Tour of Spain 2011 - day 1/2 - In Segovia

There's something you'll have to bear in mind at this stage.  It's still day 7 as I type and I'm not sure how much wifi I'm going to get over the next few days so I will cram stuff in and maybe forget pics (for now).


Anyway, there we were all set up to explore Segovia in the late afternoon.  SO we had a reccy around the town - it only takes about 15 minutes to walk from one end of the old town to the other but there are plenty of cafes, etc. to suss out for food later on.  Also, we were a bit peckish (well AJ was) so we stopped at a bar for a bocadillo and a drink.  Nice tortilla bocadillo...  Then we decided on a restaurant for later -  Asi nos ponen de huevos las gallinas.


This restaurant had different interesting menu del dias and didn't go for the traditional Cochinilla Asado. This is slow roasted suckling pig which doesn't appeal at all. It's a signature dish of the region but is that really an excuse for it appearing everywhere? Imagine finding jellied eels in most of the restaurants in London... So, we went over to the restaurant in the evening. It was very quiet but that didn't put us off - actually the place was in two halves - a cafe and a restaurant. The cafe was busy with locals... Anyway, on the table was a menu de degustacion - a tasting menu. It had 3 different first courses, 3 different seconds and a sweet. Just as we were deciding whether to go for that and what to choose the owner came over and explained - actually you get everything on the menu... Excellent!, off we go then. So we had everything and everything was good - even the lasagna with the "secret" filling. It tasted good and I didn't try to work it out... I'd recommend the place on tripadvisor but I can't find it... Here endeth day 1.

Day 2 started and, rather than try and find somewhere for brekkie, we decided to eat from the hotel buffet. It tends to be an expensive option but at least you know what you're getting - or so we thought. As it turned out the hot element of the breakfast had pretty much run out (with an hour until the end of the session). This was a very bad start as, for me, a breakfast buffet is incomplete without bacon... I had some cereal and decided to wait things out. I noted a Spanish chap doing the same... After a while the Spanish dude talked to a "waitress" and I suspect the news wasn't good because he went and got himself some ham. His daughter and wife carried on regardless (the wife wearing sunglasses throughout - a heavy night before maybe?). He wasn't happy and neither was I. I had some cake instead. Then I had more cake... Spanish dude finished breakfast and went out to complain. A few mins later the bacon (well some) appeared. By this time I'm really done with breakfast but I was determined to get some bacon anyway (after all I'd paid a FORTUNE for this - well over a tenner). Bacon toast then got consumed (now really full) and a complaint to reception was avoided.

The rest of the day was sight-seeing. The cathedral (free on Sunday) was quite interesting but, as I was to find out later in the week, once you've seen one Spanish baroque cathedral you've pretty much seen them all. Much intricately carved stone on the outside, much intricately carved, gilded and painted woodwork on the inside. A huge organ (oo, er, missus) and choir set up in the middle. All generally designed to scare the crap out of a self-respecting C16th peasant.

Segovia Cathedral

Good example of gilded carved stuff

We had a break for coffee and enjoyed the spectacle of the traditional Sunday Segovian pet-walking...

Sunday pig walking

In the afternoon we went around the Alcazar.  I have to say that the Spanish do good Alcazars (even if they were generally started off by the moors - desculpe).  This one was very ornate here and there and quite impressive generally - you can see why the royals liked it.



Alcazar Room of the Kings

  There was also a tower (extra charge - really pushing the boat out here) but this is where we nearly came a cropper (well one of us did).  The problem with these old places is spiral staircases - some things that AJ is really averse to are me (sometimes), spiders, heights, and spiral staircases.  Clearly the heights and spiralness are linked - it's not the going up that's the problem, it's the going down.   The place said 152 steps so I wasn't counting (OCD usually overtakes me in such a situation) but the staircase seemed unrelenting.  We then got to a point where AJ's bottle finally ran out.  "No more" she said. "Do you want me to come down with you?" I said. "Yes please". At this point an English voice (Rule Britannia!) says "Keep going, you've only got about 10 steps to go"  That’s the other problem with spiral staircases - you've no idea how near the top (or bottom) you are...  So we carried on and got to the top - thanks to the lady of the steps...  Quite a nice view but I wouldn't bother with it next time.

The view from the tower

We wandered around the rest of the town, had another bite to eat, wandered the length of the aqueduct (not that interesting) then thought about evening meal. Nothing much to report there I'm afraid...  And that was day 2.

Aqueduct from the inside...