Segovia

After a lovely night's sleep back at Zonia's apartment, we set out on a day trip to Segovia. The historic city is known mainly for two things- Roman aqueducts and a really cool castle. 

I love how Claudia always has her girls in matching outfits

It was fascinating being able to walk right up to the aqueducts. We didn't get that experience in Rome!

 Unfortunately, this day was overshadowed by the fact that Stephen left his wallet on the bus. He got to spend the whole day wrestling with the bus people on the phone and at the station while they tried to hunt down the bus we had ridden. He did eventually get the wallet back- just with no cash in it. It was a nice charter bus, not really a pickpockety place.

Even an architectural newbie like me could appreciate the blend between European and Middle Eastern styles

Tony bought a Selfie stick

The Segovia Cathedral

It had a very different style than the cathedrals we saw in Italy

Lots of pokies (don't tell me that's not the official term) and water spout gargoyles

I liked this new looking building sharing a wall with the old church

Looking good, Spanish Countryside!

We made our way over to the big castle, or Alcázar de Segovia. This is actually the castle that the Disney castle is largely inspired by- but only when viewed from the back from the valley below.

Stock Image of Backside

The castle from the front. It is surrounded by cliffs on the other 3 sides.

This castle has a ton of history starting in the 1100's. At various points it served as a fortress, royal palace, prison, and the Royal Artillery College before being turned into the museum that it is today. This was Aaron's first castle experience (I saw one in Germany back in high school). We both loved it! 

I love the pointy blue spires on the tops of all the towers

The (now empty) moat

I guess people really were shorter back in the day

Those thrones look mighty uncomfortable

It was difficult to get a picture, but they had a room with a statue of each Spanish Monarch from the 700s to the 1500's. They ringed the room just below the ceiling. Each statue had a little blurb under it with their basic info. 

What a view!

What a great garden maze!

Part of the castle was turned into a museum about the years when the operators of all of Spain's artillery trained in the castle. This place was bustling from1762-1862!

Artillery- the mathiest way to kill people 

We took a picture with a REAL GLADIATOR on the way back!

This community garden is a wee bit prettier than what we have back home

That's the cathedral in the background. It is crazy to think that people live in all those apartments!