Segovia.

The beautiful Spanish city of Segovia has become one of my favorite places in the world. I visited with one of my cousins when we were studying Spanish in Madrid one summer. Ever since I experienced this charming, fairytale esque place, I always wanted to come back. My mom had the fabulous idea for she and I to take a side-trip out of Madrid for a couple of nights. Enclosed by rolling mountains with bustling streets lined with cobblestone and historic architecture, Segovia is seemingly perfect.

By bus from Madrid, it took us about an hour to reach Segovia. We checked into our hotel, La Infanta Isabel (the very first one on my journey), which was actually the same hotel my cousin and I stayed in about 7 years ago. It is adorable- located right on the Plaza Mayor- and painted a creamy yellow color. It was so nice to be in an actual hotel- with the sheets already on the bed!

However, the temperature did drop about 10 or 15 degrees from Madrid, since we were higher up and tucked away in the mountains. Nevertheless, the sun will still going strong and we considered ourselves lucky, considering it was nearly December!

Our first night there, we learned (and I re-learned) that Segovia is incredibly expensive. The thing is, I feel like this place has an excuse to be expensive. I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to go there. It is somewhat touristy, however it has kept it’s original appeal, quite literally.

The Segovian Aqueduct is the symbol of Segovia, not to mention the best-preserved ancient monument in Spain. Its original construction dates back to the 1^st Century A.D., but it was rebuilt in the 15^th Century. It’s about 3,000 feet long and 900 feet tall (in certain places). To this day, it still transports water to another region.

So, besides admiring the astounding aqueduct, my mom and I explored the city. We poked in and out of the little shops, and bought some Christmas presents. We indulged ourselves in some delicious Spanish bean soup, which is famous there. For dinner, we just hopped from tapas bar to tapas bar, having little tastes and bigger sips of red wine, making sure we weren’t being completely financially ridiculous.

We spent the rest of our time visiting the cathedral and the palace, both located in the heart of historic Segovia. They were both stunning—it was hard for me to believe such grand buildings exist in such a small town.

Although I love Segovia, I found myself strangely missing the chaos of the city life in Madrid I had gotten used to over the subsequent few weeks. But, it was a nice calming time-out for both my mom and I.

It’s back to Madrid then headed to Lisbon!

Adios.