Driving from Galicia to Valencia we stopped twice to break up the journey. Having our own car let’s us discover hidden gems.

Our first overnight stop was in a tiny village just near Astorga in Castille y Leon. We stayed in a beautiful Casa Rural.

On our second day we were looking for a lunch stop, and as always we look for a small village rather than a town, as it is easier to drive around and also to park. This day we were lucky and checked maps and decided the village of Haza looked good and was just a few km’s off the highway. Unbeknownst to us, the village was very old and situated on top of a hill, so of course there was a castle. The village was tiny with only one restaurant set in lovely shady town square where we had lunch and relaxed. Just amazing.

Our second night was in the medieval town of Daroca, one of the towns on the camino el Cid. The town is situated up against a rock face and the Puerta (door or gate) del Arrabal, part of what was a 4 km wall around the town, still stands to welcome visitors. We hope to follow the route of the camino el Cid so hope to revisit as not a lot of time to explore.