Very similarly to my earlier plans (or lack thereof), I took a look at a trusty map, and had a scout at a decent sized place, relatively close to Zaragoza (and hopefully cooler). This time around, Valladolid was the winner, and once again, BlaBlaCar was my ride of choice. For £16.58, my 261 miles were covered, this time with a driver called Javier.
Javier (who was lovely), and his rather terrifying Spanish friend picked me up, and it was a nice drive, complete with a stop at a traditional truck stop type place. The services in Spain were a lot different to the ones here in the UK. Usually a lot smaller, and this one was just a café in an industrial area. A swift diet coke and bit of chocolate later, we were back on the road. Javier was brilliant and dropped me off basically to the door of my next place, a room in an apartment let by Juanjo.
Juanjo was incredibly nice (a common theme with my Airbnb hosts), and the room cost me just over £100 for the week. The room here might have been my favourite during my Spanish stay. Clean, nice bed, desk, wardrobe etc, and for super cheap….one can’t complain. There were two other rooms, a small kitchen, living area and bathroom, around 20 minutes from the centre.
I got a really good vibe from Valladolid, and actually returned to visit a few days after leaving, as a friend was in the city. It’s pretty compact, not as hot as Zaragoza, and there was a fair bit to see. I’ll start with the main square, or the Plaza Major to give it its Spanish name.
I love this common feature of a lot of Spanish cities, it’s great for meeting people, as well as watching people (in a non-weird way). Valladolid’s was stunning, complete with statue, and surrounded by red buildings. There are a load of bars and restaurants to explore on the many side streets, and you can easily spend a while getting lost and soaking things in.
The Iglesia de San Pablo was stunning from the outside, but I can’t recall going in. One of my other favourite features of Valladolid was the ‘beach’ next to the river on the outskirts of the city centre.
Pre-anxiety days, I loved just laying around doing nada in the sun, and this was the first time I got to experience this properly on my Spanish tour. These days, my mind tends to race when I try and do similar, although we don’t get much chance for sunbathing in Wales. The beach was relatively quiet when I visited, and it’s a cheap way to spend a day.
Elsewhere, there were plenty of lovely buildings to wander around and admire. As mentioned, everything is relatively compact, and the second time I visited, I was staying on the other side of the centre, but everything was still within walking distance.
There is a popular park worth walking around, although I seem to remember they were filming something when I was there. I also took the opportunity to climb up a rope type thing that was a staple of playgrounds back in the UK. Beautiful fountains (I remember these because I took some photos soon after I went to a Burger King for lunch….that Spanish food classic) pop up as you walk along, and it was nice to have company to visit some of the bars.
I don’t think I’ll ever understand the Spanish culture of throwing napkins on the floor, but there are plenty of great places to appreciate the custom.
As always, have a look at Trip Advisor to see what’s popular, but don’t be put off just walking around and finding things yourselves….Valladolid makes it worth your while.
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