in the front car.

Our train was labeled SNCF, which surprised me. I hadn't realized there are multiple high-speed train operators in Spain in addition to Renfe, the national railway company. Our outbound trip was with Ouigo. We returned on a Renfe train.

We hadn't had anything to eat yet, so we stopped in the dining car to pick up something. The donut and muffin were not very good, but marginally better than nothing. The trip to Segovia was only about 30 minutes. I didn't bring a book for the day because the ride would be so short. I had planned to write Thursday's recap during this time, but my phone service wasn't working. I looked out the window and talked with Rachel instead. 

We took the bus from the remote train station to downtown Segovia, and then walked in the direction of the aqueduct. Along the way, we stopped in a drugstore to get bandaids for Rachel's toes. She also found some nail clippers, which we've been looking for. We didn't find the adhesive bandages right away, so Rachel went to ask a clerk for them. I volunteered the word curita, which I learned from Duolingo, but the clerk corrected us to tirita. Apparently another Latin America vs. Spain distinction. The web tells me both were brand names.

The aqueduct in Segovia includes a section high above the ground with amazing stone arches. It is in very good condition despite having been constructed by the Romans in the first century. Or maybe because. I read that it was still in use until the 1970s. I gather it is the primary reason Segovia was designated a UNESCO world heritage site, although there are others, as we would see. 

After marveling at the stone above us for what felt sufficiently long, we walked back a short way to a bakery we had seen and got ourselves a proper breakfast. We took our pastries and drinks to the courtyard, which unfortunately was still in the shade. The forecast was for a high of only 72, and it was not nearly that warm, yet. I didn't even bring any long sleeve shirts on the trip. Rachel was somewhat better prepared, but still cold. We survived.

Next, we walked up stairs to where the aqueduct enters the old walled city. We wound our way through the narrow streets, stopping in a few shops, until we arrived at the Plaza Mayor and the cathedral. Segovia's cathedral is one of the last Gothic cathedrals, completed in the 18th century after an earlier cathedral was destroyed during the Revolt of the Comuneros in the 1520s, a moment in history with which I was not, and am still not really, familiar.

The cathedral is another instance of mind-bogglingly impressive construction. I was particularly interested in the archivolts, because I didn't understand how they were attached. They look like added stone decoration hanging underneath the solid stone domes, but a web search explained, at least partially, how they are connected and held in place during construction. For me this is yet another example of how knowing how something was made only makes it more impressive. I had the same reaction at the Chihuly Museum with Mom and Rick, recently. 

After wandering around the cathedral for a bit, we joined a tour to see the clock tower. We ascended a narrow spiral staircase for a stop in one room for an information session before ascending more stairs to the campanero's quarters, and finally to the bells themselves. Our guide gave lots of good information in Spanish, but he was talking so quickly that I missed a good bit of it. The tower itself was certainly interesting, but the best part was definitely the view. The cathedral sits on one of the highest spots in Segovia, which is already on a steep hill, and the tower rises more than a hundred meters from there.

We found a restaurant for lunch on the square before continuing with our tour of the city. We ordered three things from the Entrantes portion of the menu. The first to arrive was a bean stew called judiones de la granja, made with giant white butter beans. One waiter had brought out a large shallow bowl, and another arrived to ladle our stew into it. When he put it in, I immediately thought, that's a nice portion size. He proceeded to add three more ladles. The croquettes we ordered were also large. So was the Brie with tomato jam. That last was my favorite of the dishes. Rachel, too, I think, despite initial skepticism. The beans were tasty but very salty and heavy, and the croquettes were also flavorful but heavy on the cheese. 

We watched a British family with six children younger than Eric who arrived at a table nearby. They ordered too much bread and the children started feeding it to the small birds gathering. Some of the pieces were rather large, including one that kept its bird firmly grounded, though it was trying very hard to fly away with its windfall. 

We walked down to the Real Alcazar, a medieval castle at the west end of the walled city. We looked at it from the outside, but didn't go in. It seems in amazing condition, but I don't know if it has been rebuilt over the years.

We made our way along the edge of the wall and back down to the city outside the wall, near where we began. We found a cafe and got some caffeine, hoping it would help us get through the afternoon. It took a while to kick in, but I think it worked. We sat outside in the shade for a long time watching people and talking, then wandered around looking at shops, but not finding anything to buy. Our return train was not until after nine, so we wandered out of the shopping district and sat under the aqueduct for a while before boarding a bus back to the train station. 

The sun was setting as we descended to the platform. Spain is in the same time zone as France, an hour ahead of London, despite being to its west, so sunrise and sunset are both relatively late here. 

Several trains went past the station while we waited, at blistering speeds. Ours made it up to at least 249 kph on the way back to Madrid, despite only covering about 90 km. It's a pretty nice way to travel.

I'm pretty sure it took longer to get from Chamartín back to our hotel, due to all the stops. Lots of people were boarding the train dressed to go out for the night, but we were quite tired, and crashed after a short dinner of Dim Sum just down the street. The waitress was convinced we weren't ordering enough food, but I thought our three small dishes were just about right, finally.