A new mode of transportation today… we decided we needed more mobility and rented a car in Salamanca. It is a nice change from buses and trains. Controling the radio is a true joy in life, as is controling the the ambient temperature.
We drove through Avila and saw a finely restored wall surrounding the city from around 1200 AD. Made it through an intersection that had signs pointing down each road stating that Segovia was in every direction. Okay, we had to pause the car for a bit to contemplate the absurdity of such an intersection, but we finally figured it out… something equivalent to the U.S. business route versus rural route versus secondary rural route versus highway route (back the way we had just come).
With perfect climate control at our fingertips, we contemplated the horizon and how peaceful the countryside looks. Derrell pointed out that Spain has a ‘no billboards’ law. Well, with the exception of some big black cutout bulls that measure half as high as a radio tower (and hail from the days of the cement Sinclair dinasaurs), the horizons are clear.
We dropped into Segovia to stay for the night and just returned from checking out the restored Alcazar castle. It has a Disney palace quality and local rumor has it that it was the basis for the Disney castle. Not a true rumor mind you, but you get the idea of what the place looks like from the outside. (Bavaria does a better Disney castle, though… and I’d say that has a better basis for the Disney palace model rumor.) Inside, the Alcazar has a full mix of Moorish-Moroccan decoration interspersed with additions from later mideval times, and is littered with suits of armor (very short people back then).
The real Kodak Photo Op of the town is the Roman aqueduct built around 50 BC that was in use until the 1940’s. It has 160+ arches and is over 90 feet tall, all built without any mortar and looks to be in great shape. We are thoroughly impressed. If you weren’t a slave, it would be a good thing to live in Ceasar’s time. You’d get fresh running water, entertainment centers and fine statuary, quite the town upgrades: “The Sims would be happy.”
Segovia has stages set up all over town and musicians were tuning up just before we hit the Internet cafe, so it looks like it will be a fine Spanish evening. During our wanders through the town, we ran across a couple getting rice thrown at them, but couldn’t decide what the moment was. There were not enough people around to conclude it was a wedding ceremony… maybe an engagement? It was gaining much attention from the musicians and passerbys though, and she was in a white dress… hmm. In fine contemplation of this event and also of seeing how we could possibly survive until a 9 PM dinner, we found a good pastry shop and had a unique sweet consisting of a layer of thin crisp pastry with a thin layer of toasted pine nuts and carmalized sugar. Didn’t think pine nuts could be involved in pastry masterpieces, but we can now authoritatively say that “Yes, your common garden squirrel has an angle on the pastry business.”
