060 Spain: Segovia

Spain: Segovia, Pedraza, La Granja de San Ildefunso
We loved Segovia so much we stayed an extra night.

Segovia is famous for its aqueduct but there is so much more here.

If you look down thru the arch to my left you can see our hotel. We couldn't be any closer to the aqueduct. Once again the town is relatively quiet but at about 8pm the locals come out and the place is jumping.

 Just as the sun is setting. Great light. The weather here is idyllic for tourists. Very dry. The mornings are coolish (25C). It gets hot about 4pm (34C) and then the breeze picks up at about 8pm and then it is perfect for eating at the street tapas bars.

 

Another piece of art that caught my eye as being a candidate for our strange art list.

Yet another castle claiming to be the place that inspired sleeping beauty.

We visit the medieval town of Pedraza. The opening hours are supposed to be from 11am. It is 11:30. The place is not open. Other people are hanging around. We walk into the town to the office of tourism and stuck to the closed door is a hand written sign saying closed for the week. I guess they forgot to put the sign on the castle!
(Franks edit: after crossing the drawbridge those are spikes on the castle door to discourage door to door salesmen of the 1250's).

Many of the towers have special fittings to encourage the storks to nest

We couldn't find out if they were constructing or dismantling this but the whole square is converted to a bull ring.

 We came across a town which was having its national festival day. An enormous cook off for a traditional dish of pork and beans - pork is huge in Euope. Thousands of people had gathered in the very large park, with their own tables and chairs to participate. There were even television cameras there.

Does my arse look big in this?
A visit to the old Spanish royal summer palace.

We intended  to research this because it seemed a bit odd.
Hints of Ku-Klux-Klan?

Generally the Spanish are vertically challenged but they've grown a bit since this door was constructed. We've both hit our heads several times while on tour.

We really enjoyed our 3 days in Segovia  and we've come to realise that we prefer the towns to the cities. We feel that we get to know a place and you don't have to walk as much to find the hidden gems or get out of the tourist area. We've met so many friendly people here who want to talk to us even when they don't speak English and we don't speak Spanish. Spain is also incredibly cheap.  We're getting addicted to Tapas. Frank has just had his second haircut on tour and this time it was a good one.