Cabildo Catedral de Segovia

Our next stop was the cathedral, whose drafty interior provided the perfect respite to heat of the mid-afternoon sun. The cathedral, located just off the Plaza Mayor, was the last Gothic-style cathedral to be built in Spain and took more than 50 years to complete.

Here is a glimpse of the Plaza Mayor.

Segovia: One city - three cultures

As we made our way through the narrow, winding streets, our guide Charo stopped frequently to point out the architectural influences that each culture had on Segovia´s city center. From the Roman walls to the Moorish market to the Jewish neighborhood, students were able to visually travel back in time.

Shown here is the Casa de picos

 Some of the many flowered balconies seen in the old Jewish neighborhood. (Note the elaborate detail on the buildings.)

The "other side" of Segovia, as seen from one of the look-out points in the wall.

First stop in Segovia - El acueducto romano

As our wonderful tour guide Charro explained, this Roman aqueduct was constructed nearly 2000 years ago without any mortar to hold it together. Although partially destroyed while the city was under Moorish rule, the aqueduct was rebuilt under Ferdinand and Isabel and now serves as a picturesque backdrop to the Plaza del Azoquejo.

Finding their way - Segovia

Upon arrival in this historical city, students were given a bit of free time to take care of the basics before our walking tour: shopping and lunch.  Using the immense acueducto as our meeting point, the students had no problem navigating or finding their way back to the profesores.

La primera excursión – Segovia

 

All aboard! Friday´s classes were not held at the Academia Newton in León, but instead in Segovia, where we headed for our first excursion with the students. Here, in this small city on the slope of the Guadarrama Mountains, history and culture abound.

Casablanca - Home of the adventurous eaters´club...

On Thursday, while some of our students played it safe and ordered pavo (turkey) or filete ruso (similar to a hamburger, without the bun) others put on a brave face and tried something new and "unknown." On the menu: risotto de calamare (calamari risotto, not so strange - unless it´s your first time to see the tentacles in the rice!), trucha (trout - in its entirety) and congrio  (conger eel - think Hekyl and Jekyl from The Little Mermaid, but in a sauce). As you can see, some students were quite -ahem, pleasantly- surprised by what they received on their plates. :)

Around León...

Here is just a glimpse of what the students got to see on our first tour...