Segovia, October 27

The ride to Segovia from Tarragona is a long one. Emily and Xiaohan find a cute way to break it up at one rest stop, and at another we all enjoy a serendipitous view of a castle just down the hill.












Fortunately we arrive with a couple of hours to spare before getting ready for the tour's last concert. Segovia is a breathtakingly historic and beautiful place. There isn't time to visit the famous Alcazar Castle where Queen Isabella approved Columbus' proposed voyage, or Europe's largest concentration of Medieval churches, but we can can pause for a quick coffee with a view unique in the world, in a large plaza at the foot of the  2000-year-old Roman aqueduct that bisects Segovia -- 20,000 un-mortared granite blocks erected into a span that's 2,500 feet long and 100 feet high and built so well it can still carry water today. 

Walking to the concert lets us see a bit more, and reveals a delightful feature of Segovia's general streetscape, a particularly prominent local characteristic comparable to Pontevedra's many protruding glassed-in balconies, Burgos' elaborate sidewalk tiles and Tarragona's paving-stone mosaics... Segovia's old city is full of buildings faced with gracefully incised tiles that create tapestry-like patterns over the entire surface. 

The concert hall is on the far side of the cathedral plaza, which becomes even lovelier as dusk falls.



The hall is the Teatro Juan Bravo, named for a hero of the 16th-Century Castillian Wars. Its pretty white/red/gold interior provides a nice setting for our last concert in Spain, and we're delighted to find that among the capacity crowd there is a large group of students ages 8 and up from the local conservatory.

Marc has arranged a special experience for our last dinner of the tour. Our omnivores enjoy sharing a whole roast suckling pig prepared and served in regional style. Our vegetarians choose a different entree, but join in enjoying the atmosphere of the fourth-generation hunting-lodge inn. Everyone applauds the chef as he finishes reciting a traditional verse about the roast before serving it.  




Many toasts are offered during the bittersweet evening that ends the successful tour... Marc thanks the orchestra; Nurhan hails our musicians and Marc and Kevork, who returns thanks to Marc and the orchestra; Mig circles the room to shake hands with every member of the orchestra; Tony expresses appreciation on behalf of the orchestra...  It's already 1 am, but even after the astoundingly rich crema de catalunya dessert, and in spite of the accumulated fatigue of combining intense performing and eager sightseeing, no one wants to leave. But we do -- the staff of the inn have already stayed far longer than their normal hours, and we have only 5 hours to re-pack and catch a little sleep until time to leave for the Madrid airport.