Spain and Portugal Explorer – Stunning Spain – Segovia & San Sebastian

Welcome to my story style travel blog, featuring my adventure through Spain and Portugal in the summer of 2025.

You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:

* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some areas

*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish

*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your Tour CEO be in charge

* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.

This time I used Expat Explore; the tour is called Spain and Portugal Explorer. It’s actually split into 2 parts….you could do either part, or do the whole thing so of course I did the whole thing! I’ll explain more about that along the way! This is my second time traveling with Expat, and their European itineraries are really awesome and not super expensive. Also, transport is by coach bus which is nice because the buses offer air conditioning, comfy seats, WIFI and charging ports.

This morning we have a buffet breakfast at the hotel(the first of many more to come), and it’s time to hit the road to begin the “Taste of Spain” portion of the tour, which will continue for the next 6 days. Our driver Bruno is waiting for us, and helps us load the suitcases on to the coach bus.

It’s only an hour until we arrive at our first destination…the beautiful and historic city of Segovia. It is often described as a place where you can walk through 2,000 years of history in a single afternoon – Roman, medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque layers all stacked together. The old town is compact and walkable, an enchanting place out of a storybook with its medieval walls, cobbled streets, plazas and traditional Castilian houses. Let’s explore!!

First off, Segovia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and I’m not surprised; I’m also excited to check another UNESCO site off my list. Yes, I’m a checklist kind of traveler and I own it!!! The first thing we see is the amazing Roman aqueduct

It was built around 1^st century AD. This marvel of Roman engineering goes for 15 km and has 167 arches…the entire thing was built without mortar. How is that possible?? With the precision of cutting each granite block to fit tightly with the others – a perfect balance of gravity and geometry.

I can’t even imagine how they pulled this off!! But it’s lasted for 2000 years so I think it’s pretty solid and will not be crumbling on us today. The aqueduct channeled water from the mountain springs to Segovia’s fountains, public baths and private houses.

At the foot of the aqueduct, you’ll find the Loba Capitolina

Gustavo walks us into the heart of the town – the Plaza Mayor(every town in Spain has a plaza mayor); it’s still early so it’s quiet and shops are not open yet.

We get to the Cathedral….Wow!!!

The “Lady of Cathedrals”, this is the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain. It’s golden stone shines in the morning sunlight and the spires soar towards the sky. I want to go inside, but there is a fee. I’m not a big fan of paying to get inside churches…you shouldn’t have to pay to pray. I understand that it helps with the upkeep, but if I pay to go into every church we see here in Spain I will go broke. Haha. The cathedral used to be located next to the Alcazar(the fort/castle), but it was destroyed during a siege so the King was like…we are rebuilding a new cathedral AWAY from the castle.

Speaking of castles, we keep walking through the town until we arrive at the medieval Alcazar of Segovia. It is literally storybook perfect.

Walt Disney used this castle as inspiration for Cinderella’s castle at WDW and for Snow White’s castle in the film. It sits high up on a rocky crag, overlooking the nearby valleys and rivers.

I don’t go inside; there isn’t much time. There are some gorgeous viewpoints from over here, including a view of the cathedral.

It’s time to slowly make my way back through the old town, stopping to have a look at the San Esteban church

and the Casa de Los Picos, a mansion whose façade is granite blocks carved into diamond shapes.

I’m now on the hunt for Segovia’s famous pastry, the Ponche Segoviano. It’s a layered sponge cake with almond cream and marzipan. I find a bakery, and get a slice and let’s just say it’s a slice of heaven. OMG.

I wish we had time for lunch, because Segovia is also famous for their Roast Suckling Pig. If you ever get to Segovia, go to Meson de Candido to try it!

And one last look at the aqueduct

Now we’re back on the road and we make a lunch stop at a large highway restaurant that caters to large groups and tourists on the go. There are a lot of food options to choose from, and it’s very pricey. There must be a reason they take us to these places, rather than give us extra time in the towns to grab a nice lunch. This annoys me though. Maybe it’s timing, maybe it has to do with Bruno’s driving hours and breaks. Either way, I feel like we miss out on some authentic meal experiences. Since we don’t get more than a few hours in each city/town, it’s difficult to manage the time between eating and exploring.

We continue on to our next destination, arriving late afternoon into San Sebastián.

Also known as Donostia in Basque, it is a beautiful coastal city famous for beaches , world class cuisine and elegance. It is modern, but still holds that old world charm. Located along the coastline of Northern Spain’s Basque Country, the city attracts both backpackers and luxury travelers.

We hop off the bus and Gustavo takes us on a brief walking tour of the city before sending us off for some free time and exploration.

We can see one of the most famous beaches in Europe, La Concha, in the distance. I decide I won’t have time to get over there.

Myself, Lyn, and Vicky take a scenic walk around the lower part of Mont Urgull. There is also a lookout point at the fortress on top of the giant hill, but we don’t feel like that much exercise today. Haha.

So many beautiful views from here, and it’s a lovely walk.

This is a common phrase you can find spray painted here and there in Spain. Yikes. Haha

Now it’s time for dinner, and of course we will be having pintxos!! This is San Sebastian’s version of tapas, and it’s at the heart of the food culture here. It’s popular to do a pintxos food crawl, but we’re not sure where to go or what to order so we find one place and stick to it. It’s called Baztan.

All of the pintxos are on display at the bar, and the server gives us an order paper.

I write down the numbers of which ones I’d like to try and then they are brought to the table.

And I enjoy another glass of tinto de verano. I choose the bacon/sausage/mushroom skewer, the squid, and a creamy ham and cheese on bread. It’s a really fun experience!

We wander around after dinner, checking out a few shops and churches.

I make my way over to the popular bakery Otaegui, where they make the famous Basque burnt cheesecake.

It is amazing ! So far my favorite part of Spanish cuisine is the sweets and desserts! After enjoying some of what San Sebastian has to offer, we make our way to the hotel for a late check-in.