A Day in Segovia!

Hola amigos! So these past few weeks have been crazy busy and once again I'm behind on my blog. While this may be the case, I have some fun times to recount nevertheless! 

So to begin…

We got on a bus Friday morning (July 11th) for our trip to Segovia! Thankfully the bus ride was about an hour and half, so not too bad at all! Our first stop was Alcázar of Segovia, a former royal palace that was originally built as a fortress. I recently learned that it was one of the inspirations for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle! It started off as an Arab fort (sometime around 1120), but Christians conquered this area thereafter. Since then, Alcázar served as the residence of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Castile until the royal court eventually moved to Madrid. Check out the lovely pictures below :)

Alcázar 

Very welcoming knight as you walk through the palace doors

Beautiful stained-glass window 

The Throne Room

We learned that red was viewed as the most royal color during this time; therefore, the King's bed is completely red! Also, only the King slept here--the Queen slept in a different room. Royalty married the best person out there (in terms of wealth, nobility, etc.) instead of marrying for love.

The King's bed

View from the top of Alcázar

After touring the rooms of the palace, we took part in a major challenge...climbing a winding staircase with HUNDREDS of stairs to the top of a ginormous tower! There was no handrail to hold onto, the stairwell was about 3 feet in diameter (if that) and people were walking up the stairs and down the stairs at the same time. We were SCARED. I was GRIPPING the wall. But we made it! The adrenaline sure kicked in!

Finally made it to the top of the tower!

Then we ventured around the city for a while...

Catedral de Segovia

Former prison that is now a library...
check out the crazy windows!

And then we saw the amazing Aqueduct of Segovia! It is thought to have been built in the 1st century AD by the Romans. There are just under 200 arches and it's surely a sight to see! The entire structure is made with brick-like granite blocks, but no mortar! Our tour guide joked and said that we can't touch it or it might fall over! Amazingly, it kept functioning until the mid-19th century. LOCO!

Aqueduct of Segovia 

Ya know, just workin' it ;)

Shortly after seeing the aqueduct and taking a moment for a brief photo shoot, we had lunch and then got on a bus to Madrid! In Madrid we shopped around a bit, had dinner, and prepared for our next bus ride to Valencia! Check out my next post for more deets! Adiós for now!

Picture credits:
http://www.ignaciopara.com/?attachment_id=433