rhk06

Hi all,

My wife and I are getting very excited for our trip to Spain in June.

A quick ? re: Segovia and what sounds like a spectacular view. In her phenomenal guide, Maribel mentions a place near the river/park to get great views of the Alcazar (pg 4 for those keeping score at home).

Is this view only accessible by car or taxi (a la bakerstreet)? One trip report (yk's) mentions "a pedestrian/cycling path along Rio Clamores on the SW side" -- how far is this walk and would anyone want to do it in June warmth?

Thanks in advance.

Maribel

rhk06,
There is a path (that starts at the Puerta de San Andrés) that you can walk down following the path of the Clamores to the confluence of the two rivers. It would take about 20 min., but then it's a steep hike back up. I wouldn't want to walk back up in the summer heat, but that's just me...

rhk06

Thanks Maribel.

amsdon

Hi rlk06,

I would suggest the view of a juicy suckling lamb at Yantar in Pedraza (as Maribel recommends)or the view of a nice cochinillo at one of the roasting taverns she also recommends.

No seriously have a wonderful trip and you will love Segovia.

victor_d

The views are from Parque del Alcazar

http://maps.google.es/maps?hl=es&ie=...08497&z=17

Following Paseo SJ de la Cruz you get to Calle S Marcos and the park.

Also there seems to be a path under the shadow of the trees leading to the riverside and there a pedestrian bridge leading to Calle S Marcos.

Even if it's warm, walking up one of these paths shouldn't be as hard, just find the shadows and walk slowly.

Before going down to the park to try a good picture, bear in mind the position of the sun... or you may walk down just to take a bad picture.

desmccarthy

The view from the park is south, so go early morning or late afternoon otherwise photo shots are pretty difficult.

rhk06

Thank you all for your advice. Amsdon, my wife and I plan on getting that culinary view too! (Very much enjoyed your trip report too!)

GBC

Thanks to the posters here we were at Segovia in April. A wonderful experience. We found and loved Yantar on a cold, windy day - we were the only ones there. Lucky us.

While in Segovia, consider Restaurante Jose Maria which we also liked. Reservations are a good idea.

If time allows, in addition to Pedraza, consider Palacio Real de la Granja de San Ildefonso. It is a smaller version of Versailles.

isabel

I was in Segovia last July and walked all around the town, on both the road (there's a sidewalk) and the path that is down low by the rivers. I was there for three days so didn't do it all at once but I didn't find it strenuous at all. I think I went down to the park like areas by the rivers via paths from the upper town (there are several places on both sides of town that you can access) and then eventually wound my way back up via the road. The views are actually better from the road than the path. The distances are not far. For example, from the road with the best view of the Alcazar, back to the aqueduct was probably about half an hour (not counting stopping for photos, and there are great views all along it. Here are my photos - http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/spai...lamanca_toledo

Number 237 is of one of the paths down by the river. Most of the following ones of the Alcazar were from the road above that area.

Maribel

isabel,
Your photos are wonderful!

amsdon

Rk thanks ...

Also I agree completely with CBG re
La Granja. I would highly recommend it and not far at all.

Don't forget Restaurante Codex Calixtinus also we loved that restaurante.http://www.restaurante-calixtinus.es/

Next time I want to try the Meson Gonzales Maribel recommends and actually stay there too (4 rooms)

Have a fantastic time and don't forget to try the rice pudding.

ekscrunchy

I second Amsdon's recommendations! Do not miss El Yantar or one of the lechazo places in Sepulveda!

amsdon

Hi Scrunchita

If I recall during your lechazo fest you said the lamb in Sepulveda at Tinin had a slight edge over the others????

At least as they say "the bomb?"

I forgot that one too although we did not make it there.

amsdon

Isabel fantastic photos those are great shots including the piglets in the Salamanca market.

GBC

Isabell...Really great photos. They include one of our room at the Infanta Isabel on Plaza Mayor. Our stay included Market Day in the rain - very memorable. I especially like your photo of the aqueduct. I'm sure that I will revisit your gallery.

ekscrunchy

Amsdon: I really don't remember which one was better..I think I liked the meal better at El Yantar because the setting, on the balcony overlooking the plaza, was more atmospheric. At Tinin the seating is inside and there is a small view from the windows if you happen to be seated in the rear of the dining room (we were not). The side dishes were better at El Yantar; there is more selection there. But honestly, they were both so wonderful that I am sure that I would choose either one for my last meal on this earth! (I hope I don't have to make that decision anytime soon, though!)

isabel

maribel, amsdom, gbc - glad you like the photos

gbc- I don't understand what you meant when you said "They include one of our room at the Infanta Isabel on Plaza Mayor." I didn't stay there so none of the photos are of the interior of that hotel (although there are shots of the exterior of it). The shot of the hotel room is at the Hotel Acquaducto.

amsdon

Isabel I wondered that too....

For RHK,

Are you planning on sleeping in Segovia/ Where?

Try to get to the Alcazar very early before the school buses arrive.I think the kiddies arrive around 10 am...and by kiddies I mean throngs of smoking teens from France & Spain. My tolerance for throngs ot teens is kind of low I admit.

Also I think we mentioned too that aside from Candido & Jose Maria in Segovia proper, we enjoyed Narizotas restaurante, near the way to the aqueduct.

We loved the Infanta Isabel. As you may have read the entrance to the actual plaza mayor is confusing by car, all the signs say no entrance. But we called & asked the hotel & they said just drive up anyway so they must be used to some cars in the plaza now & then.

And we found at least on a monday that most of Segovia's shops observed siesta and closed at lunch.
Very few stayed open. It may be different on the weekend. There are also some little shops on the way from ther plaza to the Alcazar for little souvernirs & such. I found for that kind of inexxpensive gift item Segovia was my favorite and best value. I found myself wishing I had a few more little trinkets for work aquiatences and so forth.

GBC

Sorry for the confusion. Photo #195 shows the EXTERIOR of our room which faced onto the Plaza Mayor. It happened to be the third from the right on the first floor (second floor to those in the USA) at the Infanta Isabel. We had requested a room overlooking the Plaza and were lucky to receive one. We enjoyed our stay there.

Maribel

Hi isabel,
I really loved your photos-I thought they really captured the essence of the city, one of my very favorites.

amsdon and escrunchita, my fellow Hurok girls-
I took my friends to Tinín in Sepúlveda on our April trip when we all stayed at the Hospedería (rooms 21 and 22-Belén says hi), and my little group awarded it the lechazo gold medal.

We must have hit Tinín on one of his finest hours, or maybe it was because he told us to be there at the appointed hr. (his choice, not ours), and ours were the first two cuartos to leave the oven (don't want your lechazo to be sitting around for hours).

Succulent as could be! And as simple a feast as you can imagine-we didn't order from a menu, you just get the set glorious meal: a simple but incredibly flavorful lettuce, tomato and onion salad, country bread, the lechazo, divided and served in two stages (so it wouldn't get cold) and their homemade ponche segoviano (yum!) for dessert. All this for 28 euros p.p.
But the 10 euro wine, served chilled left a lot to be desired (didn't harm this great feast but didn't enhance it much either).

BTW, if you're silly enough to show up now at Tinín without a reservation on a wkd. (or just don't realize how popular it is), Martín will call down to the family's new "annex", Figón de Tinín, to try to accommodate you there.
www.portalsegovia.com/zutemayor

I still love El Yantar though, and I think that it's an *all around* slightly better total package due to the priceless experience of sitting out on the balcony overlooking the beautiful square, the wine list, the huge desserts and as you said, escrunchita, the yummy side dishes-more a restaurant than a figón.

We didn't get back to Mesón González in Sacramenia this time, which I regret, but we did have a fantastic baby lamb chops feast at our new favorite, the atmospheric Casa Brigante in Lerma, which makes a great stop on the way to Burgos and points north. Diego makes an outstanding lechazo here too, right up there with the Segovia greats.

But Codex is still my number one for gourmet dining in a romantic setting.

We finally found the new Codex 4 star hotel complex, right off the N 110, but it wasn't finished.

We did make a new discovery in the city for a nice selection of wines by the glass and interesting tapas:

Bar Vinoteca La Tasquina, on Calle Valdeáguila 3, which runs behind (north of) the Plaza Mayor and the Teatro Juan Bravo. It’s quite popular among the locals, and our new choice for a glass of wine and tapa before a meal. Its owner won the “best sommelier of Castilla-León award" in ’07. And for budgeters, this vinoteca serves a bargain priced menú del día for only €15 in the small dining room.

Also the downstairs bar-cafe-restaurant of the Infanta Isabel, Casares, serves some really good value menus.

Love, love, love Segovia city and province!