segovia.

spain series │ episode six

hey there & welcome back to my spain series! travel with me to spain through seven posts, launching on tuesdays (or not :). i hope you can experience a bit of the beauty of spain & the wonder of travel as i go day-by-day through my trip. more pictures than words (click on the pictures to expand), i’m really excited to honor this opportunity as i share my adventure through my eyes, and of course, all my thoughts <3

this shot is so aesthetic :)) but more than that, it really encapsulates the awe and admiration i had during our whole trip. i'm that traveler that will just sit and soak in the view, follow the movement of the cars and clouds, and of course people watch. often after big trips and events, all you remember are just a few moments when you chose to pause and take it all in.

click through the slideshow to see all the pics !! seriously the coolest place.

disney, am i right? my mom told me how this castle in segovia is one of the castles that contributed to the inspiration of cinderella's castle. :) it was definitely my favorite castle because of how fairytale-like it looked! the day we went was also gorgeous, unlike the extremely hot days we saw other castles. sunny, blue skies, and a perfect temperature. it felt like a dream :D

inside, there were the cutest courtyards! i loved the combo of the white and gray. i like to imagine the castle and courtyard full of people--how cool would it be to go back in time as an invisible tourist and see everyone living their life?! i love seeing historic places, but i want to try to imagine them at their prime, people included. i think about the future--i wonder if people will come and see places we go everyday but not think about us living there.

there was a bunch of armour inside the castle! the toes of the armour were so pointed, i thought it was super funny.

the moat, the drawbridge, the tower--it's all so *castle* and definitely so awesome to see in real life. we got to walk through the castle (that's where i took the first picture looking out at the view), and then we walked lots of steps to get to the top! there's a bunch of pictures in the slideshow above that show the view: it was so pretty! the difference between the forest on one side and the desert-looking ground on the other side was so interesting. there were also awesome hedges that were made into cool designs.

inside the castle, there was beautiful carving on the doors, red walls, and kings! literal statues of all the past kings sitting on their thrones around the top of the room! i've never seen that before :))

after we went to a cathedral, the biggest one i've ever visited. the height and space of this structure was incredible. catedral de nuestra señora de la asunción is 289 feet tall, and was built starting 1529, taking almost 200 years to complete. the gothic architecture, the ceilings, and the huge organs just added to the unique reverence that cathedrals hold. and to think that it was built by pure humanity, with no machines, almost five hundred years ago, is just wild.

from the castle tower we could see the cathedral, as well as when we were walking up to it. so beautiful. i loved how the cathedral was just on an alleyway leading up to a town square. like a church in a town. :)

this alley !! the sunlight, the colors of the houses, the cobblestone streets... <33 i was just sitting on the side of the road with my mom, waiting for my dad and brothers to finish buying some souvenirs from some little shops, and it was just such a nice moment. perfect temp = good mood :D

i also realized that beatrice, the creator of the bliss bean, one of the few youtube channels i watch, lived in segovia for school last year! she's from wisconsin, which is so rare for creators :))

i thought this outside display was so awesome. the straw animals heads (i wish there were a better name) looked adorable, and if we didn't have to fly home, i would've gotten one :) wouldn't they be so cute in a little kid's bedroom?

the markets along the alleys were so cute. i got a necklace at one :) a bunch of them were so tiny hehe. also, the window boxes are such a vibe and i wish we had more of them in the usa. they are so pretty!!

something segovia is known for is the aqueducts! built in roman times in the second half of the first century ce, supplying the city with water from a nearby river until the twentieth century. it stands ninety-three feet tall, stretching for ten miles. the aqueduct has 165 arches. it's crazy to imagine how early it was built! using gravity to move the water, with a slight overall downward gradient to keep the water moving.

it was so cool to stand under the arches and look up: they are so tall and big and it's all so amazing to me.

after we finally walked out of the city, we drove to a grocery store. it's definitely an experience to go shopping in a non-english store! and the big ones in spain had huge meat sections, which smelled so strong. i was feeling nauseous already and being in the store did not help. it was awful.

when we were getting back in the rental van to leave, i looked at the sunset and saw the aqueduct! it was such a special moment, because where else will you see an aqueduct from a grocery store parking lot?!

thanks for being here <33 i hope you enjoyed coming along to segovia!

see you next week for the final episode in the series :o as we travel home, and in the process, ponder about the gift and challenges of travel.

xo, kate