Hello to our dear Winter in Segovia readers,
As you may have noticed, winter is coming to an end, and so is this section of Lifestyle Segovia. As days are getting longer and warmer, curfew is being extended, and Juan Bravo is finally opening again, we are about to welcome Spring! To give this incredible season the warm welcome it deserves we will be starting a new section called Spring in Segovia. Stay tuned for the next article so that you don’t miss out!
For this season finale, we wanted to give you some tips to help you through these last few winter weeks! Each tip corresponds to a different aspect of life; all of which we have touched in our series 🙂
Mental Health Tip
We’re starting off with something that has probably touched most of us personally in the last period of time. With all the restrictions going on and changing very often, most people have been feeling more overwhelmed, anxious or sad since the pandemic started nearly a year ago. First of all, we should all recognise that we’ve been living a very hard time, that none of us have ever experienced in our lifetime and for this reason we should allow ourselves to not be ok sometimes, as says the famous quote “it is ok not to be ok”.
Although, as we have survived the last year, I am sure we will keep on going and that things will get better. Therefore, we shouldn’t sit and let life happen to us. Instead, we should try to do some things that make us feel better. On sad days, we could try to take a break from screens and our tech-poisoned daily life (yes, I know it is very hard, but make an effort!) and surround ourselves by nature. Us Segovian students are very lucky, as we have plenty of green areas to go explore, have a walk or do yoga, while admiring the wonderful scenarios of Castilla y León.
Finally, surround yourself with the people you love, and try avoiding negative people. In fact, if you are going through a hard time, receiving an extra load of negativity might increase your anxiety, and definitely won’t help you.
If you want some more mental health tips take a look at our previous articles:
Cocktail – Frozen Fruit Margarita
Now, talking about happier topics: have you ever tried to make homemade cocktails with your friends? If not, you should, as with the restrictions changing so often being your own bartender is a good skill to have 😉
Here’s an easy recipe to start off with some easy to find ingredients (so easy that you’ll retrieve them also in Segovia).
Ingredients for two servings:
- 3 shots of tequila
- One shot of Triple Sec (which you can omit if you can’t find)
- Juice of two limes
- 100 grams of frozen fruit of your choice
Procedure:
First of all, wipe the rim of the fanciest glass you have in the house with a lime and then cover it with a bit of salt.
Then just put all the ingredients in a blender and mix everything for 20-30 seconds, until you get a nice slushy consistency.
Voilá, your cocktail is ready in only two minutes!
Disclaimer: if you don’t use a fancy glass, you won’t get the same effect
Sustainable Tip:
I believe that doing our part to protect the environment is really important, even if only with a little thing. We all know that eliminating plastic from our lives is close to impossible, and even giving up coffee capsules, Q-tips and all the other very polluting items that we are really used to having in our everyday life. Although, one thing we could do is to try buying our clothes in a more responsible way. For example, instead of buying ten items from Zara or any other fast fashion chain, we could buy less items from a sustainable brand or from a vintage shop. Many companies are now trying to create their clothes out of recycled materials and limiting the waste of water such as the brand La Semaine Paris. Also, many brands are trying to be socially responsible, using part of their profits to give free clothes and healthcare to less advantaged people, such as Toms. Finally, buying vintage is now very popular, and, especially in Madrid, you can find many vintage shops where you can buy amazing luxury clothes in perfect conditions for a very good price. Finally, try to support small businesses around you in your everyday purchases rather than the big brands!
If you want some more sustainable tips take a look at our previous articles:
Recipe – Quick Burritos
Of course we wouldn’t forget to include a recipe, especially as us students often have trouble finding ideas and end up eating the same thing every week.
Since the “new way” of making burritos has become viral on Instagram, I just can’t stop eating them! It is a super quick and easy way to prepare a tasty meal, especially if you have friends over and you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. Also, I love the fact that you can personalise it choosing the ingredients you like the most.
Ingredients
*fully customisable*
- humus/guacamole or any other spread
- Black beans
- Corn
- Chili
- Cheese
- Mexican tortillas
Procedure:
Spread the sauce you want on the tortillas, then cut one side from the centre to the out. Now, just imagine the burrito to be divided into four triangles, and fill each one with one ingredient you like. Finally just flip each quarter of the tortilla so that it turns into a single triangle.
Personal tip: I also like to toast it for a few seconds to make the cheese melt and the tortilla crunchier.
The pictures are courtesy of the blogger who made this new method famous on tiktok (@veggie_nerd on instagram)
Self-Care Tip
Finally, there’s nothing better than relaxing and taking some time for yourself after a long day. This might be very obvious but every Sunday night, after the weekend, I like to take a long warm bath with bubbles, put a face mask on and just watch a few episodes of a tv series while chilling. So, I encourage you to take one moment every week to pamper yourself with your favourite beauty routine; you’ll see how it has an incredible impact on your mood!
Outdoor Adventure
As Segovia has rounded the corner of January into February, so has the weather. The gloom of January’s low temperatures and dark grey clouds has finally seem to have parted, making way for comfortable, sunny, sweater-weather conditions of February. Mother nature is teasing us with a glorious spring. And with a new season comes a new variety of ways to enjoy the outdoors in Segovia.
The month of February probably stands as one of my favorite months to get outdoors in Segovia. She really offers everything during this changing season – snow-capped mountains and roaring rivers contrast with the warming weather and newly-green flora. To enjoy this combination of seasons, I’m going to show you a hike in Revenga, along the Rio Frio valley to the foundations of the Segovia aqueduct.
We’ll start out by taking the bus to Revenga, a cozy little town at the foot of the Mujer Muerta. Next to her runs the Rio Frio (Cold River), which originates on the southern face of the Mujer Muerta and runs until joining the Rio Eresma near Segovia. In the 1950s, Spain dammed this river to create the Embalse de Puente Alta (also known as the Embalse de Revenga), a cute little reservoir nestled in a forested valley.
After exiting the bus, cross the highway and head south along the side road as it turns left and heads towards the reservoir. When you reach the reservoir, you can walk out across the dam and see the view across the pond up into the Sierra de Guadarrama. Every time this view is different; sometimes clouds cover the tops of the mountains, sometimes you can see a dramatic snow-capped peak, and sometimes the bare grey stone of the mountain remains exposed. After marvelling at this sight, continue the journey down this road until you reach the end. Along the way, you’ll encounter a Spanish Civil War era bunker, a remnant of the battle of Segovia.
When you reach the end of the paved road, you’ll take a left up through the gate along the path. Here, we enter the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, the protected area running along the border between Segovia and Madrid. Follow this trail for a couple kilometers until you intersect with another path, onto which you will turn right.
Go down this new path until you reach the Azud del Acueducto (pictured above). These foundations are a rebuilt replica of the original foundations of the Roman aqueduct which runs through the heart of Segovia. This valley served as a passageway between Madrid and Segovia during the Roman era, and the aqueduct followed this path. Many of the stones you walk on during this hike were walked on by people 2,000 years ago. It’s certainly something that puts you in perspective.
Once you enjoy the scenery of the Azud del Acueducto, you can turn back around and head downriver the way we came up. At the intersection, keep straight. Going back to Revenga, we’ll take the ridge over to get a view of the lake. This is best seen at or around sunset, when the colors are vibrant and you can see the sun setting over the lake. Eventually, the path will merge with a gravel road, and you can take this road all the way back to Revenga.
To do this hike, make sure to bring sturdy shoes or boots. While it has been sunny lately, there’s still leftover mud from January, and in the next couple of days rain and snow may come back. Overall, however, this hike is a great and accessible way to spend an evening getting to know the Segovian countryside much better! I hope you enjoy, and I’ll see y’all in spring!
-Justin Morgan, our resident hiking expert
Stay tuned for our new edition “Spring in Segovia” and share your personal tips with us on @ieustork !
