Segovia, Castile y León

     For those of you who've seen The Princess Diaries, you may think of the Genovia National Anthem upon hearing "Segovia," and I can tell you from personal experience that the city of Segovia is exactly how I would picture the fictional European country of Genovia. About two hours north of Madrid, this colorful city is truly stunning and is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and evergreen trees.

Could this city be any more beautiful?!

      Each year, Segovia plays host to thousands of visitors taking a day off from Madrid. Aside from the cobblestone streets and incredible landscape, this historical city is famous for the Segovia Aqueduct, Alcazar de Segovia, and the Segovia Cathedral, and we were lucky enough to see all three of these amazing landmarks.

     Driving through the winding streets of the city, the first thing you'll notice is the aqueduct—almost 11 miles long, it's hard to miss. Legend has it, a young maid had to walk miles to fill a bucket of water for her master every day, so when she could bear it no longer she called on the devil and offered her soul in exchange for a "solution" before dawn. The maid fainted and was awoken hours later by a lightning bolt which illuminated the sky, showing hundreds of demons working on the aqueduct. When the maiden realized the severity of the pact she had made, she called on God asking him to forgive her and to break the promise. When the first rays of light arrived the following morning, there was still one stone left to be placed, signifying the devil's failure. When the maiden confessed this to a priest in a nearby church, he declared it a miracle and ordered a statue of the Virgin Mary and St. Stephen to be placed in the hole left by the "unplaced" stone. While this legend is truly entertaining, the more common history of the aqueduct is that it was built by the Romans in the first century—first century, how crazy is that! Even more amazing, the aqueduct, which is 93.6 feet high, was constructed without mortar...now that's what I call engineering.

     

     Our second stop was the Catedral de Santa María de Segovia, a stunning Gothic-style Catholic cathedral. Upon entering the cathedral it became clear that it was built in the sixteenth century, before central heating...it was FREEZING inside! I will say that the incredible ceilings and "capillas," or chapels, provided a great distraction from the large goosebumps covering our bodies. The attention to detail in these cathedrals is just incredible, there is not a corner or stone without gold leaf or some sort of etching or engraving.

     From there we made our way to our last stop, the Alcazar de Segovia, or perhaps better known as "Cinderella's Castle" (apparently, Walt Disney was inspired by this incredible fortress and used it to build his model of Cinderella's castle). The Castle is located on top of a hill and is surrounded by two rivers, providing the perfect location for King Ferdinand and Isabella, el Rey y la Reina de Aragon.  The inside of the castle, like the cathedral, was freezing as well, but covered in tapestries which we learned were what retained heat back in the medieval days. It was so interesting to see the inside of a real castle, it was not as ornate or "magical," as I had expected, but then again it was still pretty insane for being built around 1122. I'd have to say my absolute favorite part of the castle, and Segovia as a whole, was the view from the bell tower— but man, good things sure come with a price. What seemed like 30 stories and a million stairs later (warning, these steps are not for the weak-hearted or claustrophobic), we made it to the top, and it was worth every moment of jelly-legs. 

Alcazar de Segovia/"Cinderella's Castle"

View of Segovia from the castle bell tower. The large structure in the center of the city is the cathedral bell tower. 

     If you have a day to spare, I would absolutely recommend a day trip to Segovia. The city is charming and  views could not be any better. If you're there in January I would suggest checking out the shopping as well, there are some really good deals on leather boots!