On exiting the platform we noticed several armed paramilitary guys of a sort we had not seen before. They were searching the bags of two young guys of non-Spanish appearance. We had wanted to take a taxi into town but there were none, so we made do very nicely with a public transport bus, for the princely sum of €1.92 for both. As we got on the bus, the two young men came up behind us and asked Joan in English where the bus was going. It turned out that they were (sub-continent) Indian boys who had Canadian accents and hailed from Toronto. They seemed to more amused than offended by the racial profiling treatment they had received. On the outskirts of the modern town we saw an army tank on a low rise not 50m from the road, with its huge gun pointing directly at traffic on the road. This was a little disconcerting.
The bus dropped us not where we wanted to be but we soon located a taxi rank with at least half a dozen idle taxis, but we had to wait a few minutes. On the way the driver explained that it was out of respect for a taxi driver who had been murdered in Salamanca the night before. We had earlier thought we might be able to wheel our bags to the hotel but we were soon disabused of that fantasy, as it was a little longer and more uphill (over cobblestones) than we had imagined. It was a lovely ride and we were getting good vibes from the town when we were dropped right at out hotel.
On preparing to enter the hotel, I had a heart-stopping moment - I was missing my wallet! In the taxi After doing the obvious patting of pockets and looking on the ground, I went back into the street only to see the taxi disappearing around a corner in the distance. Wild gesticulation did no good at all, so we rushed into the hotel with the intent of getting reception to call the taxi company. Our attempts to get the receptionist's attention were unproductive as she was on the phone. Interrupting her did not good either - "please wait". In hindsight, here's what happened. I had been juggling a bunch of coins in one hand and the wallet in the other. I paid the man in coins and in order to choose the coins I must have put the wallet down and forgotten about it.
When she was ready I explained my predicament and pointed on the map to where we had hired the taxi. She was very calm and efficient and was through to the taxi company in no time and several minutes later she reported that we were in luck - it had been found, and that the driver would bring it to the hotel. Later in the afternoon we were relieved to discover that he was a man of his word. That was another close call. We doubt we would have been as lucky in Madrid.
In the meantime we checked/ in and went to our room on the top floor. We have an excellent view of the Plaza Major below and the cathedral on one side bathed in glorious sunlight.This is by far the best room we have had and it is made even better by the knowledge that Joan had got it at a very favourable rate.
Lunch was a another success at a completely empty restaurant just down the street from the hotel. It had an old world formal ambience with a very reasonable Menu del Dia, and waiters in black and white uniform. One other couple did also come in and they were seated next to us which seemed strange in an otherwise empty room.
Suitably mellowed by the included jug of wine, we made our way to the Alcazar at one end of the old town. We had already read that Walt Disney had based one of his castles on this structure, but were nonetheless just amazed as it hove into view. It has a fantastic vertical front façade with all sorts of towers and very deep moat on either side of the drawbridge. Unlike almost everywhere else, admission here was quite reasonable. Despite it being restored, unlike Toledo, it had an authentic feel. The interior was filled with grat exhibits and was beautifully decorated. Although there were other visitors, we could enjoy most of the rooms completely alone - no minders to be seen anywhere. There were many suits of armour and cannons on display (an artillery school is based on the outskirts of town, hence the tank), but also good paintings and stained glass. We climbed the 152 steps up the tower spiral staircase (many steps were quite hight, making for quite a workout), but the view from the battlements was worth every step. We really enjoyed touring this place.
Next we wandered through the old town, including the Juderia and couldn't resist going into yet another cathedral which turned out to be a fine late gothic structure. It amazes us that what was then a town of only several tens of 1000's could afford to build such a massive structure, in only 45 years.
After a late siesta, we set out for the evening paseo, along a very easy-walking smooth road down to the Roman aqueduct,. It was an amazing sight to see this ancient structure in the middle of a "modern" town. It is higher (guesstimate 25m) than we would have thought. We walked along its length and were pleased as we got ever better perspectives as we went. The best was when we ascended the stairs at one end up onto the city wall where there was a viewing platform that afforded the best views across to the aqueduct.
Segovia is a humming little city and is a real delight to be in - much better in our view than Toledo. Among other things, there are fewer of us awful tourists here. We ventured into an LP-recommended pub for tapas and enjoyed a drink and a plate of calamari.
We are writing this in our room with the French doors open to the night time view of the plaza, which has sprouted outdoor restaurants since we went out. We are so pleased with this hotel and its location. We are only staying one night, but wish it was two or three. The main downside is the loud town clock which is directly opposite our room on the other side of the plaza. It multi-chimes the quarter hours with a full sequence on the hour, so even though the doors are double-glazed, we may have a less than peaceful sleep. Consuming our own bottle of wine may help.
No comments:
Post a Comment