Alcazar, Segovia

I’ve waited over 40 years to take this photo.  Before we came here I’d researched the exact spot to get this iconic image. 

Even if you’ve never heard of the Alcazar in Segovia, you’re bound to have seen something like it before - it was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s castle in Sleeping Beauty and also featured on the packaging for Knight’s Castile soap.

It was a long hard climb for me to get this shot - Annie-mountaingoat-may - was way ahead of me as usual.  Even having done my homework, the view I wanted still took a bit of finding, threading our way through densely growing conifers.  And then there it is - just as I remember seeing it for the first time back in the 1970s in a book on Spain.  It didn't disappoint.

There are so many images of this castle on the internet - most shot in perfect lighting conditions - often at sunset.  It was overcast by the time we got here - and there’s no way I’m making the climb again should the sun come out or even decide to set beautifully.  I opted for mono because it’s really about the shape more than anything.

The extra shows the view from our hotel room.  Sort of.  We can see this view of the city with the cathedral dominating the skyline.  But outside our room is a Juniper tree which stands smack in the middle of the cathedral tower, so I took this from the hotel bar.

Apologies for lack of comments - the wifi is iffy.