Our love for medieval cities was on the rise after out day trips to Bruges, Ghent and Toledo. We decided to go for one more, even though we were supposed to travel at 10pm the same day. Our destination for the day was Segovia – a Spanish town which played a key role in the country’s history.
The hostel in Madrid informed us that we could either take the train or the bus. The train is quicker but the bus is cheaper. Plus the train station is far away from the town centre (you need to take another bus) while the bus drops you in the old town. So no brainer! But the cheaper reason was convincing enough to take the bus. But we almost paid a huge price for it!
We booked the return bus tickets (Le Sepulveda) from Moncloa metro stop and we were assigned a bus which was after 25 mins. After arriving at the bus station in Segovia we checked the bus timings and targeted the 530pm bus before setting off towards the Aqueduct. Little did we know that we had to be assigned for an evening bus as well! When we came back at 5pm for the bus, we were in for a rude shock. We were assigned the 700pm bus. After coming back to Moncloa, we rushed to the metro, rushed to the hostel to collect our luggage and then rushed back to the metro stop to get the Barca bus. But we made it! Just about made it!
Moral of the Story: If you are going to Segovia by bus, get yourself assigned to an evening bus in the morning itself.
Other than this confusion, our day was pretty perfect. Segovia was charming with great food, detailed architecture and happy-go-lucky local folks all around! Here are a few pictures:
The Aqueduct: The trademark Segovia symbol and arguably the most significant landmark of the town! Considered as a Roman engineering marvel, it is on UNESCO’s world heritage list. Walk towards the Aqueduct and take the flight of stairs to your left to enter the walled city. The views of the mountains beyond this structure make up for a nice postcard shot. It was constructed with granite blocks without any mortar and used to transport water back in the ages.
The Alcazar: Built as a fortress, served as a royal palace in the past, today it houses a military archives museum. All roads lead to this place which is built on the highest point. We did not enter inside. We were not going to enter inside. But we walked to this place for its façade and towers have been an inspiration to Walt Disney’s trademark castle design.
The Cathedral: Located in the Plaza Mayor, this Roman Catholic cathedral was built in Gothic style. The entire complex is intricately designed and the detailed carvings on columns or the ceiling are quite unique and different to the gothic cathedrals or castles I have visited till date.
Plaza Mayor: I think every town in Spain has a Plaza Mayor – the centre town square. Segovia was no exception!
The Town of the Roasted Suckling Pig: We visited the Soportales on the way to the Aqueduct for its known for Roasted Suckling Pig. We had a nice meal and some more sausages. It was nice. But it was a little hyped :p
The bandwagon now moves to Barcelona next. Not for Gaudi but for the new years’s eve!
And in other news, after a capital hopping tour of Eastern Europe, the bombay nomad is going home after 10 months 🙂
The Bombay Nomad 
Great post, beautiful place – thank you 🙂
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Thank you for your kind words! Do keep visiting back for more! 🙂
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