I’m alternating catching up on travel posts as well as current baby posts, so this is one of the latter. I love getting to re-live our travels by digging up photos and details of our past trips, especially since travel is not really an option for us right now. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse of our day in medieval Segovia (which is a real place in Spain, not in Eastern Europe as the Marvel movies would lead you to believe). Don’t forget to watch the vlog for this day too!
In the heart of Spain lies the quaint old town of Segovia. We arrived in Segovia on June 29 on our way from Madrid to the coast of Asturias. We were nearing the end of our travels in Spain, so we didn’t get to spend the night in Segovia, but we left Madrid early enough to have the day there. The weather that day was beautiful and chilly! When we stopped for gas, both Aaron and I had to dig in our backpacks for sweaters. As we were trying to park the car to get to the center of town, there were a number of locals wagging their fingers at us saying “No permiso!” We later found out that all downtown parking was permitted only to locals and we’d get a ticket for parking there, even though there were parking meters! The locals did us a favor (bless them!) and we found a nice parking garage. Aaron’s mantra is to err on the side of caution, he never breaks the rules which is why we escaped Spain with no fines or parking tickets! I on the other hand work under the “ask forgiveness, not permission” mantra which, as you might expect, doesn’t always end well. What can I say, I learned it all from my rebel mother.
Segovia started as a Celtic city in 75 BCE, but ended up under Roman rule. They are responsible for Segovia’s defining attraction: the Roman Aqueduct. It dates back to 1st century CE and is still operable today and brings drinking water from one side of town to the other. It’s the best preserved Roman ruin in all of Spain and is still an engineering masterpiece! There is not a bit of mortar between the stones – it’s simply the pressure of the stones and genius engineering that holds it all together. It’s one of the most magnificent Roman ruins I have ever seen.
As we further explored the city, we made our way through the winding streets to the Cathedral of Segovia. Built between 1525 and 1593, it was the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain. Its yellow stone stands out against the green countryside and its towers dominate over the city. We didn’t opt to visit inside due to time, but we did explore the grounds.
Just outside the Cathedral we saw a procession making its way through the area. There was a giant parade of people dancing and handing out food and shots of a lemon liqueur. One man stopped to speak to us and asked where we were from to which we simply replied “Texas, we’re sorry about Trump.” He laughed and said he had previously studied abroad in Cincinnati, Ohio so obviously we all became friends. He explained that the purpose of the festival was to celebrate the Feasts of San Juan and San Pedro. From the 23rd until the 30th June, Segovia takes to the streets to celebrate the feast days of its patrons in which each neighborhood chooses a first lady and maids of honor that attend to them. Giants and “big-heads” roam the streets with brooms where they chase children to brush away evil spirits. Because children are evil, obviously. They also hand out shots of lemon liqueur to as well as bread and some sort of sausage. The float has a traveling band as well, so we got to see all of their festival music in traditional dress as well! Aaron captured the festival in an awesome video, so check that out below.
All in all, Segovia was well worth the day trip and we had a great time. Aside from the food, which was awful, the city on its own was very cool and the aquedeuct was very, very cool. I wish we would’ve had time to check out the Alcazar which looks like a castle right out of Disney! Maybe next time. Enjoy the vlog as well!
