Christmas Break 2023: To Toledo and La Mancha

 

Our Christmas Break got off to a slow start thanks to a nasty flu virus.  We were supposed to start out in Madrid with a tour of the Prado, enjoying the city in all its Christmas glory. We ended up skipping that part while getting mostly better and heading to Toledo for the second  of the two days we were supposed to be there. The drive from Vigo was about 6 hours with stops and it was cold and super foggy.  There was even a bit of snow along two passes. We arrived in Toledo at 9pm, got into our little rental, warmed up cans of soup in the microwave, and fell asleep.  Waking up this morning, we looked out the window to see the town was still covered in soupy fog.  I ventured out to find a grocery store for breakfast foods while everyone woke and started packing up. The town was quiet and cold, but so fun to explore.  It is definitely a fairy-tale town on the hill, narrow, cobblestone streets, large wooden doors with huge metal studs, and lots of little details that mark it as a medieval city.  Once we had our luggage packed into the car, we left it parked and went to find Al Alcazar, the city's old fortress and royal residence.  The attached war museum was open and we browsed through it, looking at the amazing swords, and then we walked through the fog around the Alcazar and into the courtyard.  It was difficult to really appreciate it because it was so cold and fogged in. But we managed as best we could.  Afterward, we wandered the narrow streets and visited the beautiful Toledo Iglesia, although, again, the fog made it difficult to see. 

At mid-day we decided to leave cold, foggy Toledo behind and head toward our next stop, Cordoba, with a detour to La Mancha to visit the windmills. The landscape really changed, with parts almost looking like the arid US southwest with small mesas, and later it turned agricultural, dominated by olives and grapevines. The windmills are situated above a little town and are so picturesque. And it was warmer than 0C and there was no fog.  I tried to convince the kids to fight them, but they didn't buy it.  Definitely a worthwhile detour. 

Finding out AirBnB in Cordoba was quite an adventure, following the map's directions down very narrow cobblestone streets. We were convinced we were lost, but it took us right to the house.  We are tucked in and ready for tomorrow's adventures here. 

Piled into the car, ready for our first Spanish roadtrip!

Notice the thermometer says 0C and the thick fog... it was like this much of the drive to Toledo.

So many wonderful details just on this one corner.

Narrow, cobblestone streets.

El Greco and Miguel Cervantes frequented Toledo.

Toledo had been known for its sword making for centuries.

Notice the thick layer of ice on the plants behind L....brrrrrr.

In the courtyard of Al Alcazar.

Beautiful, but fogged-in tower of the Iglesia de Toledo.

Dulcinea!!!!!

The Man of La Mancha

These famous bull silhouettes are all over Spain.

The sunset on the way to Cordoba.