Segovia

On Saturday I finally was able to go to town of Segovia, which is located 1 ½ north of Spain. This was the trip I was supposed to go on when my Mom was here but it was canceled because of the snow. First we stopped at a place of coffee before the trip and Loyola paid for our coffee because our time in Spain in winding down so we have to use up all the money we pay for tuition and such. Then I went to the palace of La Granja, which used to be a palace for the king during the hot Madrid summers but now is a museum. We walked around the garden and saw all these amazing fountains that only run in the summer months because they are supplied water from the snow that melts in the mountains and is then collected in a lake and funneled into the fountains. Also, the gardens go for a while and as you walk closed to the mountains there are less fountains tot symbolize getting closer to nature.

Example of Fountain in the Gardens

Next we took the bus into the town of Segovia to see the Aqueduct. This particular structure carried water from the mountains into the town and was built in the 1^st century and is still standing today. The Aqueduct is made out of granite and because of the arches the granite pieces have nothing holding them together and are just held in place because of gravity.

Aqueduct

After marveling at this structure I headed to the Alcazar, or fortress, of Segovia. A fun fact about this Alcazar is that the castle in Cinderella is modeled after this because Walt Disney was actually born in Spain but adopted by an American family so upon visiting Spain as an adult he saw the Alcazar and decided to incorporate it into Cinderella.

Alcazar

Then Maria Jose, our program director, gave us 10 euro for lunch so me and a bunch of people went to a local restaurant and got the Menu del Dia, which is basically a pre-fixed menu where you choose a drink, 1^st course, 2^nd course, and dessert. For dessert I had a cream filled cake that was typical of the region of Segovia and it was delicious. Then the whole group meet again to go inside the Cathedral in Segovia, which is gothic style, before getting on the bus and heading back to Alcala while enjoying Sherk 2 to entertain us.