Segovia Province

A very well-preserved and ultra-touristy (but well worth a visit despite that!) town with some exellent restaurants. Various family and friends celebratory birthday meals have been had here, very successfully.

Please bear with me ! A year ago I passed by here with my girlfriend and we weren't impressed for a number of reasons which I won't go into now. I noted the castle with the crane and posted one or two photos on ipernity and thought no more of it. Until today. I have a Saturday morning private class with an architect. She is a highly driven and motivated young lady and she disclosed, by co-incidence, that she was the architect in charge of the renovation of the church at Turégano. I mentioned that we had been there last year and I referred to the castle. We got to talking about the town. It transpires that I was wrong. The 'castle' is in fact a 12th century church that was fortified by the Bishop of Segovia in the following century (the bell tower is a 17th century addition). Her brief is to make it a more touristy, and therefore a more economic proposition. The town council has a problem. The main industry here is a giant pig farm (an enormous bacon factory in other words) and the smell can be indescibable! They need the farm for the jobs it provides but they also need the benefit of a major tourist attraction to counter the negative aspects)! She showed me the plans (all her her own work and beautiful works of art in their own right), the reasoning behind the reconstruction and many other very informative facts. When complete, I can't wait to re-visit! And I will insist that my girlfriend comes too, although she will be reluctant! And we will put clothes pegs on our noses!

An impressive, rugged and beautiful place and well worth a visit. next time you are in Segovia Province.

One of the many royal palaces scattered around the centre of Spain but no longer used as such.

I will probably have to much reduce my involvement on this wonderful site for a while. Extreme pressure of work and other 'stuff'. But I don't really know. Certainly there won't be much activity from me in the short-term. Catch you all up later!

I think it's supposed to be a dog but I'm not 100% sure. Pedraza, Segovia Province. Sight and Sound; www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HDdiz8MU8o A favourite all my (musically aware) life. Especially the second half of the this song, where the blues, funk, jazz, rock'n'roll ellements of the Stones' various influences all fuse together. Mick Taylor shows why he was such an integral part of the Stones in this, their second (and final) flowering.

Puerta de Pedraza. Above the main gateway to Pedraza.

A weekend property hunting and we stayed at a very pleasant rural hotel near here in 2018. Holm oak = 'encina' in Spanish, ubiquitous here, and much loved.

A quiet corner in this well-preserved medieval town, an hour and a half's drive from Madrid and a magnet for weekend diners (I think there are more restaurants than year-round residents here!) One of my first excursions outside Madrid with my girlfriend and I have very fond memories of this visit! My first of many visits to this town and yet it seems like weeks ago, not 7 and a half years ago!

Green door and window shutter, Maderuelo, Segovia Province. Night shot.

Situated in the Sierra de Guadarrama, on the northern, Segolvia Province, side of the watershed.

Old door and window. Maderuelo, Segovia Province. Night shot.

Segovia Province

The town of Maderuelo in Segovia Province is yet another town that has seen far better days. Now very run down due to de-population, it nevertheless retains enough interest for tourists and still has a few decent restaurants and bars. Perhaps marginally better on full screen.

Pedraza, Segovia. I don't think this has appeared on ip before but it is possible. Certainly it was on Pano. Sight and sound; A good reaction I feel. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBA7nkHsapQ Sorry about the horrendous timing of the adverts!

The northern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama.