At the end of the afternoon, we took a first walk through the city. The old centre surprised us with many churches, the huge — remarkably unfinished — Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, and of course the atmospheric Plaza Mayor. 

Valladolid itself has a long and important history. In the late Middle Ages and the Spanish Golden Age, it was one of the most influential cities in the kingdom. It even served as the capital of Spain between 1601 and 1606 under King Philip III. Important historical figures are linked to Valladolid as well: Christopher Columbus died here in 1506, and Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, lived in the city for several years. The Plaza Mayor also has something special: It is considered one of the first regular rectangular squares in Spain and later served as a model for squares elsewhere in the country, including Madrid’s famous Plaza Mayor. 

The next morning, we went to the old town again. The atmosphere in the early morning is very different from the atmosphere in the late afternoon. The nice thing about such a morning walk is that you see how a city slowly gets going: people on their way to work, shops opening and terraces being set up.

We started our walk at the Plaza Mayor and walked via Calle Santiago — still one of the city’s main shopping streets — to Plaza Zorrilla.  Nearby is also the Campo Grande, the large city park of Valladolid since the 18th century.  Yvonne went into the park — forbidden for our dogs — where remarkably tame squirrels tried to seduce the walkers into a nut. Peacocks also roam freely through the park, adding even more character to the place.

There was also an interesting book market, which I still regret a bit afterwards that I didn’t buy a book there.