Our friends and next door neighbors, Jeff and Lara Farrah visited Segovia as part of their tour of Spain with their two single-digit midget boys (I think they were 5 and 7 last year), and they really enjoyed going about six miles (and, as it turns out, about 20 traffic circles) out of Segovia to the little village of San Ildefonso to the royal palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso Palace (yes, the Spanish never use two words when four or more will do).
Our walking tour guide, Mariano, was quite enthusiastic about our plans. He thought it was great, because at 5:30 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the palace puts on a walking fountain show for over an hour.
By the time we found parking, and then hiked up the long hill to the palace, it was too late to go inside. We were fine with that – there’s only so much over the top royal furnishings you can see in life without wanting royals guillotined. Since we had about 20 minutes to kill, we walked around the gardens soon, before heading to the first fountain of the night.
According to Mariano, we were to look for the guide with the Spanish flag, as that person was the one to follow from fountain to fountain. They turn on the fountain for about ten minutes at a time, varying the water height/spray.
Mariano warned us not to get to close to the massive fountains because while they start low, the spray goes higher and higher, often soaking people who are too near to the fountain.
We didn’t know what to expect, but it was great. First of all, there are hundreds of people who buy tickets for this. Secondly, you get a nice walk through the gardens going from fountain to fountain (four in all). Third, the fountains themselves are amazing sculptures even before the water is turned on.
The Bellagio Fountain in Vegas is cool, but there’s something about being in the foothills of the mountains, going from fountain to fountain for the show.
And yes, people get soaked. We felt some spray, but didn’t get very wet. It was fun watching kids play through the water (not in the fountains, but the sprays that shot well beyond the fountain). The pictures don’t do it justice, but give you some idea of how ornate these fountains are.
After the first one finished, you walk several hundred yards along the path through the forest park, following both the Spanish flag person AND the throngs of people ahead of you. Then, when everyone has arrived at the next stop, the next fountain goes on. Rinse and repeat two more times.
Spain is in a drought, so it is thought that they will have to stop the water fountain shows in June. If you are going to Segovia, definitely check to see if the fountain show is still on – it’s definitely worth going to.
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