VALLADOLID, SPAIN

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I’ve finally come to the end of recapping our trip to Spain….from August 2021. This one is short and sweet, covering our time in the area near Valladolid, Spain.

Our initial plan was to stay one night in Valladolid after landing in Madrid, as it was a 2 hour drive from the Madrid airport. Our flight landed at 9am, so it made sense to get our rental car, take a little drive, and end up at a relaxing getaway after an overnight flight. We liked our hotel so much, we ended up staying another night on the back end of our trip. We booked our hotel in Madrid through Amex Travel, which gives you a lot of flexibility and more lenient cancelation and changes. So, we were able to change our reservation in Madrid from 2 nights to 1 with no penalty. This was our first time changing our itinerary on the fly, but it was well worth it!

WHERE TO STAY:

Castilla Termal is a Spanish hotel group with 4 locations. We stayed at Castilla Termal Valbuena, located in San Bernardo, Valladolid. The hotel is quite unique in that it’s a former monastery. In fact, it is considered the best preserved 12th century Cistercian monastery in Europe. If you need to truly unwind and relax, this is the place for you. The hotel is located in the middle of nowhere, but a number of wineries can be found in close proximity. We opted to indulge in the thermal pool and outdoor pool instead.

The food was top notch. No need to leave the property to eat if you don’t want to. The breakfast spread had a little bit of everything (and was included in our room rate). We also enjoyed dinner with Quinn fast asleep in the stroller. So peaceful! All meals were offered al fresco or in their dining room. Dinner with a sunset and no light pollution, plus a friendly kitty on their terrace- what’s not to love?

The hotel provided a crib for Quinn, complete with a little teddy bear for him to take home! We brought our own sheet, which made me feel a little better about using a hotel crib…

The hotel has an underground spa in the cisterns of the monastery, but no photos allowed. Check it out online, because it is incredible to see! I guess I wasn’t supposed to take photos of the thermal pool either, oops. It had various stations with water jets designed for different medicinal uses. The water was also a specific balance of minerals that’s supposed to be good for you. One of the thermal pools spanned from indoor to outdoor, in addition to a “normal” pool outside. You also get to wear these really cool swim caps.

While the little village adjacent to the hotel was just residential, it was full of colorful flowers and perfect for a quiet evening stroll. There was a walking/running trail located behind the hotel as well.

On our drive out of town, we spotted a number of sunflower fields. So pretty, but really hard to capture while moving. We headed to San Sebastian from here, which took about 3.5 hours. If you’re road tripping North like we did, you could make a stop along the way in Burgos. If you’re going South, you could stop in Segovia.

A few more pics of the hotel:

Recaps from the rest of this Spain trip here:

Bilbao

Madrid

San Sebastian

Spain With a Baby

MADRID, SPAIN

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We started and finished our Spanish summer vacation in Madrid, mostly because it was the cheapest flight to Europe in August. We planned the rest of our trip around it! On the front end, we just flew into Madrid airport and got our rental car to start the adventure. On the way back, we spent one night in Madrid before heading back home. Our time there was short, and we could’ve easily stayed longer with plenty to do.

WHAT TO DO:

Reina Sofia: By far, one of the best art museums I’ve been to. It had quite a mix of styles of art, including some very bizarre stuff. One highlight is the famous La Guernica. The museum had a large outdoor courtyard, but the nicely air conditioned indoor space provided respite from the sticky hot August weather. I am dreaming of that heat right now as we prepare for more winter weather in D.C. this weekend! Cue the urge to book future travel for something to look forward to. Italy summer 2022, here we come! Tip: There are times when the museum is free to enter, but the line was LONG. With Quinn in tow, we didn’t want to wait in the sweltering heat to save a little $.

Prado Museum: We didn’t make it, but they have El Greco, Velázquez, Rubens, and Goya. There are also opportunities to enter for free, but check for updated times on their website.

La Casa Encendida: This sounded really interesting. It’s an art/cultural exhibit space.

Plaza de Espana: In typical Pastrick travel fashion, I insisted on a long walk to see this. After a sweaty walk when we were on the verge of being too hungry, we came upon a massive construction site. We are 0 for 2 in seeing Plaza de Espanas in Spain (see our Sevilla trip)…

Royal Palace: They also have limited times where entry is free, but confirm on their website. I wish we had made it here, looks amazing!

TIPS:

August is obviously peak tourist/vacation season for Europeans, and it is HOT. Thankfully it didn’t feel oppressively humid and there was a light breeze, but be prepared.

Wander the streets for hidden art everywhere!

WHERE TO EAT:

Sanissimo: Gluten free and vegan options that were hearty enough for Steve

Pum Pum Cafe and Bakery: We went to their tiny bakery outpost for gluten free avocado toast and lattes. So millennial of us, but whatever. The walls were all glass doors slid open to make it a breezy indoor/outdoor space. Blink and you’ll miss it since it is so well tucked away.

If we had more time, I would’ve gone to Amazonico, a jungle-themed restaurant, and El Imparcial for their (dog friendly!) brunch. There are 2 food markets, San Miguel and San Fernando, that have a number of options in one place. We were not on Spanish time, so these spots weren’t really open when we were awake and hungry, though!

A friend who studied in Madrid suggested a number of rooftop spots (360 Rooftop Bar, Azotea del Circulo, and Nice To Meet You) but they would probably be more fun without a baby! Charming Quinn photo to make up for it:

WHERE TO STAY:

Hotel Urban: The hotel was very nice and conveniently located. They have a rooftop with a small pool. Public parking was easily accessible on the same block, although it took us a few tries to navigate the turns and make it into the garage. It was a short drive to the airport, making it easy to fuel up, drop the rental car, and get in the airport without stressing about traffic. I blame it on being overtired, but we COULD NOT figure out how to turn the lights off in the hotel room. To the point that we had to call someone up from the front desk. Talk about embarrassing. That was a first! Poor kid apologized profusely for them not explaining it at the front desk, but really, we were just idiots.

TRANSPORTATION

We had our rental car in Madrid, but parked it and left it. The city was hilly, but walkable. There is an airport express bus, taxi/ride share, and metro option. See a recap of San Sebastian, Bilbao, and traveling to Spain with a baby here. For older Spain recaps, see: Cordoba, Los Alcores, and Sevilla. Stay tuned for one last Spain recap: Valladolid!

BILBAO, SPAIN

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Our road trip continued from San Sebastian to Bilbao. We only stayed one night, but hit as much as we could in one day.

WHAT TO DO:

Our primary reason for stopping in Bilbao was to visit the Guggenheim. It did not disappoint! Quinn would say otherwise. He is apparently NOT a fan of modern art. The museum offered timed tickets purchased beforehand. I was impressed with their safety measures, including temperature checks for all 3 of us before entering. In addition to the indoor exhibit highlights of Rothko, Warhol, and Serra, there are a number of really fun pieces outside. The most notable are Koons’s tulips and puppy made of flowers.

Chillida’s “How profound is the air”. I think it looks like really good cheese?!

If you want more art, visit Museo Bellas Artes for more Chillida, de Goya, and El Greco, just to name a few.

Walk along the estuary of Bilbao. You can’t get lost if you follow the water, and it was really peaceful at night. While you are along the water, you could stop into La Ribera. It looked like a really cool place to hang out and grab a bite. It is the biggest indoor covered market in Europe, in case that was on your bucket list to see…

Get lost walking the small, winding streets of old town, Casco Viejo. There are lots of little bars and restaurants, and a pretty busy nightlife scene. The more modern parts of the city also had some unique architecture.

Wish we had gone here: Azkuna Zentroa for arts and culture.

WHERE TO EAT:

Cinnamon Coffee was a great spot for caffeine and smoothie bowls.

Surfin Tacos hit the spot for a late (for us) dinner in Casco Viejo. If we were maybe 15 years younger, this area would be a fun place to be late night!

Other places we wanted to try, but didn’t have time: El Perro Chico, Bohemian Lane Pastelería Vegana, Kantine, Bihotz Cafe and Foodoo, which looked Sweetgreen-eqsue for a healthy lunch.

As for what to eat, pintxos are a Basque speciality. Just don’t call them tapas! I’m told Bilbao also has a amazing seafood. Too bad I can’t stand fish.

TIPS:

The city is very walkable, so we parked the car upon arrival and walked everywhere. After experiencing the parking garage fiasco in San Sebastian, we were much more prepared to navigate a public garage this time. All but one area we walked through felt very safe. Just like any other place, try not to stand out as a tourist and look lost staring at your phone in a dark alley. Common sense.

As noted in my previous posts, make reservations for food and attractions when possible. This may be an August in Europe kind of problem, or due to the pandemic. Either way, don’t be disappointed and have your chosen museum or restaurant book up before you get a ticket/reservation!

WHERE TO STAY:

For convenience sake, we stayed across the street from the Guggenheim. There may be more hip places to stay, but this was easy access to the museum and parking. Old Town would have required navigating narrow streets, many of which were pedestrian only. That takes me back to a previous trip to Spain where we got our rental car stuck in a pedestrian only narrow street!

Hotel Miro was fine, but nothing special. I see they are currently offering free admission to the Guggenheim for hotel guests, so that’s a perk if you are coming for the museum.

MAP

I’m *still* trying to find the time to fix my mapping function, but here it is. Just zoom into Bilbao for those pins. Stay tuned for Madrid and Valladolid recaps and check out San Sebastian and traveling with a baby in Spain here. For even more recaps of previous trips to Spain, read about our adventures in Córdoba, Los Alcores, and Sevilla, Spain.