Travel with Kevin and Ruth: A busy day as we explored both Segovia and Valladolid

Sunday, May 18, 2025

A busy day as we explored both Segovia and Valladolid

We took the metro (subway, underground) from the north part of Madrid to the Atocha train station. We had used up our original ten ride purchase at €0.61 a ride, and it didn't make sense to buy another ten ride package so we had to buy individual tickets at €2 ($3.12 CAD, $2.23 USD) each.

Arrived at Atocha station a half hour early for our 10am rental car reservation.

The Hertz location at Atocha station has a dismal 2.7 star review rating, but I am a Hertz Gold Club member, and they actually had the best price for our 18 day car rental... at €252 which works out to a reasonable €14 ($21.85 CAD, $15.65 USD) per day. So despite the poor reviews (mostly related to people being overcharged for perceived damages upon return of the car) I decided to rent from this location.

Good thing we were early because there was a lineup to be served. Once we got to the counter and handed over my license and insurance, the guy says "oh, you've reserved a Smart Car. Your bags will not even fit in there. But, you'll have to figure it out."

Except I didn't reserve a Smart Car. I reserved a Fiat 500 "or similar". Well, a Fiat 500 is a very small car, but it is not similar to a Smart Car. It took some arguing, but eventually he gave in and said "we'll see what we can do". He came back asking if I could drive an automatic, which of course I can. I thought everybody could, but he said most locals can't because almost all cars in Europe are standard transmission. Then he said "it will be only €120 Euros more". Of course I told him that I am not paying any more than what the original booking was. There was some more discussion, and I stood my ground.

Eventually, I ended up with a 2025 model Audi A1 with only 2,600 kms on it. So, fairly new, with no marks on it at all. And, it's a sharp looking little car, with all the toys! I'll get a photo of it later.

We headed out of the big city of Madrid. Glad we were doing it on a Saturday so there likely wasn't as much traffic as there would have been Monday to Friday. Our first stop was Segovia where we had been told it was a worthwhile stop... and it was!

Segovia has a massive castle high up on an outcrop of rock.

Views as we climbed the hill to the castle.

Made it to the top!

What a fantastic castle!

But, we did not have time to go in.

Back in the day, there would have been a drawbridge here.

And of course there is a moat, which every castle should have!

Looking back at the old town, I was photo bombed by this bird!

The photo I was trying to get.

A lot of tourists in old town Segovia.

The Cathedral.

The plaza.

The back of the Cathedral.

The Cathedral.

Scenery along the way.

Beautiful old city!

The aqueduct is amazing!

Built from stone blocks.

There is an amazing carousel for the kids.

It looks old, but it was built in 1999.

I took a video for you... pay attention to the details of the different rides!

View of the more modern part of Segovia away from the old town.

One last view of the castle!

By the way, I should mention that it was a gorgeous day. Hi of about 25C (75F) which is perfect.

We hopped back in the car, and continued on to the city of Valladolid where we had a hotel room booked for the night. There weren't a lot of options, and the cheapest I could find was €102 ($159 CAD, $114 USD), but at least it's a nice 4 star hotel!

Not a huge room, but the bed was comfortable and we slept well!

The bathroom was huge though. I think it's bigger than Igor!

We relaxed for a couple of hours, then set off to have some dinner and see some of Valladolid.

We ended up at an Indian restaurant and we each had the biryani. It was delicious, but massive servings and we had enough left over that we'll probably be able to make another dinner out of it.