Segovia, Segovia

Through a surprise and spontaneous invitation to join the Furman study away group on their Saturday excursion to Segovia, I was able to get my first taste of Spain outside of Madrid. As our bus took us farther away from the cosmopolitan city, the gently sloping llanos (planes) and the ancient hills crept into view and eventually consumed every line of sight. Rock outcroppings dotted the yellow paisaje and the partly cloudy sky cast a grey hue over the land that added to the desolate beauty. Segovia is an ancient Spanish town, situated in the heart of the Castile-Leon province just an hour north of Madrid, and, in conjunction with the numerous legends that circulate throughout the land, it is a magical and enchanting place.

Four major sights define Segovia: the Roman aqueduct, the Catedral, the Alcázar castle, and the Church of Vera Cruz. The 2,000 year old aqueduct stretches over the charming Plaza del Azoguejo, and it’s an impressive testament to the architectural accomplishments of the Romans during their occupation of the Iberian Peninsula at the height of Rome’s expansive empire. The aqueduct continued bringing water to Segovia until the 1950s, and the large cut stones remain in place without mortar.

The Catedral and the Alcázar dominate Segovia’s profile, which can be seen from miles away because the city rests on a small hill. The Catedral de Segovia is considered the last Gothic-style cathedral built in all of Europe (1522-1577). The Alcázar is the castle-palace where los reyes católicos, Ferdinand and Isabel, lived and reigned. The rooms are large and lofty; knights in shining armor stand guard; los tronos nobly wait for the day their kings will return to rule; and the ghostly glory of the power of Castile echoes throughout the castle. Part-fortress (complete with draw-bridge and armory), part-home, the Alcázar is a fairy-tale castle and every child’s dream.

La Iglesia de la Vera Cruz is another ancient landmark. The tiny, crumbling church sits outside the city and in the shadow of the castle. The Church of Vera Cruz was built by the Knights Templar, but has since fallen into the maintenance of the Knights of Malta. The interesting story behind it is that the church was built on top of a highly energetic, highly unstable piece of land where the ground water churns con mucho energía after lots of rain. Consequently, numerous bodies that were interred in the tumultuous earth have begun to resurface. Small pieces of human bone litter the dusty grounds surrounding the church. Also, along one wall of the church, small graves cut from rock lay open and bare, the forms of the human body clearly evident. Needless to say, we were all fascinated by the tiny pieces of human remains that we found, but Carmen—a Nebrija professor who teaches the Furman kids and serves as a guide on their excursions—would have none of it. Her Spanish superstitions got the best of her, I think.

Carmen gave us an informative and succinct tour of Segovia in the morning, never missing an opportunity to tell some story of legend, and after we saw the major sights, we had free time to explore more of Segovia. Some of us sat in the Plaza Mayor and ate sack lunches (provided by their señoras… oh how great it is to study abroad), and some friends generously shared their extra food with me. Afterwards, we stopped by a famous pastry shop, Limón y Menta, and I bought una porción de ponche segoviano—a traditional dessert of sponge cake coated with marzipan—and it was a delicious treat. Next, a small group of Furman students and I went off in search of El Oso Blanco, a restaurant reported to have the best sangria in all of Spain. We found the restaurant-pub tucked away off the main road, and we saddled up to the small bar. A large man behind the counter asked us what we wanted, and we figured we needed one jar of sangria for six of us to share. Jesús prepared the famous Spanish drink right in front of us. First, he dumped an incredibly unhealthy portion of sugar into the jar, tossed in broken cinnamon sticks, and squeezed some lemon juice over it. Next, he peeled an orange in a spiral and placed the entire rind inside. Then he filled the jar with ice cubes, poured three different liquors and a box of vino tinto into the jar, and garnished it with a branch of mint. Jesús cut up slices of orange, apple, melon, kiwi, banana, and after bringing out six glasses and carefully placing ice cubes in each, he then distributed the fruit slices among them. Oh, and there actually was a cherry on top. He poured the beautiful dark red liquid into our glasses, and lastly topped off each cup with a splash of some kind of brandy. Cheers to the best sangria I will probably ever have! As if that were not enough, Jesús later brought out small dishes of the best tortilla española I’ve ever put in my mouth. Tortilla española is a traditional Spanish dish that comes in a variety of flavors and forms, and often it’s defined as a Spanish-omelet with potatoes but looks more like a quiche. Whatever kind of tortilla española Jesús brought us was simply heavenly, and to make things even better, it was on the house. At El Oso Blanco, we were treated like the kings and queens of the Alcázar, and it was the perfect way to pass the time and discover the charming personality of small-town Spain.

Perhaps this is what Azorín meant when he wrote about la España invisible: Esta España humilde, prístina, sencilla, no la pueden ver todos. Y ésta, sí, ésta es la España apretada sobre nuestro corazón, ésta es la más querida de todas las Españas.

This humble, pristine, simple Spain, not everyone can see it. And this, yes, this is the Spain held tight over our heart; this is the most beloved of all the Spains.