Segovia

Yesterday, we took a trip to Segovia. The bus ride from Madrid took about an hour, and Segovia has a wealth of monuments to visit. First, we visited the Palacio y Jardines de la Granja. It was a gorgeous place. The castle was beautiful, and the gardens and the fountains were very impressive. Next, we visisted the Acqueduct of Segovia, which is what Segovia is most known for. It was built at the end of the 1st century by the Romans during their occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. It is made of approximately 20,000 blocks that are not held together by mortar or clamps. The acqueduct is still in good shape, and it was an amazing site to see. Next, we walked to the Catedral, which is known as one of the last Gothic style churches built in Europe. The last place that we visited was the Alcázar, which is a castle that used to be an Arab fort. I was told that this castle was the inspiration for the castle that Walt Disney animated for the movie Cinderella. I have to admit that it did look like the castle in the movie. I even paid 2 euros extra for the priviledge of walking up 164 stairs to the very top of a tower just so I could feel like a princess. Ha! The view from the top was worth the pain in my legs and feet the next day. All I needed was a blue dress and a glass slipper, and the day would have been complete.