Day 2 of Spanish Vacation: Segovia on February 3rd, 2017

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The second day of our three-day stay in Madrid, and we chose to visit the historic city of Segovia, with its well-preserved Roman Aqueduct.

Snow-Capped Mountains South of Segovia

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The bus to Segovia departs from Madrid’s Moncloa station. With accurate predictions of travel time by Google Maps, we didn’t waste any time at all in waiting for the bus.

The journey to Segovia took about 80 minutes due to some traffic outside Madrid, and we got off the bus to a rainy Segovia.

Madrid Suburb

To wait out the rain, we decided to have breakfast first. No, we set alarm clocks based on the latest possible departure time from Google Maps, so we didn’t have time for that in Madrid.

Breakfast

I thought the standard breakfast in Spain was bread and sausage and stuff like that. Obviously the restaurant owner didn’t quite prepared for such a proper meal, which took us 45 minutes.

After that, we headed for the Roman Aqueduct in central Segovia, which wasn’t very far from the bus stop.

Parroquia de San Millán

Iglesia de S. Clemente

Acueducto Avenue in Downtown Segovia

Acueducto de Segovia

East Segovia

Having admired this magnificent structure that’s always on the top of my to-build list when playing the Civilization series (Who doesn’t like more people and more productivity?), we walked along the route ~~designated by Segovia’s tourist bureau~~ shown on a post to Catedral de Segovia.

Postigo Del Consuelo

Historic Buildings by Plaza Del Seminario

Tower of Arias Dávila of Local Government Building

Plaza Del Dr. Laguna

Catedral de Segovia behind Streets

Kiosk in Plaza Mayor

Tower of Iglesia de San Miguel

Segovia Town Hall

Plaza Mayor

Warning Sign
I know I should interpret this as “parents: don’t let your kids play soccer in the streets, there would be traffic”. However, my playful friend chose to interpret as “parents and kids playing human head in the street blocking traffic”.

Catedral de Segovia

Then it’s Catedral de Segovia, one of the last Gothic style cathedrals in Europe, with the tallest clock tower in Spain.

The Entombment by Juan de Juni (1571)
Altarpiece of Chapel of La Piedad.

The Descent from the Cross Triptych by Ambrose Benson
In Chapel of St. Andrew.

Organ in Catedral de Segovia

Tree of Life by Ignacio de Ries
In Chapel of the Conception.

Decorated Ceilings of Catedral de Segovia

Retrochoir in Catedral de Segovia
Here are kept the relics of St. Frutos, Patron Saint of Segovia.

Portal into Cloister
Portal by Juan Guas from the original Cathedral.

Sculpture in Catedral de Segovia Cloister

Catedral de Segovia from Cloister

Catedral de Segovia Cloister

Visita de San Francisco de Borja al emperador Carlos V en el monasterio de Yuste

The Agony of Christ by Manuel de Pereira
In the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament.

Altarpiece by Jose Benito de Churriguera (1686)
In the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament.

Digital Candle in Catedral de Segovia
My friend and I found a unique feature of this digital candlelight, that while 50 cents of donation could light up 2 candles, it took just 20 cents to light up just one.

Catedral de Segovia Interior

Chapel Decorations in Catedral de Segovia

Choir in Catedral de Segovia

Catedral de Segovia Ceilings

Main Altar of Catedral de Segovia

Catedral de Segovia Inner Space

After that, we headed for Alcázar de Segovia, which used to be a fortress, royal palace, state prison, artillery college and military academy.

Streets of Segovia

Iglesia de San Andrés

Alcázar de Segovia

Villages North of Alcázar de Segovia

Alcázar de Segovia Entrance

Screen behind Alcázar de Segovia Ticket Desk

Armory Display

Dinning Table

Plains beyond Alcázar de Segovia

Screen Depicting the Coming of Queen Isabel

Throne Room

Bedroom

Room of the Kings

Windows of Room of the Kings

It was a particular windy day, but all the windows of Alcázar de Segovia were sealed with glass, which made it a very pleasant experience sitting at the windows watching the clouds.

Village and Plains North of Alcázar de Segovia

High Table in Room of the Kings

Chairs in The Belt Room

Stained-Glass Windows

Chapel

Armory Display

Woods South of Alcázar de Segovia
With mountains crested by snow in the background.

Decorated Cannon in Alcázar de Segovia Inner Court

Alcázar de Segovia Inner Court

Display of Trajectory Calculation in Alcázar de Segovia Museum
Well, this must be before the era of Isaac Newton.

Silverware Display

After that, we climbed the towers of Alcázar de Segovia.

Main Tower of Alcázar de Segovia

Villages North of Alcázar de Segovia

Roof of Inner Alcázar de Segovia

Catedral de Segovia and Historic Segovia before Snow-Crested Mountains

Village and Plains North of Alcázar de Segovia

Woods South of Alcázar de Segovia

Spanish Flag Flying over Alcázar de Segovia

Catedral de Segovia and Historic Segovia

Winding Stairs in Alcázar de Segovia Tower

Monumento a los Héroes del 2 de Mayo
Monument to the Heroes of May 2 in Dos de Mayo Uprising of 1808.

After that, we picked another road and wandered back to the Aqueduct.

Towers of Iglesia de San Andrés and Catedral de Segovia among Buildings in Historic Segovia

Woods South of Historic Segovia City

Building by Iglesia de San Andrés

Buildings along Segovia City Wall

Streets and San Andrés Gate of Segovia

There was a segment of Segovia city wall that’s open freely to visitors by San Andrés Gate, so we paid it a visit.

Sculpture of Walking Violinist

Major Street of Segovia City beneath Distant Snow-Crested Mountains

City Wall of Segovia

Passage on Segovia City Wall

San Andrés Gate of Segovia

Jewish Cemetery outside Segovia City

Streets of Segovia

On our way back we walked passed Iglesia de San Martín. Unfortunately, it seemed that the church wasn’t open to the public at that moment. (Although online comments stated that it’s free admission.)

Iglesia de San Martín Exterior

Juan Bravo Monument
A leader of the rebel Comuneros in the Castilian Revolt of the Comuneros.

Catedral de Segovia behind Streets of Segovia

Fountain by Iglesia de San Martín

City of Segovia below Snow-Crested Mountains

So after all this, it’s 3pm and we decided it’s time to have our belated lunch, for which we decided to try out the famous local dish of Roast Suckling Pig at the famed Mesón De Cándido restaurant, just below the Aqueduct.
It turned out that even at 3pm, the seats at Mesón De Cándido were still half-filled.

Mesón De Cándido

Lunch at Mesón De Cándido
Roast Suckling Pig and Chicken.

To briefly state my opinion on that Roast Suckling Pig: not to my taste.

Mesón De Cándido Interior
A chic retro restaurant.

Acueducto de Segovia through Windows of Mesón De Cándido

Mesón De Cándido by Acueducto de Segovia

After that we headed back to the curbside bus stop and was ready to get back to Madrid. Althouhg we planned our time carefully to match the bus’s departing schedule, we weren’t aware that we needed to exchange a separate ticket since our original ticket didn’t have a specific return time. So to kill the 45 minutes for the next bus, we decided to head back and see the entirety of the Aqueduct.

Acueducto de Segovia
Tower of Catedral de Segovia through the arches.

So we walked back past Mesón De Cándido and went uphill along the Aqueduct, and watched the Roman Aqueduct growing less magnificent as it blended into a residential neighborhood.

I.E.S. Mariano Quintanilla School
A historic school founded in 1845 with its own garden.

I.E.S. Mariano Quintanilla School Classroom

Acueducto de Segovia and Nearby Buildings

End of Acueducto de Segovia

Waterless Acueducto de Segovia

So in 15 minutes, we watched the imposing Roman Aqueduct ~~turned into a roadside ditch~~. At its less magnificent end, there’s only a nearby post stating its historical importance.

Iglesia de Santa Eulalia

Streets of Segovia

Then we took an uneventful bus ride back to Madrid. Given it’s still not too late in the day, we decided to walk along Oeste(West) Park back to our hotel.

Oeste Park

Arco de la Victoria
The 49 m high arch was constructed at the behest of Francisco Franco to commemorate the victory of Francoist troops in the 1936 Battle of Ciudad Universitaria, part of the Spanish Civil War.

Street Performers before Arco de la Victoria

Hell, these ~~beggars~~ street performers got much style.

Trees in Oeste Park

Trail in Oeste Park

Statue of Concepción Arenal
Concepcion Arenal was a jurist, writer and human rights activist who lived between 1820 and 1893.

Buildings by Paseo del Pintor Rosales

Fountain of Juan de Villanueva

Birds Flying in Groups

It was near sunset time, and the woods near Madrid provided much habitat for the birds migrating home.

Monument to Infanta Isabella

Temple of Debod

Not long after that we reached Temple of Debod, a temple donated by the Egyptian government recognizing Spain’s contribution in its archeology aid.
By Google Maps it’s opening time for Temple of Debod. However, we saw a post at its entrance that there was maintenance work going on, and the temple would stay closed until further notice.