We dropped off the car at the airport and took an Uber into the city. After relaxing in the room for a bit, I stopped into ALE-HOP to look for comfy socks and found a pair of fluffy rainbow slippers...
Blog posts from Spain
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: wine tasting in Rueda
Bodegas Muelas Walking the walls of the Cuellar castle put us behind schedule so we had to hustle several blocks from the (free) parking lot in Todesillas to make our reserved tour of the bodega....
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Castilla y León sights
Cuéllar On the way to our first wine tasting in Todesillas, we stopped in the town of Cuéllar and paid 1,50€ each to walk along the castle walls. The access point was through a turnstile gate near...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: daytrip to Peñafiel
The drive from Valladolid to Peñafiel was fairly easy, with most of the route through rural countryside (and a decent number of trucks). We stopped briefly at the necropolis ruins outside of town,...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Valladolid food + drink
La Parrilla de San Lorenzo - A traditional Spanish restaurant, this space is massive with large brick arches, knick knacks, and icongraphy. While it wasn't very busy when we arrived, they got...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Segovia
The 90 minute drive from the Madrid airport to Segovia was very scenic - just thirty minutes from the airport the road became more rural, culminating with a twisty road climb through forest up to...
September 2023 Wine and Rugby: Introduction
Our positive experience at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan lead us to highlight the 2023 tournament in France. This time around the ticketing process was more chaotic and difficult (thanks...
Spain 2022: a day in Madrid
Our flight back to the US left out of Madrid, so we spent our final night in Spain here again. This time we stayed next to the Puerta de Atocha train station, as we were arriving there, plus it...
Spain 2022: Cuenca
Cuenca is known for its historic walled city sitting on top of a rocky bluff between two rivers. Located roughly halfway between Valencia and Madrid, with a stop on the high speed train between the...
Spain 2022: Valencia street art
Before we left on this trip, I researched a bunch of street art places and muralists that I wanted to see. As with most street art, a lot were still visible while others had been painted over or...
Spain 2022: Valencia food & drink
Our week in Valencia was filled with food and drink experiences, from quick snacks to full-on meals. Bar Oliví is a lovely little wine place with a bar on the right and some additional stools on the...
Spain 2022: Valencia museums
To be honest, I feel like we struck out a bit with the 'formal' art institutions in Valencia. The street art was a lot more interesting to us than the two museums we tried. That said, both art...
Spain 2022: Our Lady Of The Forsaken Festival
Midnight on Saturday and BOOM! BOOMBOOMBOOM...!!! Leandra got up to see what was going on and is surprised by a large fireworks display taking place a mile away in the Turia Park, but visible from...
Spain 2022: Valencia – El Cabanyal
We centered our Saturday afternoon around reservations for a late lunch at Casa Montaña, and we were very happy with our choice to do so! From the old town we used google maps to help find a bus...
Spain 2022: Valencia gardens
Jardí Botànic - This small university-affiliated garden has a reasonable admission fee of 3€ and surprised us with its number of specimens and blessedly shady interior. Palm trees, massive oaks,...
Spain 2022: Valencia Ciutat Vella
Our apartment was located in the heart of the old town, so over our five days we saw most of the sights multiple times. The Mercat Central / Central Market was a definite highlight - located just 2...
Spain 2022: introduction
Two years. In February 2022 it was two years since we'd left the US, and we were ready to go somewhere for a spring trip. We weren't keen on having to test to get into a country, but as luck would...
Spain 2018: Costa del Sol food & drink
Wednesday After a full afternoon of driving, we decided to stay close to the house for our first meal on the coast and made had a reservation at Las Llaves for 7:30pm. When we arrived the restaurant...
Our Itinerary
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Valencia, Spain (Mar)
Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Bari, Italy (Sept)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)