Spain Trip report, Days 1 and 2: Madrid and Segovia

INTRO:

MADRID:

SEGOVIA

TOLEDO:

GRANADA

SEVILLE:

CORDOBA

Spain consists of 17 independent regions which again divide themselves into 50 individual provinces.  It is the country with the second-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, after Italy, and the largest number of World Heritage Cities. So one can imagine what a treat awaits the traveler in this country in terms of architecture and museums! Spain's capital Madrid,  Barcelona, and major Andalusian cities with Islamic architecture, like Seville, Granada and Córdoba are major draws to name a few.

 We booked a return ticket to and from Madrid and had just 8 days to spare during the thanksgiving holidays in 2015. We decided to include just Madrid and a couple of day trips from there to Segovia and Toledo. We also visited the famous Andalusia region, Granada, and Seville with a day trip to Cordoba

 

The weather was great in late November, early December and we were glad to avoid the heat prevalent in summer. As a trade off, it became dark at 6 pm cutting short some extensive sight seeing. It worked out well for us overall. We had a lovely time and here are the details: 

OUR ITINERARY:

DAY 1, Nov 21, 2015: MADRID: The royal palace, Sabatini gardens, Temple of Debod, Plaza de España.

STAY: Hotel Principe Pio 3 nights Nov 21-24

DAY 2 Nov 22, 2015: Day trip to Segovia: Roman Aqueduct, old town, Segovia cathedral, Alcazar [fort], teh back to Madrid, El Retiro park, Cybele palace

DAY 3 Nov 23, 2015: Day trip to Toledo: Puerta de Bisagra, Cathedral, Giralda[bell tower], Alcazar, Museum of Santa Cruz

DAY 4 Nov 24, 2015: Granada: Plaza Nueva, Cathedral, Mirador de san Nicolas, Carrera del Darro

Stay: Hotel Guadalupe, 2 nights

DAY 5 Nov 25, 2015: Granada: Alhambra

DAY 6 Nov 26, 2015: Sacromonte in Granada, then 10 am bus to Seville: Cathedral, 

Stay: Hotel Convento la Gloria, 3 nights

DAY 7 Nov 27, 2015: Day trip to Cordoba: La Mezquita, Giralda, Roman bridge, Alcazar, patios, Jewish quarter

DAY 8 Nov 28, 2015: Seville: Alcazar, Jewish quarter, 7.30 PM flight to Madrid

STAY: Air rooms, Madrid airport

DAY 9 Nov 29, 2015: Early morning flight back home

Nov 21, Saturday, 2015, Temp 15°C to 8°C:

 Madrid-Barajas Airport:

Son's plane due at 9.30 am came only after 11 am. My plane due at 8 am had come in at 9.30. There were seats in the bag claim area…was easy to wait around in... not crowded as the general area.

Both planes came into T1. We later took the shuttle to T4 for taking the train to city center. Bought the tickets the C1 Cercania train to Principe Pio at the machine in T4 after taking the shuttle from T1.

Below is the map showing the Cercania trains. Our C1 is in light blue from Aeropuerto to Principe Pio as we can see:

Too much delay waiting for the train and once the train came in, it started only after 15 min.

Could have taken taxi from T1 at flat €30 to hotel.

Places Visited on Nov 21: 

The royal palace, Sabatini gardens, Temple of Debod, Plaza de España.

 The map below marks all the attractions in Madrid

Hotel Principe Pio:

 

We stayed in Hotel Principe Pio 3 nights Nov 21-24 and loved the classy decor.

Location is convenient...It's a 500 m walk from the Principe Pio station where our C1 Cercania train from the airport arrived.

It's a shorter walk to Plaza de España metro for our day trips to Segovia from Moncloa and Toledo from Atocha stations... the metro map is a little down the page and we can see the stop locations on it

We had a nice view of the palace from our window. After checkin we hurriedly set off to the Palace. In peak tourist season, one needs to book tickets online. We have seen pictures of huge lines in the palace square. There is a separate line for those with booked tickets. We joined a line with a couple of people before us, bought the ticket and went in; an advantage of visiting off season. Another of course was the cool pleasant weather!

 Palacio Real de Madrid:

The Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace of Madrid) is where state ceremonies, official banquets and other state functions take place. The King lives in Zarzuela Palace, which is just outside of Madrid.  

The Palacio Real or Royal Palace is one of the largest and certainly one of the most impressive palaces in the world. Only a few select 'royal' residencies are bigger: The Louvre Palace in Paris is the biggest, followed by the Sultan of Brunei's palace, the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, the Forbidden City in China and then the Royal Palace of Madrid [we've visited all except the Brunei one and reports are in this blog, hit the About tag above for navigation and links]

The west wing of the palace is home to the Armería Real, the royal army museum. It contains a beautiful collection of armory, including King Charles V's armour suit.

The palace is stunning but no pictures are allowed. Every little detail is awesome. The floors are a delight with intricate parquet mosaic. The ceilings have terrific frescos. Each chandelier has a different and beautiful design. It was well worth the visit.

These are pics from the official website

Palacio Real has 1038 rooms. Some of the sumptuous rooms accessible to visitors are the 400 sq m large dining room, the Sala de Porcelana (China Room) and the Salón del Trono (Throne Room) with red velvet walls.

Sala de Porcelana (China Room) in detail

 Note the folds of the robe...

 

These are our pics

 

 There are statues to their famous royals in the hallways.

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella are the most famous royalty of Spain. We get to see their statues in many public places, so it’s good to know a little about them…

Isabella and Ferdinand are known for completing the Reconquista (conquering back territory from Moorish kings), ordering conversion or exile of their Muslim and Jewish subjects in the Spanish Inquisition, and for supporting and financing Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage that led to the opening of the New World and to the establishment of Spain as the first global power who dominated Europe and much of the world for more than a century.

Queen Isabella was not just the spouse of King Ferdinand but had territories in her own right. They had a prenup on reigning rights and were the most successful of Spanish royalty...

Christopher Columbus got the financial support for his expeditions from Isabella after a no from the royalty of Italy, Portugal, England. This led to Spain creating a vast empire over which the sun never set...

Towards the end of her life, family tragedies overwhelmed Queen Isabella, although she met these reverses with grace and fortitude. The death of her beloved son and heir and the miscarriage of his wife, the death of her daughter Isabella and Isabella's son Miguel (who could have united the kingdoms of the Catholic Monarchs with that of Portugal), madness of daughter Joanna and indifference of her husband Philip the Handsome, and daughter Catherine's plight after annulment by her husband Henry VIII made her dress in black for the rest of her lifetime.

It was good to ponder over the royalty while enjoying the grandeur of the palace.

We exited the palace after a couple of hours.

Almudena Cathedral:  

Almudena Cathedral is also in the palace square but it closed early, so we could not see the interior.

We visited Campo Del Moro and Sabatini Gardens (Jardines de Sabatini). They looked beautiful bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

The Sabatini Gardens are part of the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, and were opened to the public by King Juan Carlos I in 1978.

They are named after Francesco Sabatini (1722–1797), an Italian architect of the 18th century who designed, among other works at the palace, the royal stables of the palace, previously located at this site. He also made the retablo of the Segovia cathedral... pics are at the end of this post.

We returned to our hotel. Had some food and walked to The Temple of Debod.

 Temple of Debod:

The Temple of Debod (Spanish: Templo de Debod) is an ancient Egyptian temple from early 2nd century BC which was dismantled and rebuilt in Madrid, Spain.



The temple was built originally 15 kms (9.3 mi) south of Aswan in southern Egypt very close to the first cataract of the Nile.

In 1960, due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam and the consequent threat posed by its reservoir to numerous monuments and archeological sites, UNESCO made an international call to save this rich historical legacy and Spain stepped up.

As a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the temples of Abu Simbel, the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968.

We walked back via the Plaza de España admiring the Monument to Cervantes (author of the famous Don Quixote).

We had planned day trips for the next 2 days and we had also booked tickets much earlier to avail the discounts.

We called it a day after buying some milk, yogurt, fruits etc from a neighborhood store.

Nov 22 Sunday, 2015, 9°C-3°C Madrid:

 Segovia:

 We used Sepulvedana express bus for day trip Madrid to Segovia (confirmed return ticket at counter for specific time). The Sepulvedana bus goes from the MONCLOA Intercambiador on Metro lines 3 and 6. We had bought tickets online for the 9am express bus Madrid Moncloa to Segovia. (http://www.lasepulvedana.es/ )

Moncloa was an easy metro ride from Plaza Espana stop.  (We had bought the 10 ticket bunch for Madrid metro-bus and it was very useful. Metro very easy to use…)

Here's the metro map, all our relevant stops are circled: we can see Principe Pio on the dark blue and grey lines and it is in the extreme left. Plaza de España stop is also on the dark blue and yellow lines and we can see it going to Moncloa  on the yellow line. As said above, our hotel was just between Principe Pio and laza de España stops and it was an easy walk...

Madrid-Segovia was 45 min bus ride

Segovia was colder than Madrid and it even snowed later in the day!

The city of Segovia is located 50 miles north of Madrid and is only one hour away by bus, two hours by train (Cercanias) or thirty minutes by AVE (high speed train). The Bus Station is close to the City Centre and the aqueduct and easily doable on foot in a few minutes. Google Map showing the walk:

http://goo.gl/maps/8uJGg

We passed by historic buildings like Iglesia de San Martín (Church of St. Martin) as we walked toward the aqueduct.

The Roman Aqueduct 

The Roman Aqueduct is an astounding engineering feat and one of the best preserved from the Roman empire in Spain. It was built at the end of the 1st century to supply water to the roman military fort on the hill and has been used until the middle of the 19th century. There are 166 stone arches on granite ashlars and they have been set without cement or mortar. The aqueduct is the highest and most imposing at the Azoguejo Square.

The aqueduct gets water from the Fuenfria Spring that is located in the mountains that are 17 km away. At its tallest, the aqueduct is 28.5 m tall. The structure has both single and double arches that are supported by pillars.

The aqueduct is also known as the “Puente de Diablo” or Devil’s Bridge. In olden times, people had to collect water from the river which ran far off over the mountains...A pretty girl used to climb, every day, to the very top of the mountain and return with her pitcher full of water. Fed up of this daily toil, she made a wish to the Devil to build some means to bring water so that she would no longer need to go up and down every morning with her pitcher. Lucifer granted her wish, asking for her soul in return if he managed to finish the aqueduct before the cockerel crowed.

Just as he was about to lay the last stone, the cockerel crowed... the Devil lost his wager and the girl kept her soul. In the gap that remained, the statue of the Virgin of Fuencisla, patroness of the city, stands today.  The holes on the stones are the marks of the devil's fingers. 

The aqueduct constitutes single blocks without any mortar to bind the stones. In order to do this an ingenious equilibrium of forces is used that challenges/conquers gravity

The aqueduct transports water from Fuente Fría river, situated in the nearby mountains, 17 km (11 mi) from the city.  It runs another 15 km (9.3 mi) before arriving in the city.

The water is first gathered in a tank known as El Caserón (or Big House), and then led through a channel to a second tower known as the Casa de Aguas (or Waterhouse). There it is naturally decanted and sand settles before the water continues its route. Next the water travels 728 m (796 yd) on a one-percent grade until it is high upon the Postigo, a rocky outcropping on which the old city center, the Segovia Alcázar, was built.

It had been kept functioning throughout the centuries and preserved in excellent condition. It provided water to Segovia until the mid 19th century

We were at at the Azoguejo Square and admired the aqueduct fashioned from the granite stones of the Guadarrama Mountains.

Then we walked up the slope and enjoyed the view from Mirador Del Postigo also

Statue of the Virgin of Fuencisla, patroness of the city...
This is the last stone the Devil missed putting in, thus losing the bet to complete the aqueduct before the cockrel crowed...

We then walked through the lovely old town.

Casa de los Picos House

This is a famous palace in Segovia. Its façade is covered by granite blocks carved into pyramid-shaped reliefs. There is a portal with a round arch. 

The De la Hoz family owned the house in the past and their coat of arms is displayed above the balconies. The entrance and patio has tiles from Talavera.

Today the building has the Segovia Art School and it is located in Calle de Juan Bravo

This is the Monument to Juan Bravo, Segovia.

Juan Bravo (c. 1483– 1521) was a leader of the rebel Comuneros in the Castilian Revolt of the Comuneros (an uprising by citizens of Castile against the rule of Charles V, Queen Isabella's 16 yr old grandson, son of her mad daughter. Charles had been raised in the Netherlands with little knowledge of Castilian. He arrived in Spain in October 1517 accompanied by a large retinue of Flemish nobles and there was rebellion).

Juan Bravo was captured, and beheaded the day after the battle.

 Segovia Cathedral:

We walked to the Segovia Cathedral.

This massive cathedral was built between 1525-1577 in a late Gothic style, outdated elsewhere in Europe.

The Gothic vaults are 33 meters high by 50 meters wide and 105 long. The bell tower reaches almost 90 meters.

The retablo mayor, or main reredos, of the cathedral was carved by Francisco Sabatini, and is dedicated to the Virgin of the Peace.

It is adorned with the Segovian Saints Frutos, Geroteo, Valentín and Engracia

The whole cathedral is very impressive!

After that visit, we walked to the Alcázar of Segovia… it had started to rain/snow and it was pretty cold. We scampered inside the Alcázar. 

Alcázar:

The Alcázar of Segovia, like many fortifications in Spain, started off as an Arab fort, which itself was built on a Roman fort but little of that structure remains. 

The first reference to this particular Alcázar was in 1120, around 32 years after the city of Segovia returned to Christian hands. This was the place where Isabella was proclaimed queen and where she later married Ferdinand.   The important rooms are the Hall of Ajimeces, the Throne Hall and the Hall of Kings, which has a frieze that shows many of the Spanish Kings and Queens. The castle has works of art and also a display of knights' armor.

We got to the terrace after climbing the 156 steps of "New Tower" (John II tower). It was a lovely view over the country side.

 

We walked back into the town. It was a pleasure walking through age-old narrow streets… like time travel into a by-gone era!

When a car comes along these narrow streets, we hop on to the pavement!

It was fun looking at the craft pieces in the various shop windows...

Segovia souvenirs... Letters/words/

aquí vive la mejor madre: Here lives the best mother...
aquí vive la mejor abuela: Here lives the best grandma

We went to the bus station, confirmed our return ticket slot. Had some food and got back on the bus and arrived back in Madrid.

This is the Puerta de Alcalá (Alcalá Gate),a Neo-classical monument in the Plaza de la Independencia (Independence Square)...

 El Retiro:

We then walked on to El Retiro, Buen Retiro Park / Parque del Buen Retiro (Park of the Pleasant Retreat). It is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid… 1.4 km2 (350 acres).

The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th century, when it became a public park. It is filled with beautiful sculpture, fountains and monuments, galleries, a peaceful lake 

 This is the Monument to King Alfonso XII in the background behind the artificial lake. Monument consists of a grand colonnade alongside a pond in El Retiro, with several sculptures surrounding an equestrian statue of the king, with everything constructed in bronze and marble

 

Equestrian statue of King Alfonso XII was cast in Bronze in 1904. In the central base of the monument are the statues "La Paz" ("Peace"), "La Libertad" ("Freedom") and "El Progreso" ("Progress"). In the pedestal, there are three bronze reliefs. Stairs descend from the central monument toward the lake.

 

After watching the sun set in this lovely setting, we went to Plaza de Cibeles. 

We bought the ticket to the Observation deck of Cybele Palace (Palacio de Cibeles), took the lift and went up. We could see the fountain…

Cybele Fountain (1782, reign of Charles III )

This fountain is named after Cybele, a Phrygian goddess who had a significant cult in Rome. The fountain depicts the goddess, sitting on a chariot pulled by two lions.

We had meant to visit the Prada museum that evening but could not fit it in. It was a matter of regret but we had thoroughly enjoyed all the sights we had managed to see.

http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/07/spain-trip-report-day-3-toledo.html

covers our day trip to Toledo

Our Videos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6282485140199953522

 has our video on Madrid, Segovia and Toledo.