We had five days on our own in Spain before flying from Madrid to Sheffield. Slightly exhausted after such rapid traveling through Europe, we decided to find a smallish city near Madrid to slow down and really soak up some Spanish culture. We settled on Segovia, only an hour away from the capital, and our flight.

We found a humble pension to stay, in a very central location above the popular Plaza Mayor. The owner was a nice old woman who spoke no English whatsoever. The building was even older! Our apartments' floors sloped at such an angle that we actually felt like we could roll off the bed. You could literally see the slant and the acute angle it left against the straight doorframe. One morning Aidan nearly fell through the window after jumping out of bed and loosing his balance!

Segovia turned out to be the perfect destination. This beautiful, charming, romantic city exists with cobbled streets, gothic architecture and even a Disneyland-style castle! The setting is unbelievable, built upon a large rock outcrop, and surrounded by majestic mountains, Mediterranean grasslands and (at this time of year) an abundance of autumn leaves. When the weekend came, we soon realised that many others had also cottoned on to the charm of this medieval city, as the streets filled with Spanish city slickers looking for a bit of escapism.

Escapism is exactly what we found. We wasted many hours sitting up on the hills, staring back at the city's unquestionable grander. The Alcazar (castle) really did look straight out of a fairy book. It was set on the edge of a rocky cliff face, with tall, dark blue tiled towers, rolling hills for a backdrop and even a stream trickling it's way around down below! Visible behind Sleeping Beauty's palace was an equally majestic gothic Cathedral which towered over the entire city.

When we weren't simply laying in the park admiring the view, we checked out a few of the thousands of churches in and around the city. It was easy to find them, not just because of their size, but due to the loud church bells which echoed from them every half hour (even throughout the night!). The churches were so old that they provided a great deal of insight into the Catholic history. A few contained impressively old, fading paintings and some even contained great steel bar gates, originally used to separate the priest from his parishioners. Most churches had these removed during the Catholic reformation.

With such an abundance of churches, we felt like we should go to a service. On a Sunday morning we turned up, although the cathedral was empty... Later that day we realised daylight savings had arrived and we were just an hour early!

One of the most impressive features of Segovia was the old Roman-built aquaduct. Built in the 1st century entirely of granite (no mortar), this engineering masterpiece was originally used to transport water from the mountains over 15 km away to the inner walls of the city. Although the mechanics are now obsolete, the structure remains as a proud demonstration of Roman genius, towering at a peak height of 29 meters, as it enters the city centre.

We took the extended stay as an opportunity to get out and meet some locals. We watched some local grunge music in a pub and tried out a few of the many tapas bars, although found it quite difficult, being a couple and knowing little Spanish, to get into a decent conversation. Most people generally seemed a bit clicky, however we made the most of the good food and cheap wine as we looked on and enjoyed the Spanish nightlife.

Before leaving we decided to take a bus ride out to La Granja, a small village nearby, for further exploration. We were told there was a palace with beautiful gardens, as well as a nice autumn walk. When we arrived, we were overwhelmed with the beauty of the place - and with barely another tourist in sight! The garden contained over 26 obscenely extravagant fountains, a huge reservoir, neat rose gardens, perfectly manicured hedges and even a small hedge maze! After this we squeezed in a 3km walk along a creek and through some local farmland to the next village before catching a bus back to Segovia.

We've read books, caught up a little on our blog, relaxed and tried as much Spanish cuisine and wine as we have room for. Having just enjoyed another deliciously filling 'Menu del Dia' in Madrid, we're about to head off to the airport to re-tune our Yorkshire accents and catch up with some old friends in Sheffield!