Hello Fodorites!

I am ecstatic to report we have tickets to Spain from July 8th through the 16th. We have good friends who go to Spain every summer (M. is from Valladolid and they keep an apt there) and we have been invited to join them. M. was a tour guide in college, all over Europe, so I know we are in the best of hands.

She has suggested we spend the first 2 or 3 days in Madrid, See Toledo, then go to Valladolid and stay at their place which will allow for daytrips to a variety of places. M. says to research Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca and Avila.

I am looking for a variety of suggestions...
Places and restaurants you would recommend. We love history and museums, have had great expereinces with walking tours too. I am a shopper and love bargains, flea markets, etc. We also like sports though I know soccer is out of season...
Guide books.
Other books, fiction or non-fiction, that will give me a sense of what we are about to see and experience.

Thank you very much!

Wanted to add that we like architecture as well.

TTT

This might be extreme for such a short trip, but if you like architecture, you might try to squeeze Barcelona into your plans. Gaudi's architecture is simply mind boggling, and Barcelona is a wonderful, vibrant city (that also might be a little cooler than Madrid in July). Is the high speed train running between Madrid and Barcelona now? If not, you could look at buying a cheap ticket once you get there, and doing a quick overnight trip (e.g. fly down first thing one morning, fly back first thing the next morning). It's a bit of a splurge (given how little time you can spend there), but worth it.

Assuming you have seven days, less the time you will be spending with your friends in Valladolid, you have a couple of reasonable possibilities to fill the time. Madrid can easily take up three to four days of your time, including side trips to Toledo and Segovia (2 days total, 1 day each). How much time are you planning on spending with your friends?

If you haven't found it already, you should check the suggestions at www.maribelsguides.com.

Our friends will travel with us for the most part. We look forward to Valladolid because it offers an opportunity to see a Spanish town from their (local) perspective. We are hoping to use it as a homebase and then do daytrips from there.

We are anxious to see both Barcelona and Sevilla but just didn't think we had enough time...We don't want to end up running hither and yon. We have done trips like that but this time we are thinking of a more relaxed pace.

If we do 2 days in Madrid, 2 or 3 days of daytrips (from Valladolid), that should still leave us a couple of days, right? Maybe that is enough time to squeeze in Barcelona? I need to check prices and schedules to see if that is feasible.