25 June Toledo

We were up late the night before as we went back out into the square just before midnight to see it all lit up

Hence we had a bit of a sleep in. The first thing on our minds was to get to the Lavendaria to do our washing as we hadn’t managed to wash any of our clothes until we had left the Canal du Midi. Apparently it didn’t open till 10 am so we treated ourselves to some breakfast in the square – fresh squeezed orange juice, croissant and coffee. Unfortunately though when we got to the lavendaria we discovered it was a custom laundry and not coin operated which meant we wouldn’t have got our clothes back until after 7pm at night. We were ready to move on, especially as we were behind in our itinerary already, so we still didn’t get any clothes washed. It is at this point that I thank Heidi for suggesting I throw in extra undies in case.

Getting out of Salamanca was a lot easier than getting into it. Karen didn’t let us down in the end.

We weren’t going to go to Toledo because we were behind with our itinerary but I am pleased we did in the end. We decided to by-pass Madrid, stop off at Toledo en route and spend the night somewhere south of Toledo.

I wanted to go to Toledo because I knew that Mum and Dad had been there and enjoyed it  (I wish I knew more about their travels in Spain) I have some Toledo jewellery that they had bought me when they were in Toledo.

It is a magnificent town on the hill above the Rio Tajo, again steeped in history. We came across another Tren Turisto, so decided to hop aboard. There again it was well worth it. It took us around past all the historic sights and over the river so that we could enjoy the view from the other side.

Before leaving the town we had to try, and also buy, some renowned Santo Tome Marzipan. Eat your heart out Heidi. I am sorry I can’t even bring any back for you but I did eat some for you

We did also stop off at some the stores to check out what they had in the way of jewellery as Toledo is well known for its particular style.

Driving out through the narrow cobbled streets was interesting.

Karen took us safely to the destination we had picked out from the Lonely Planet – a hostel in Ciudad Real, a smallish town with no specific interest – just somewhere to stay for the night and to chill, not literally though- Bill has just checked the temperature today – it was 39 degrees , thank goodness it has gone down a bit we are sitting in the Plaza Mayor sipping beer and it is now 37 degrees!!!!

Nothing that a jug of Sangria can’t fix