The Roman aqueducts have been on my bucket list for years. I couldn’t wait to see them. So off we headed to Segovia to visit the Roman aqueducts.
Since Segovia is close to Madrid, we decided to purchase local tickets at the station and not use one of our Eurail days. We left out of a different station this time and took the Metro to the Chamartin train station in the north of Madrid. There we bought our tickets and figured out the way to the platforms. It turned out that it was a fast train, and our trip was less than 30 minutes.
Once we arrived in Segovia, we took a bus to the Roman aqueducts. It was a sight that was absolutely breathtaking. We all just stood in amazement and stared at a structure that was built over two thousand years ago. It’s crazy to think about Roman engineers designing an aqueduct without all the technology we have today.
Next, we took off walking to find a castle. We walked through old town Segovia, browsing through shops and checking out cafes. The castle is called The Alcázar Castle. Outside had beautiful gardens and gorgeous views of the city and landscape for miles around. Inside, the castle was beautifully decorated with ornate ceilings, artwork and intricate wooden furniture. The replicas of knights’ armor were fascinating, especially the pointy shoe armor. We saw cannons, guns and swords. Another part of the castle was more of a museum showing artifacts and clothing of the time.
After we left the castle, we headed toward a plaza, picked out a cafe in the shade and enjoyed some food. We had cold, refreshing sangria while we waited for our order of sea bass, steak, hamburger, and “pasta”… that turned out to be a pizza (hey, the menu was in Spanish, so don’t judge). The sea bass was the best dish — so flavorful and grilled to perfection.
With our tummies full of delicious food and sangrias, we started back toward the aqueducts to climb to the top. There were so many stairs, but the view at the top was totally worth it. Again, it’s astounding to think that those aqueducts were built by hand two thousand years ago.
On the way back to street level, we let our guard down. We were walking down the looong stairway, and I turned around to ask Kathy a question. I saw an extra pair of feet right under her on the stairs and another girl right beside her.
I said, “What in the world!” (Not really what I said, but keeping it clean for the kids). I thought someone was trying to hurt my Aunt.
We were kind of at a standoff with the two girls, and nowhere to go but up. When my exclamation brought attention to us, the girl handed Kathy her wallet back. It had been in her zipped-up crossbody purse.
We checked the wallet and everything was still in place. Nothing taken. When we looked up, the girls were gone again. Not going to lie, wish I could squat and walk that low going down stairs.
All joking aside, while we do feel safe traveling, we have to keep our guards up, especially in exceptionally touristy locations. Pickpocketing is real, and the skill with which they do it is shockingly good.
When we were ready to get back to the train station, we grabbed a taxi to take us there. Both the bus and taxi were about the same cost: ~10-11 Euros for all four Vacationeers.
Our train ride home was fast and uneventful. We made it back to Madrid and our flat and settled in for the evening.
We opened the doors to our balcony to hear a string quartet play and listened to the comings and goings of the plaza beneath us. Another amazing day trip and back to our home base.
