February 21

2-21
We went to Segovia today! It was a beautiful city! I think it might be my favorite of the cities we’ve visited so far. Either Segovia or Toledo. We took the train, which took about 2 hours and 15 minutes because it stopped at every single station on the way. But to take a direct train we would have had to use the Ave high speed train, which costs a lot more. So we got into Segovia around 12:15. We took a bus into the city center where the Roman aqueduct is. It was amazing; there’s a huge section of an aqueduct from the Roman Empire still standing and in almost perfect condition. It was enormous, and all put together without mortar and at a time without modern engineering. I don’t know how they got the stones that high up in the air. The wonders of slave labor, I guess. There was a place where you could go up near the top and get a view of the whole city and the surrounding countryside, bordered by mountains. Beautiful! After that we went to the Alcázar, which is the palace/fortress thingy where a lot of the old kings and queens lived or stayed. It was built around the 12^th century; at least, that’s when the earliest documentation of it is. But it could have been around a lot longer since the city obviously existed during the Roman Empire. It has nine rooms that visitors can see, where the royalty lived. There’s the throne room, the royal bedroom, the chapel, and various other places. In one, called the Room of the Monarchs, there are little busts of all the kings of Asturias, Leon, and Castilla lining the walls just below the ceiling. I’m not when it was built, but there are tons of them so it had to be a little later. The brochure says it was commissioned by Felipe II, and if I knew my Spanish history a little better I might be able to tell you when he ruled (I just looked it up, and I actually did know! I just had a brain-fart. We studied him in class last semester. He was the king of Emperor Carlos V and he ruled in the late 1500s). The rooms were all really lavishly decorated, of course, with lots of red velvet and tapestries and paintings. We were actually allowed to take pictures here! I need to get to the internet café to post a bunch of pictures. (Stupid school won’t let me download ActiveX to upload them. Hrm.) In addition to the courtly rooms there was an armory, which was exciting. It was a lot smaller than the one at the royal palace in Madrid, but it had some cool stuff. And, again, I could take pictures! There was also a museum of the Royal Artillery School, which had a bunch of information about artillery and science from 1764-1862. There were lots of little models of cannons and guns and stuff, and actual examples too. They had some antique ammunition, too. I took lots of pictures of the guns and stuff for Dad, but they were all in glass cases, so I’m not sure how much of what you can see is the display and how much is a reflection of me taking the picture. The last thing we did there was climb the tower of Juan II, which had 152 steps to the top, most of which in a Judson Tower-like spiral (except the stairs were a lot taller here). It was a breathtaking view, though. You could see the whole city, plus the empty plains and hills beyond, and then the snow-covered mountains in the distance. My favorite was the view of the cathedral and it’s domed steeple, with the mountains in the background. Beautiful!
We found a kebop (sp?) restaurant to eat at that had a great view of the aqueduct. It’s funny: I’m in Spain and I’m eating Turkish food! They’re delicious, though. We discovered them in Granada. And they’re cheap, which is a big plus. They’re only 3.50 or 4 euros, as opposed to 8-10ish at most restaurants.
After lunch we went to the Catedral de Segovia. I love these cathedrals! They’re so delightfully European! This one is technically the last Gothic cathedral, but it has a lot of the Renaissance aesthetics, with it’s concept of space and luminosity. I’m looking at the brochure as I type this, in case you couldn’t tell. J This cathedral wasn’t nearly as opulent as the one in Toledo, having been built at the beginning of the Renaissance rather than later in the Baroque era. But it was still beautiful. There was a simplicity in the walls and ceilings that contrasted the ornate sculptures and artworks. There wasn’t that feeling of being draped in gold when you walked in. The stone walls were plain, and the columns not carved or painted or anything. It’s so cool to walk into a huge building that’s hundreds of years old, with the ceiling towering over your head and gold statues and paintings everywhere. It makes me wish I had brought Pillars of the Earth with me so I could have finished it. It’s all about building a cathedral in the Renaissance. I’ve actually seen it here in Spanish and contemplated buying it. But it’s not worth it. I do which, however, that they would turn on the heat a little in these cathedrals. Ancient stone buildings are cold! I think it was colder inside than it was outside. Of course, it was very sunny today.
After the cathedral it was getting late-ish, so we checked the bus schedule to get back to the train station. We had about a half hour before the bus came, so we wandered around some of the streets, going in tourist shops and stuff like that. We took the bus back at 5:30, because we thought the train left at 5:57. But it turns out we were looking at the arrival schedule, not the departure schedule. The train didn’t leave until 6:55. So for 45 minutes we wandered around near the train station, which is on the outskirts, and only has these little cheapo stores that have a bunch of crap that no one would actually buy. Then we went back to the station and sat in the warm until the train came. It was a quicker trip on the way home than the way there. I think it took less than two hours to get back into Madrid, and then a little longer to get to my stop. But I got home earlier than I had expected, which was nice, because I’m tired!
Tomorrow we’re going to the Rastro, which is a big flea market in Madrid. It’s also Carnaval until Wednesday, so we might go to Plaza Mayor to see some of the celebrations. Rosaura said there’s a parade in the afternoon that goes to Plaza de la Cibeles, so maybe we’ll catch that. It’s cool being here during the fiestas! Carnaval is a lot like Halloween; all the kids dress up in costumes and walk around. Adults dress up too, and have parties. Apparently in a lot of the smaller towns everyone dresses up and parties in the streets, but it’s less of a big deal in Madrid since it’s such a big city. But it should still be fun. All I can think of is the Simpsons when they’re in Brazil and Bart gets swallowed by the python and you can see his body shape inside the snake, and he says “Don’t be sad; it’s Carnaval” and starts to dance. Ok, it sounds weird when I describe it, but I know Danny at least is cracking up right now, and maybe Brent too. It’s sad: I don’t have anyone here to share in my Simpsons quotes. That’s one show that Katie doesn’t watch. So I have to contain myself and laugh in my head.
Well, I don’t have anything more to write about now, and I’m really tired, so I’m going to bed. I’ll write tomorrow about the Rastro and Carnaval.
¡Hasta mañana!
Bethany