Lately, we’ve been less about adventuring through major cities and more about exploring charming villages and towns. Recently, we spent a few hours in the small village of La Alberca in Spain. It’s about three hours from Madrid and about an hour from Salamanca. While we were there, we were really reminded of why we enjoy traveling to smaller places much more and the experiences that come from it – and you’ll see why!
Wandering through the alleys!
We feel less like tourists going through the motions – which is our favorite part of traveling.
When we got to La Alberca, we parked a little down the road. You can’t drive through it – you have to get around on foot. It was late in the morning and we were hungry, so our first stop was somewhere for breakfast! We stopped at the first cafe we saw and wandered inside to see what they have. After a little bit of Spanish, a little bit of English, and a little bit of Italian, we ordered “Espanol Desayuno (our translation of a Spanish Breakfast),” coffee, and orange juice. We figured we’d do breakfast like the locals! A few minutes later, we were treated to tostadas with ham and tomatoes on top. If we were somewhere with a ton of options, we might have settled for something familiar. Sometimes it’s more fun to be surprised with your meal instead of making the choice yourself!
Do we fit in with the locals?! Haha!
Yum!
There’s less crowds which means more room for exploring.
Then, we headed into the village. From the outside, it looked like there weren’t many streets to explore. However, once we wandered further in, we realized that the village was a web of different streets and alleys. It was so perfect because it seemed like the only people there were the locals and a handful of mostly Spanish tourists. There were some shops selling trinkets and a few butcher shops as well. We quickly found the main square, where there was a market going on. They were selling snacks like nuts and honey. The square had flowers everywhere – it was so cool seeing the buildings decorated with the flowers.
People watching!
Near the market
Flowers everywhere!
There’s no running around to see the main sights when everything is so close together – and there’s tons of picture perfect spots.
We wandered around a little more, with no real destination in mind, stopping for tons of photos along the way. We had to take advantage of the empty streets and the beauty of it all! We found the village’s church, Church of La Asuncion, and popped inside. They were preparing for a wedding later in the day, so there were women inside preparing the floral arrangements. We made our way back to the main square for a break from the walking around and stopped for a refreshing drink. We all got different things – orange juice, coffee, and beer. You can guess what we did after – wandered around a bit more, taking more photos along the way!
Coffee break!
Cute photo ops everywhere!
We couldn’t forget a jumping photo!
Not many tourists visit places that are more out of the way – so I guess you could say that makes those who do, unforgettable (ha!).
We headed to a restaurant a little before 1pm for lunch. We went in, and they told us it’s too early for lunch – they don’t start seating people for lunch until 1pm sharp! We gave them our name and walked around for a few minutes before heading back. Once we came back, they welcomed us back and seated us upstairs at a table next to a window looking out at the street below. Being their first customers of the day, we felt like we were getting the grand treatment! We ordered our lunch, which also included a bottle of their own red wine for the table. It was a very nice touch and everyone at the restaurant was extremely friendly and had smiles on their faces the whole time. We liked the restaurant so much that we headed back there the next day for lunch – we got there later in the day, but had just as much attention as the day before. They remembered us and thanked us for coming back!
Hanging out at Restaurante El Encuentro!
While we do enjoy visiting cities, it was nice to get away from the hustle of it all for a little bit. It reminded us to slow down and take everything in. What do you prefer – visiting a small village or a bustling city?
