Castilian Crimson

Castilian Crimson

Segovia was the old capital of Castille, and the locals are still very proud of their heritage. 

Moody Segovia

Isabella, the Queen, was the Infanta of Castile, an Anglicised translation of her name gave us the Elephant and Castle in London.Known as the Catholic Queen, she was married to Ferdinand, and sponsored Christopher Columbus.

There are two unique architectural features in the city; the Alcazar, a fairy-tale castle in the old city walls and the Aqueduct, a fantastically well-preserved Roman structure. 

The Alcazar - Segovia

Coat of Arms

The Roman Aquaduct

The Alcazar contains some great stylistic mixes with Arabic tiles, Flemish tapestries, and Castilian embroideries. The throne room gives us this city’s colour, a deep crimson red.

Throne Room

Stylistic Mix

The local dish is suckling pig and many restaurants feature models of baby piggies  valiantly smiling on a dish in their window displays. ‘Eat me’, they seem to say.Piglets are served whole and squashed flat on a big dish.....I can’t bear this next picture, so for the squeamish -scroll down now........

Not for the Sqeamish!

In one restaurant there was a disturbing translation for sausage - ‘little sacks of pig’s blood.’ In another window, a real stuffed lamb sits in a dish, beckoning. Vegetarians beware-this area is not for you!

Baaa!

A local celebrity is chef Jose Maria  - he owns the livliest bar, the best restaurant and has his own local vineyard which makes a really good red wine. A friendly and very professional chap, for his photo opportunity, he rushed away to return with his orange sash of restauranteur’s distinction (Colin decides it’s for the most piglets ever cooked in one day.)

Jose Maria and Helen

Jose Maria - Menu

Jose Maria Wine

In Jose’s bar we ran into a lovely couple of locals, Fernando and Isabella [they jokingly refer to themselves as the ‘Catholic Kings’]. Fernando told us a bit about the Corrida, or bull fighting. He said the Matadors still wear the traditional “suits of light” and that their trousers are so tight “you can see the man’s articles, whether left or right but never in the middle...”

The Catholic Kings - Isabella and Fernando