Escape From Nowheresville

Segovia is known for its intact Roman aqueduct but no matter how many aqueducts you’ve seen or how many ruins you’ve visited in Rome, it is hard to be prepared for how majestic yet utterly contemporary it is when you arrive to it. You feel an immediate connection with ancient history and, in our case as we are of Roman descent, a twinge of pride.
We were there a couple of weeks ago on a weekday which turned out to be a local holiday. There was a fiesta in the Plaza Mayor, a book swap with special programs for children and traditional music. The city is known for roast suckling pig so there was the scent of wood fires. It was a beautiful spring day so there was a floral yet somehow herbaceous tinge in the air. And somehow I imagined I smelled saffron.
A group of young guys were sitting on the ground balancing paper plates, leaning against the storefronts that line the old Roman road. Then I saw another group of older men and women, sitting on some steps. They were eating, too. And then I saw the line for paella. The whole city was sharing lunch, open air paella and a piece of bread.

SPM