Segovia is a stunning town and this UNESCO World heritage site (from 1985) is famous for a few weird things but today I found the world's best Bocadillo (ham sandwich), and it was written on the packet. Apart from it's world famous food, the city also has a number of wonderful sights including the Aqueduct dating from the 1st Century AD which is still used to deliver drinking water. It consists of about 25,000 granite blocks held together without any mortar, and spans 818 meters with more than 170 arches, the highest being 29 metres high. The city has so much interesting archicture including the massive cathederal, that can be seen from everywhere. The Disney like "Alcazer de Segovia", a ton of palaces, stone walls and some beautiful plaza's. One plaza has some weird sphinx-like sculptures. They are known as sirenas and bear the heads of women and the bodies of lions. The story goes that the sculptor was asked to create sculptures of mermaids to install around the square but he had no sense of what mermaids might look like. Sphinxes, however, would have been instantly recognisable to most people. So he made the sculptures we see today. They also have a statue in the main part of town the encapsulates the story of the Cochinillo, except this time he is attacking 4 little piglets with his plate! The Alcazar of Segovias a medieval castle located on the edge of the old town. It has existed since at least the 12th century, and is one of the most renowned medieval castles globally and one of the most visited landmarks in Spain. Supposedly it was the castle that inspired Walt Disney (but every medieval castle with spires says that e.g Neuschwanstein in Bavaria!) Segovia is definitely worth a visit and the few days I have spent here have been terrific. Early start tomorrow off the Salamanca.
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