A little bit of Disney Magic

Next stop,Segovia!  Since my arrival in Madrid, people have been talking to me about Segovia, a quaint, architecturally magnificent and historical town located only about an hour away from Madrid. My Spanish teachers in particular have recommended that all of the foreign exchange students (ERAMUS) travel to Segovia at some point before they leave Spain. So at their suggestion, I decided to book a one day trip  to Segovia with one goal in mind: to see and tour the castle that inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty! So, I along with two of my Erasmus traveling friends/buddies/companions boarded the 9am bus two weekends ago to Segovia!

 Segovia is a small town like Cuenca. Like most if not all Spanish cities, Segovia has architecturally rich buildings; but Segovia is special due to its large Roman architectural influence. This city is well known for two important landmarks; the "Román Acueducto " and the "Alcázar of Segovia." The Alcázar was the castle that inspired the castle in Walt Disney’s animated and much beloved film, Sleeping Beauty.

As soon as we arrived in Segovia we immediately headed towards the Alcázar. What a castle! It was everything I had ever imagined! Just like in Sleeping Beauty, it had one especially tall tower complete with a steeple surrounded by other smaller towers and steeples and a great moat at the entrance. Inside was as extravagant as one would think! The castle has been redecorated to match what once existed.  Every room was adored with lavish details. Two rooms in particular that caught my attention were the Throne room and the Arms room. In the throne room (which sadly did not photograph well because of poor  lighting) the walls were decorated with huge paintings of the King and Queen of Spain ( which ones ???). and a small staircase. Atop this staircase was a red carpet with two huge plush and majestic golden chairs.  Looking at the thrones, one could just envision royalty seating there. The arms room was just as impressive, covered in flags from wall to wall displaying various coat of arms and different types of armor and weapons dating back to the Middle Ages. This room also led to a terrace with an amazing view and a yes .... real wishing well. Totally awesome! Being in Sleeping Beauty's castle took me back to my childhood...a memory I will not soon forget!

After exploring the lower areas of the castle, we decided to explore the Tower of Juan II.  This tower is the tallest of all the towers in the castle. It led to two separate scenic viewing areas; one area just above the moat and another at the very top of the tower. Only two flights of stairs are required to arrive at the first sightseeing landing area. As we climbed another flight, we arrived at a room with a small carved out door that was outlined with red LED lights. We thought, this must be the way to the top of the tower. So we started to climb, and climb and climb. This was no ordinary staircase. It was an old cement spiral staircase with no windows and stairs that got steeper and steeper as you continued upward. For a moment,  I felt like a knight attempting to save a princess who was locked away!  Finally, 152 steps later, we finally arrived at the top...to a breath-taking view of Segovia.

After touring the castle we decided to grab lunch in the plaza by the Roman Aqueduct.  Per normal, I ordered the menu del dia which happened to include one of my favorites  loxs as the second entree. It was delicious! (But, if you are ever in Segovia, I highly suggest you order Cuchinillo. It is a Segovian delicacy. Unfortunately I did not get to try it because I was not feeling all that well during our trip. ) After Lunch, we decided to walk along the Roman Aqueduct. This Aqueduct is the best preserved roman monument in Spain. It was used to transport water from the Fuente Fría river to a gathering tank called El Caseron.  It is an impressive must-see historical monument.

Afterwards, we strolled through the Plaza Mayor to see the Cathedral. When exploring any European city going to see the cathedral of that town is a must. The cathedral was built in the 1500s in a Gothic style. It is, aside from the Alcázar, one of the most prominent buildings in Segovia. It is extremely large and elaborately detailed. After visiting the cathedral and the plaza mayor, we decided to visit Segovia’s many different gardens that outline the city.  In sum, Segovia is a beautiful city with a lot to offer and an easy one day trip from Madrid. 

Segovia is a beautiful city with a lot to offer! My next journey will take me to Salamanca! Until then, Chao!

Cuenca

In between school and studying, I have been doing as much sightseeing as possible. I recently went to an observatory deck on the 8^th floor of the Palacio de Comunicación near Plaza Cibeles. For 2 Euros you are can ride up to the 8^th floor patio which has breathtaking views of Madrid.

 Two weekends ago, I was able to travel outside of Madrid once again to Cuenca, a small town known for its architectural beauty. Cuenca is two hours by bus, south of Madrid, so I and 2 of my friends booked 8 am bus tickets. Of course we could have taken the AVE (RENFE Trains), which is only a 50 minute ride, but we are poor Uni students and the bus is significantly cheaper.  

The day of our trip we sleepily boarded our 8 am bus. We arrived in Cuenca by 10am slightly confused because our surroundings were not quite what we expected.  Not only was the city average looking, but there was not a single person on the street. Luckily, my friend had brought along her guide to Spain which included a map of Cuenca and a list of all of its historical marvels. On the map there was something called a mirador. Due to its name,(Mirar in Spanish is the verb to look); we wanted to start our day with a view of the city. We asked a local for directions and he told us to take the next bus to the last stop. As we rode the bus, we seemed to be moving away from everything.  We shortly arrived at our destination, the end of the bus line, which turned out to be a huge glass building. We quickly asked the driver where the mirador was and he pointed to the building.  Confused we asked, “Where is the observatory tower?”. The driver chuckled to himself and said “Oh that’s the other way, this is the mall called el Mirador.”  So we decided to make the best of it and go into the mall but, with our luck it was closed.  We all started laughing at our mistake and as we waited for the next bus, it started to rain….. What luck! We laughed and didnt let it ruin our day! Well, lesson learned: a little research goes a long way.

 Finally, after waiting a few minutes, we boarded the correct bus to the Plaza Major, the historical area of Cuenca.  Once we arrived in the Plaza, we immediately saw the beauty and architecture we had initially expected. The plaza mayor is relatively small in comparison to Madrid’s but is absolutely beautiful. The brightly painted houses and thin streets immediately reminded me of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 We started the day at Our Lady of Grace Cathedral.  The Cathedral was constructed between 1182 and 1270 in Gothic-anglo-Norman Style. It is filled with small chapels that are each elaborately adorned.

 After visiting the cathedral, we decided to check out Cuenca’s claim to fame, the Puente and Las Casas Colgadas. After navigating our way through the winding streets we came upon a small opening that led us to exactly what we were looking for, Las Casas Colgadas.  This touristic sight refers to houses that are hanging off a cliff over the Huecar River Gorge.  These houses are paired with el puente de San Paulo which crosses over the Huecar River. The original bridge was a suspension bridge but it fell down in the 20^th century and was replaced with a bridge made of wood and steel.  The view off this bridge reveals an amazing view of las Casas Colgadas as well as the  rugged  landscape of the quaint town.

Interestingly, different parts of the bridge are full of padlocks with names and dates written on them. My friend informed me that they were love padlock/love locks that “sweethearts” lock on bridges to symbolized their love for each other. This became a popular trend in Europe after the Italian book was turned into a movie called Tre metri sopra il cielo.

Since Cuenca is surrounded by mountains, we decided to do a little hiking. After hiking we, spent the remainder of the day walking around and exploring every nook and cranny of the town. Overall, Cuenca is a relatively quiet calm town and being there was so relaxing. I highly suggest visiting Cuenca especially if you love the outdoors!

Chao for now chicos!