The Romans really knew their stuff

Juts a quick catch up on last night. They opened the restaurant early for us: 8:15. We were alone till the first Spaniards showed up a little over an hour later. Marjan is really enjoying the Castellana soup, it is like a cocido broth but then with egg and bread rather than noodles. She also finally got why I like artichokes. Anyway four course meal,where we tried a whole new cured meat, for two with a bottle of the local red for €31 is not bad value.

We drove out of town and into another gorge, but were soon in broader country with bigger skies. We saw some more hobbit housing as well. This time we stopped and took a piccie. Some lovely open plains with grapes and then sudden 200 metre drop into a river valley.

Spaniards were out for their Sunday free feed outing. We saw dozens of blokes out with dogs and guns and even more people sometimes whole families, out mushroom picking in fields and forests.

The countryside kept changing, the skies got bigger the towns further apart. James and I are having a constant battle regarding routes. He seems to prefer one lane, bumpy country roads with no signs. I prefer them a little wider with line markings. One interesting sidelight : on the entry to some towns they have lights flashing yellow. If you are exceeding the marked speed limit the lights go red and you are made to wait.....and wait.....and wait.....and bloody wait. Must have been two minutes and I was only a couple over.

Anyway James soon took us over a small ridge and there was our goal. Segovia.

We found a place to park the car, almost under the aqueduct and humped the luggage up the hill, through the aqueduct, to our hotel. The hotel does not have a view of the aqueduct, but instead it has one of the cathedral. Oh well. You can see the Islamic influence on the windows with the rounded top. The mudejar style is very evident now. This part of the country was under Islamic rule for quite a while.

We dropped our stuff and headed back to the aqueduct. I did do a year of engineering, and the nerd in me can still appreciate that something built 2000 years ago, with no concrete, or binding of any sort, is still standing and in fact could still perform its function, which was to bring water from the mountains. I won't bore you with stats but it is great, awesome, fantastic, and I love that the ambulances and cops drive under it to get into the old town.

We ate a big lunch at Candidos. It is right next to the aqueduct and as such handy. Also it is famous. Though it has become a bit of a tourist cliche, it is great to have lunch there again 38 years after lunching there with my cousins. I also recall Dad talking about eating there. So lunch was a little catch up. We had some mushrooms for starters, and of course the cochinillo for mains with a local Duero red. Of course we kept an eye on the aqueduct, in case it was stolen before I could admire it some more.

Up to the cathedral on Plaza Mayor for some sightseeing. They do a good monumental here.

Then up to the Alcazar, the fort at the junction of two rivers. That was the building at the start. You could really stay a week here and not get bored. The ceilings in the Alcazar alone would keep you amused for a while.

So over the Sierra de Gudalajara and into Madrid tomorrow. That is the mountain range behind Segovia, where the aqueduct brought water from. Probably nothing worth photographing, unless we don't make it through Madrid traffic. If we do we will have a quiet drink in Madrid's Plaza Mayor to calm down. It won't be the aqueduct though...those Romans were awesome. But not as awesome as I am. Super Marjan Traveling Companion.