After a winter flying to and from Winnipeg, and the thrill of -30 degree and lower days in Canada's freezer, it was great to come to Spain and get a fast-forward to spring. We've had our first touch of the heat to come with a 33 degree day last Friday and with Shyam in town for his 35th birthday (flight a present from his missus Monika) we spent the early evening on the roof of our new apartment building and enjoyed the pool and some cervezas.
The weekend before I had time to myself as Jay and Claudia left for Toronto on the Friday and AJ wasn't due back in Madrid until Tuesday. I went on a nice long walk on the Saturday, down to the small river and then back up through the parks and gardens that are near the university.
Jay mentioned that one city he and Claudia hadn't managed to get to on their 4 day driving tour was Segovia, just to the north of Madrid, and since it was only a 30 minute train ride I figured it'd be a good day trip and get me the heck outa of the apartment. It was a challenge to find the train timetable on the web and then to understand it, but I worked it out and took the metro to one of the main Madrid stations Charmartin where all three rail networks meet (the Metro, regional and the Renfe very fast trains). I asked, in Spanish, for a return trip but the guy told me I could only buy solo which left me without a return locked in. Anyways it was only 10 euros and I took my ticket, which looks exactly like an airline boarding pass, up to the platform and boarded the train for Segovia.
I just plonked myself down at a 4 seater table and noticed that the handful of other passengers didn't take the other more roomy tables in the carriage. It dawned on me that the ticket was for a specific seat but since the train wasn't anywhere near full I stayed where I was. The train left right on time and sped up to over 210kph. It wasn't one of the reaaally fast AVE trains, they go over 300kph, but it was a fun ride and we blasted through the dry countryside and two very long tunnels (one over 28km's long under a mountain range) arriving in Segovia 5 minutes early, the whole trip took just over 20 minutes. The Renfe station is seperate from the main Segovia station where the slower regional trains take over 2 hours to make their way from Madrid, and it's located a long way from the town itself so I took the bus to the downtown area for 80 cents. The bus left me on a small street but the driver pointed in the direction I should walk and I followed a few other obvious tourists down a wide alley. I turned a corner and the symbol of Segovia, a huge Roman aqueduct built around the end of the 1st century AD, loomed over the surrounding buildings, cool.
The old town is surrounded by a wall and it was easy walking once I was inside the city itself up on the rock plateau. Apart from the aqueduct the other main historic attractions are the cathedral and the Alcazar (pronouced Al-Cath-a) a medieval fortress/palace that sits on the far cliff and juts out into the valley. I took the self guided tour through the Alcazar and humped up the narrow spiral staircases 152 steps to the main tower.
On the way up I was praying that the unfit tourists ahead of me wouldn't die and roll Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark style back down to kill me, seriously it was a close call for some of them. I had planned to take the 6pm train back to Madrid but when I got to the station I found it was booked out damnit. I should have booked my trip back as soon as I arrived... oh well, a 2 hour wait for the next train (which I got the last ticket for) was made a little easier by my iTouch and a glass of red while I watched the occasional VFT head through the station.
Oops, I should finish the title of this post... the rain in Spain falls mainly in Madrid :-)... but usually not for long. Our 33 degree Friday turned into a thunderstorm on Friday night, just as were were about to hit a patio night club on the roof of a building. I guess they didn't want the guests to be zorched and closed the roof [sigh]. Anyways looks like the weather is improving today and we've had some more rain but it didn't stop us taking in a Real Madrid soccer game last night (fun atmosphere, Madrid lost to Mallorca) and we have a bull fight planned for tonight. Should be interesting, expect some pics of that in a day or so.
Andy, out.
1 comment:
hey cool post bro. brings back memories of my backpacking days but you're doing it in so much more style!
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