Thursday, February 23, 2006

Segovia

Juan´s parent´s generously offered to drive us to Segovia for the day where we wandered the ancient town that has the most remarkable Roman aqueduct that is standing still unaided by mortar - just stone on stone. It has been there for over 2000 years and is now threatened by the traffic that passes on the lower side, which compacts the ground.

Passing under the aqueduct, there is a winding road through the bustling tourist and eateries district, leading up to Plaza Mayor and the cathedral. The cathedral was completed in the 1300´s and is so amazing on the inside and out that it really did bring tears to my eyes.

The idea of such a building of staggering proportions being built so long ago is remarkable. 20 odd chapels ring the interior, voluptuously decorated with paintings, sculpture and gold leaf. It was absolutely freezing within the building however.

Segovia is home to a castle that inspired the one that Walt Disney uses and reconstructed in Disneyland. I am not well aquainted enough (thankfully) with Disney to know whether every Disney has one but it was an impressive and beautiful castle. Here´s Juan with the castle behind.

There is another church built by the infamous Knights Templar that supposedly housed a piece of the "Vera Cruz" (true cross). Closer shot.

Amazing township.

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great to see you posting again. There are only so many times I can read about Ireland in Spain. :)

The aqueduct is amazing!! The 'driving under' photo gives me the shivers though. Just can't comprehend there's no mortar involved.

Think I'll have to visit Spain on my next holiday. There's some beautiful architecture there.

(On a technical note: I'm VERY impressed with the zoom on your camera! Such a steady hand too!)

4:08 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey there - it's Brooke in sunny Melbourne (at least it is today). Sounds like you're having a great time on your trip, and the photos are great!

I met this guy recently who also takes some beautiful photos and thought of you. If you have some spare time one day when you're on the net you can check them out at www.samsneddon.com

Anyway, I'd better get back to work now. Happy Travelling!

8:23 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for the update and photos, Alistair! Sounds like you are having a wonderful time :)

1:16 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You're photos are amazing. They really make me wish I could see it all in person.

5:32 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey,
Glad to see an update. Your pictures are amazing! Glad you got the camera all figured out. ;) I look forward to seeing all of the pictures in person and getting all the details, as I will probably never get there. Very happy to see that you are enjoying yourself, but hopefully not to much, cause you need to come home soon!
Miss you!

8:54 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i wish someday i could do a blog like this, uh?
about latin america, europe and japan.
=P

2:07 am  

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