All:

Due to an unexpected change of plans, I may need to find a place to stay for one night somewhere between Segovia and Santander (will have a car, willing to make somewhat of a detour if worthwhile). Not too interested in Burgos as I will be making a day trip there later in the week. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, this is for next Monday (yikes). Can anyone (Maribel?) recommend an interesting town (especially in the Ribera del Duero region) a good country inn or casa rural or any other interesting place to break up the trip?

Will be two adults, with car, would prefer below approx 100 Euro for the night.

thanks.

hi cooter,
Lucky you, taking a trip from Segovia to Santander next Monday!

Don't know how far north you want to drive from Segovia on the night out, but the heart of Ribera del Duero, due west of Aranda de Duero, before Burgos, is not all that far from Segovia. You may want to go much further on. We made it quickly up to Peñafiel on a day trip from Pedraza. The new winery hotels in the Ribera del Duero, like the Finca Torremilanos and the Arzuaga, near Aranda are pricey, above 100 euros. Other than that, there's the Hotel Ribera del Duero in Peñafiel. We loved visiting the castle at Peñafiel (with a state of the art wine museum built inside) and the charming Plaza del Coso in town. But again, it's a pretty short drive from Segovia. We did it after an unforgettable lunch of cordero asado in the legendary Mesón González in tiny Sacramenia (we actually dined in an annex rm of the butcher shop-unique experience!)

You may want to press on beyond Burgos to the Merindades area. There's a lovely "casa rural" (I'm a huge fan of these) on my "must try" list in the tiny town of Covanera, right on the Burgos-Santander N623:
It's "Los Tilos", gets 3 stars in my El País/Aguilar "Casas Rurales" book, a favorite tome of mine, and the 5 doubles with baths go for 51 euros. It's in the former 18th c. albergue-hospital de la Cofradía del Espíritu Santo. Stone walls, polished stone floors and home cooking with ingredients from the garden. "La Roja" room is cozy and the largest room is "La Amarilla".
phone: 947 15 02 70

Or just up the road at Valdelateja, the "Balneario de Valdelateja", a spa built in the 19th c. that attracted the well-heeled from Burgos and Santander. It was recently totally restored and converted into a small, 30 room hotel. Doubles start at 61. The setting is in an everygreen and holm oak forest that clings to the sides of a canyon cut by the Rudron Riber. From the pics it looks kind of like a Seiss chalet with wooden balconies painted blue and yellow. No 2 guest rooms are alike and have antique wrought iron beds or bedsteads of patterned fabric, walnut floors and big baths. Dining rm. looks out onto the river, terrific views, home cooking. It's been reviewed in the travel section of El Mundo and also a selection from my "100 Estancias Rurales-las más selectas de España" guide, also in Alistair Sawday's "Special Places to Stay". Looks charming. Within your price range, I think.
phone: 947 150 220
fax: 947 150 215

www.grupocastelar.com
http://www.specialplacestostay.com/s...?FileID=SP1085

If you don't want to go BEYOND Burgos, then I'd stop for coffee at the gorgeous new deluxe Parador at Lerma, then either stay at the casa rural "El Zaguán" ("casa solariega del siglo XVII&quot in monument filled Lerma (Calle Barquillo 6) or take a detour east to the highly picturesque, very Castilian town of Covarrubias (great place, if you haven't already been!). Has a wonderful Plaza Mayor and beautiful Colegiata. I'm not fond of the pretty basic rooms at the Hotel Arlanza on the plaza, but there's a casa rural there, "Los Castros", a former palace with 5 double rooms. Budget priced and includes brk. phone: 947 40 63 68
My Anuario de Turismo Rual says
"acogida excelente, habitaciones impecables"-what more could you want!!

phone for Casa Rural el Zaguán in Lerma:
947 17 21 65

Check www.toprural.com for any reviews or more contact numbers.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

Maribel:

Thank you so much for the incredibly rich response. I really appreacite how generous you are with your time and experience.

How far we get depends largely on when we leave Segovia, which we'll have to decide by tomorrow. You've given me a wealth of options. I've never been to Covarrubias, and Covanera sounds very itneresting, especially as I have done a little bit of cavern diving in my day.

Of course,"acogida excelente, habitaciones impecables" is what I'm looking for, but also "una buena relación calidad-precio." Thanks again. If we do end up at "Los Tilos," I'll be sure to report back.

Me again,
Thanks for your kind words. It's a pleasure to help a fellow devout Spain lover.

True to my "never leave a stone unturned" self, I found yet another lodging option for you on the Segovia-Santander route. Don't know why I missed it before. (Actually, I'm compiling this list for future reference for myself too, for our next trip up tp Cantabria )

Add this one to your list, straight from De Viajes magazine:

"El Zaguán de Gumiel", in the Ribera del Duero in Gumiel de Izán, a tiny burg on the Carretera de Burgos, Ni/E5 7 km. above Aranda de Duero. This would be perfect if you get a late start from Segovia. (We always get a late start from Segovia-can't tear ourselves away) . The village has been declared a conjunto histórico-artístico and this casa rural is housed in one of the traditional 3 floor homes decorated in typical Castilian style, with stone, brick and fine woods. 13 rooms with bath, tv and an attic sitting room plus bar/restaurant. And for only 48 euros, it would offer you "muy buena relación calidad-precio" in the heart of the Ribera del Duero.

www.elazguandegumiel.com

Now, that should give you plenty of options.
Have a really great trip!

Hello Maribel!

I plan on traveling to Spain in September of '04, so I'm beginning my research now. I'm interested in traveling along the mediterranean and possibly expanding my travels to portugal and morroco OR france and italy. I'm not sure yet. I've never been to europe, so the research has been a little overwhelming. Would you happen to know where to start? I'd definitely like to be on the coast because I love the sun and the beach. Apparently you're the best person to ask! Any help that you could provide or anyone else can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Cooteer
i am probably late with this info for your actual need but it could be useful for other travelers looking for something off the b treck in the way from segovia to santander via Palencia instead of the burgos one. similar distance. There is a town called Carrion de los Condes once court of the Castillian kings, and right in the "Camino de Santiago" , where you can stay in the former Benedictine Monastery(built in year 948, with a post gothic kloster from the 14Th century) now converted into an hotel called Monaterio de San Zoilo, well done and very good quality-price.

Just wanted to follow up and thank Maribel once again for excellent suggestions. We anticpated that we would not want to make it much further than Burgos that nigh. Decided to try staying in Lerma, but no answer at "El Zaguán", so we called Los Castros in Covarrubia and making the reservation there. We ended up arriving very late due to entanglements in Segovia, but the landlady was still very gracious. The house is nicely remodeled, although perhaps less well finished than some of the casas rurales we have seen in other parts of Spain, such as Galicia. Decor runs toward the cluttered. Nevertheless, we got a good-sized top floor room with a comfortable double bed, and a tiny but perfectly serviceable bathroom, plus a great breakfast for 50 Euro/night. Breakfast was truly a highlight as the owner of the establishement makes his own yougurt and marmalade, and also serves fresh honey from the surrounding countryside. We did have a coffee the next morning at the Hotel Arlanza on the Plaza Mayor. The public rooms were nice, but did not see a guest room.

Covarrrubiasa is a truly enchanting little town and we had it almost to ourselves as the tourist season is concentrated in the summer. Unfortunately, the colegiata is closed on Tuesdays (the one day we had to explore the town), and the walking tours of the town ended unexpectedly two weeks ago when the tour guide quit. Nevertheless, the tourism office is open and can provide a map for a decent self-guided tour. They expect the guided tours to start up again in the Spring, and the tourism office closes for the winter next week. Since we were already in the neighborhood, we took the opportunity to visit the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, only a few miles away. It contains a two story Romanesque cloister that is considered one of the masterpieces of Spanish Romanesque art. Unfortunately, the cloister is being restored, so there is only access to the first level. We took a brief (almost perfunctory, to be honest) but informative guided tour of the first floor of the cloister plus a couple of the other rooms (most notably the pharmacy). The town of Santo Domingo de Silos is quite pleasant as well and very typically Castilian, and the drive from Covarrubias passes trhough very attractive wooded hills (not at all the typical image of Castile). Leaving Covarrubias after wandering around the streets a bit, we stopped in Lerma for a magnificent lunch of roasted lamb at one of its famous asadores, and had an expensive but worthwhile coffee at the new parador, which occupies the magnificently restored 17th century ducal palace, built in an Herrera-esque style by Francisco de Mora under the orders of the first Duke of Lerma. The style is very similar to that of El Escorial in Madrid, and the palace was built by the Duke for the use of Felipe III. The central courtyard has been perfectly restored and enclosed, and is a truly wonderful place for a great coffee, drink or snack.
After finishing our coffee, restored and refreshed, we hit the road again for Santander...

Car, I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind for the future, as Palencia is on my must-see list. Thanks.

hi cooter,
Thanks for such a detailed and helpful report! This will be very helpful to another poster who is headed to Lerma for a couple of nights at the new Parador. Now he's better equipped for his day excursions.

I was wondering how far north you had reached from your stay in Segovia and where you chose to spend the night. I can imagine how quiet and peaceful Covarrubias must have been on a weekday in late November! I'm glad you got down to Santo Domingo de Silos to see the beautiful cloister of the Monastery. Too bad there was construction on the 2nd level and that the Colegiata in Covarrubias was closed that day.
Well, when you return, there's that to see plus the Yecla gorge, 2 km. south of Santo Domingo de Silos (buitres leonados)
and the surprising and imposing ducal palace at Peñaranda de Duero (amazing artesonado ceilings).

I haven't visited the Lerma Parador. I really enjoyed your description.

When reading car's suggestion of Carrión de los Condes, I remembered that the route through Palencia is one we too took once from Avila to Santander. The Monasterio de San Zoilo looks wonderful and the prices extremely, amazingly reasonable! It's featured in my Turismo de Silencio guide, and I've certainly put it high on my list to try too. That was a great suggestion.
There's another place right outside Palencia, la Casa del Abad de Ampudia
(www.casadelabad.com), but it's now a Relais Chateaux so prices have gone up.
The San Zoilo looks even nicer.

And also near the tiny jewel of a Romanesque church of San Martín at Frómista (which I remember from an art history trip when we were out studying Romanesque).
Plus Palencia capital is a sleepy, very old fashioned but pleasant provincial city with a pedestrianized Calle Mayor where everyone strolls and sits at outdoor cafes during the paseo hrs., Like going back in time to the Franco seventies. It has a mainly gothic cathedral worth seeing, that they call the "belleza desconocida" because it receives a tiny fraction of the visitors of other Castilian cathedrals. The sculptor Gil de Siloé and Juan de Flandes worked their magic inside.
I chaperoned a youth orchestra trip there for their music festival in late June,

So that would be a great route to take too, the pilgrims; route, on your next trip from Segovia to Santander.

Hope you had a nice time in Santander too.

Thanks again for the advice, Maribel. Covarrubias was indeed incredibly peaceful, and a perfect interlude in an otherwise fairly hectic week. One note, the gorge at Yecla is closed to visitors "por obras"; they are renovating the footpath through it. Say it will be open for summer.

Now if only I could get to Palencia soon...alas, not returning to Spain until the summer...well, might try to grab a long weekend in the late winter...