Snow in Segovia

We got in late Saturday night and took the shuttle directly to the hotel. We were with the Gregorys, the Monsons, and the Yorgesens. We got up the next morning, had had a nice cooked breakfast and headed for the Madrid MTC. We found President and Sister Bennett, and three other senior couples, along with a surprise...the Curbishleys (actually we unexpectedly discovered them at breakfast).

President Cranney, our mission president showed up on Tuesday. So we had quite a crowd.

We went to sacrament meeting on Sunday and then ate lunch at the MTC; roast pork, mashed potatoes and gravey. We headed back to the hotel for a quick nap and then returned at 5:15 for dinner (we wouldn't want to miss a meal!!). After dinner we participated in a choir practice and then at 7:00 we performed on the Temple grounds. Not quite the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but it is sure a lot easier learning to sing Spanish than Russian!!

Singing in Madrid. The choir was bigger than the crowd. But it didn't matter. We were just having fun!

After our concert, we attended a fireside. A couple, the first members in the city of Cadiz (where there is a stake now), told about the growth of the church in their area. The sister told about how their home was the gathering place for the early saints. Every night the Elders would bring people to teach in their home. Every room was occupied. The husband said that they didn't even leave him a room to watch football (soccer)! This went on for quite some time. Groups turned into branches, and finally, branches into a stake. They had a great spirit.

When you have been on a metro as often as we have been, you can really appreciate a good one. Smooth, quiet and clean!

The four couples from Moscow had planned to spend Monday in Segovia, but when we discovered the other couples, we extended the invitation to them as well. At 10:35 on Tuesday, 13 of us headed for Segovia on a bullet train (Brother Monson's knees were causing him some pain, so he stayed back at the hotel). Sister Palmer, from the Yekaterinburg Mission had her purse stolen while she was eating lunch at a Burger King. She had her passport in her purse. So she and Elder Palmer had to stay back and go the US Embassy to make arrangements to get a new passport. Unfortunately, they will be in Madrid for the next four weeks or so, waiting on a new letter of invitation that they will need to get their Russian visa.

Our little band of missionaries, in the metro, headed for the train station. Destination: Segovia!

Chris next to the bullet train.

All of the travelers purchased their tickets at the same time. Using my crude Spanish, I informed the cashier that we were all together and that we needed the same roundtrip tickets, which he executed without delay. However, when we got to the train, we found that we were all in different cars. It was a Russian-type experience that we did not expect in Madrid. But, the train was nearly empty, so we all moved to one car so that we could be together as a group. Elder Hansen (the office couple from the Samara Mission) bought Snickers for everyone and by the time he distributed the treats, we were there...in 35 minutes! What an incredibly smooth ride and so quiet.

The Hughes on the train.

The Hansons with a Snickers!

From the train station, we took a bus into the city. Our first stop was the Roman aqueduct. Some of our group broke off to shop and the others headed for a site seeing bonanza.

First view of aqueduct.
From the city wall looking back.
Close up of keystone.
Also from the wall looking back.

Sister Hughes distinguished herself, early on, by the total number of photos taken. I am sure she took at least twice as many as I did. Elder and Sister Hughes are from Omsk, in the Novosibirsk Mission. They live in a thirteen story apartment building, on the top floor, with no elevator. There were certainly the most fit. The stairs in the tower of the Castle (the Alcazar of Segovia) proved to be no challenge for them. The rest of us were gasping for air.

The aqueduct was built by Romans during the first or second centuries. According to Wikipedia, the aqueduct transports waters from Spring Fuenfría, situated in the nearby mountains some 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) from the city in a region known as La Acebeda. It runs another 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) before arriving in the city. The water is first gathered in a tank known as El Caserón (or Big House), and is 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 out before the water continues its route. Next the water travels 728 meters (.45 miles) 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. Then, at Plaza de Díaz Sanz (Díaz Sanz Square), the structure makes an abrupt turn and heads toward Plaza Azoguejo (Azoguejo Square). It is there the monument begins to display its full splendor. At its tallest, the aqueduct reaches a height of 28.5 meters (93.5 feet), including nearly 6 meters (19.7 feet) of foundation. There are both single and double arches supported by pillars. From the point the aqueduct enters the city until it reaches Plaza de Díaz Sanz, it boasts 75 single arches and 44 double arches (or 88 arches when counted individually), followed by four single arches, totalling 167 arches in all. It had major restoration work done in the 16 century and served the city well until 20th century, when it was finally abandoned as a source of water.

Segovia is a medieval city that dates back to the 12th Century. It was on the Main Square of Segovia (I assume the Plaza Mayor), where Isabella was declared Queen on the December 13th, 1474 (the same date Chris and I got married, nearly 500 years later (December 13, 1970).

In the middle of the city, is the Segovia Cathedral, on the Plaza Mayor. It is spectacular and has some of the same architectural elements as the great cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Built at the highest point of the town, construction of the cathedral of Segovia began in the year 1525, during the reign of Carlos V. It is in the late Gothic style and was built after the fire in the old Romanesque cathedral in the year 1520.

First view of the Cathedral.
The Cathedral from the Plaza Mayor.
Inside the Cathedral.

The Alcazar of Segovia (Castle of Segovia) is a stone fortress surrounded by castle walls built upon the steep natural fortifications of the crag (on three sides). It has a very deep moat, like a 60-foot deep swimming pool that guards the entrance.

First View of Castle.
Cathedral taken from the Castle Tower.
If the hat fits...
It's hard to imagine that Spaniards this size suited for battle. No wonder they lost to the Moors.
The moat, with no water, taken from the bridge.

Once the monarchy moved from Segovia to Madrid, the Castle became a state prison for nearly two hundred years. The restoration of the building began in 1882 (it had been damaged by fire). Today, it is a national historical monument.

We headed back to the aqueduct after our tour and met back up with the shoppers and boarded the bus, then the train back to Madrid. The trip back was even faster, or was it the fact that I slept the entire way!!

The Hughes had to head back to the MTC, but the rest of us headed out for an Italian dinner just a few hundred yards from our hotel.

We slept like babies that night and headed for the Temple on Tuesday. On Tuesday night we picked up our passports, had dinner and headed for the airport. We arrived at 6:30 a.m. this morning and slept till 2:00 this afternoon.

It feels good to be home and rested!!