The day began with a hangover - shouldn't have gotten that extra bottle of wine at the last terraza we visited last night. But our departure from Madrid went smoothly. With the help of the hotel manager we made reservations at a "rural house" in a small town near our next destination, Segovia. He wrote down some directions and off we went. Next stop: Atocha train station to pick up our rental car. This train station is amazing - a huge greenhouse inside with a zillion tropical plants and turtles in a big pond. We hit the freeway in our tiny VW Polo and in minutes were out of Madrid. Ahh, roadtrip! 99km north along N1, then turn left onto NII (is that "eleven" or Roman numeral 2? The freeway numbering schemes were mysterious but we usually guessed correctly). 30km more until you reach Navafria. Where? It was a tiny little old town with two restaurants, and a couple bars packed with wrinkled old men. We managed to get directions to the Casa de Chorro from a family walking out of one of the restaurants: just up the street, make two right turns. A nice house with a large yard, B&B style - a friend of ours had lent us a great book of "rural houses" throughout Spain, and this one was part of the network. We checked in, walked up to our room, and... well, there wasn't really time for a siesta. Already 3:00 in the afternoon so we immediately sped off to Segovia.

The impressive Roman aqueduct is a major attraction in Segovia. Built without mortar, standing since the second century A.D., this 728m section is quite amazing. We enjoyed dinner in one of the restaurant terrazas in view of the structure, and stared at it. Definitely the most beautifully preserved section of aqueduct that I've ever seen. And very photogenic in the afternoon sun. We walked around it, stood under it, scrambled up the hill to the top of it, and generally photographed the hell out of it. Daphne has been studying architecture lately and this was one of her must-see sites in Spain, so we saw it with a vengeance.

The aqueduct as it stands today is 28m high at its highest point, and has 163 arches. Of course, no such ancient structure would be complete without an associated legend involving the devil. The local legend for this one is as follows: "two millennia ago a young girl, tired of carrying water from the well, voiced a willingness to sell her soul to the devil if an easier solution could be found. No sooner said than done. The devil reportedly worked through the night, while the girl recanted and prayed to God for forgiveness. Hearing her prayers, God sent the sun into the sky earlier than usual catching the devil unawares, and with only a single stone lacking to complete the structure. The girl's soul was saved, but it seems like she got what she wanted anyway..." (Source: Lonely Planet guide to Spain, 2005 edition.)

But Segovia is not all just about the aqueduct. You'd think in a small town such as this the aqueduct would be the main tourist draw. But Segovia also hosts a fantastic castle and a tremendous cathedral built high up the walls of the city centre, fortress-style. The castle supposedly inspired Sleeping Beauty's fairy tale castle, and we had a great time exploring the rooms, looking at the medieval weaponry and armor, and climbing the 152 steps up to the main tower (spectacular views, by the way). Apparently this castle has been rebuilt twice, most recently in 1862 after it burned down (how can a big stone structure "burn down"?), so the current Alcázar is a reconstruction of the original. As the sun was setting we frantically drove the side streets looking for a good view looking back towards the castle from the west, and found one just before the sun disappeared behind the hills. Sweet!