Saturday, October 13, 2007

Vino, La Finca, & Segovia

Hard to believe we have been here almost three weeks! We have had a busy week with work and school, however, on either end of our work weeks we have our three day weekends! We are loving these long weekends because it gives us time to explore and travel. Last weekend we went to a vineyard with Tim's classmates from his TEFL course. The vineyard was delightful - picturesque! We helped harvest garancha grapes (depleting their supply as we sampled some from every vine!), attended a wine tasting, and then went to "La Finca", the farm. This farm was located in beautiful rolling hills, seemingly in the middle of no where. We dined on Sangria (chilled red wine mixed with fruit juice and chopped fruit), local Spanish dishes (such as blood sausage and many other "sausage mysteries", garbanzo beans, and figs), and were serenaded by fabulous flamenco musicians and a drum circle. We had a great time!!

This weekend we took a day trip to Segovia, a charming city with tight streets, plenty of history and boasts of their delicious cochinillo (roasted suckling pig...sad). The city is also home to the Alcazar, an enormous cathedral and Roman Aqueducts. The Alcazar is a ancient Muslim castle dating back to the 1200s. The castle reminded me of my favorite Disney movie...taking me back in time:) Turns out it was the castle that inspired the Walt Disney movie Sleeping Beauty!

The hunt continues for a place to stay for the year. Meanwhile, we fully enjoy our current spot right in the middle of town with our friend Karin. There are some pics from a Medieval Festival that took place this last week in Alcala de Henares (the long-named town we are living in) celebrating Cervantes, their local hero/author.
Hasta Luego!
Timmy and Cor

Segovia Pics, click here
Medieval Festival Pics, click here


This is the enormous cathedral in the center of Segovia.

Roman Aqueducts...we were told that they were originally constructed without the use of any mortar.

Huge moat. Scared Tim. Where's Cor?

Ancient Barrel Racing Attire, apparently very rare in Spain. This one's for you, Mama.

3 comments:

debchastain said...

WOW! How fun! So glad we made it on your email list. So excited for you both. Perhaps the next time we're across the pond we'll make a stop in Madrid :0) We only made it into Barcelona when we were traveling around and I'd love to see y'all and some more of Spain.

Jess.Pollard said...

Cor...you are hot...what can I say? We need to chat! Add me to your email list... jess.pollard@gmail.com

Unknown said...

The architecture in these photos is amazing! I love it.