119. Segovia

We then moved on to the main event, the ancient city of Segovia. On my high school Spanish class trip I remember Segovia being the trip highlight, partly because of its location, a walled city with a fairytale castle and domineering cathedral perched high above the surrounding valley, and partly because we took a train here from Madrid, and I discovered that you could open the train doors while it was moving.



Segovia was a major city in Roman times, and the population at that time of 50,000 is about the same as the current city 2,000 years later. Ah, progress. It subsequently became a Visigoth and Moorish city, but achieved its current look when it was reconquered by the Christians of Castile in the twelfth century.