Following a short travel hiatus, we are on the move again, just us two and Benny the car. Bessy will be enjoying a sunny holiday in storage in Torrevieja until the summer.
David and I have left Torrevieja for a few months to relight our travelling wanderlust, starting with a return to the UK for essential services, Doctor, MOT, dentist etc. Our route up to the ferry has taken us from the Alicante area, north through the La Mancha wine region to Toledo, north through Madrid to the Duero wine area then up to Santander. This post is a diary of our journey. Our next post should be from Dubai or Vietnam, fingers crossed 🤞.
Driving up from Alicante towards Albacete, we were surprised by the number of roadside castles and forts, all stunningly perched on hilltops, surrounded by rows of heavily trimmed grape vines, pink blossoming almond trees and white blossom cherry trees. Some castles were surrounded by windmills perched on the crest of the hills.
TOLEDO – World Heritage Site
Fact: there are over 20 churches, chapels and synagogs, one Cathedral and one Mosque as well as several convents in Toledo, thanks to its Christian, Islamic and Judaism roots and more recently Catholic influence, that’s almost one on every street corner. This partly walled medieval city is heaving with tiny cobbled streets, steep hills and ancient buildings, dating back to Roman times (128BC) and the old areas still exist within this modern looking clean city. The Jewish Quarter is full of dusty workshops with monacled men in waistcoats tapping away at silver jewellery and tea sets, as well as the famous Toledo steel knives. Toledo is also famous for its silk and the hand made roof tiles found throughout the City, AND, its very narrow streets!
The centre is dominated by a huge Gothic cathedral, a large college and so many architecturally stunning buildings all accessed through streets so narrow that locals have permanent scrapes on the rear wheel arches of their cars. Taxis whizz around the streets, buzzing through strolling tourists without any problems, at night the traffic can only be described as manic until 9pm, when locals are jam packed in restaurants and the streets become the opposite – deadly quiet. The only constant noise is the rushing of the Tagus river.
At night the buildings took on an ethereal look, cool and calming yet bright and invitingly stunning.
Here’s one for the ladies, a snapshot of several exquisite Llaudro ornaments!
Price tags, a tad over €25,000!!!
SANTA MARIA DE LA VID MONASTERY
It was recommended to us that we stop halfway between Madrid and Burgos on our way to the Ferry Port, and what a lovely stop it was. After a long day walking the streets of Toledo, we experienced relaxation and quiet at this ex Monastery Hotel, in a little village way off the beaten track.
In the Duero valley, right on the Duero River, the monastery was originally founded in 1152 and was run by a Dominican Order until the mid 1800s when it closed for a few decades. Opening again by the Order of St Augustine it was run until 1991, closing with plans to change its use to a hostelry and conference centre, retaining the working church and various museums which are open to the public.
To top it off, next door was a Bodega and restaurant offering the most amazing wine and food! We stopped there during the area’s Tapas Route, this was their contribution, a crispbake with the lightest ever jamon topped with a fresh salsa and violet mayonnaise……simply heaven!
In the late afternoon, the Monastery was open for a tour, despite it being fully in Spanish, I thoroughly enjoyed the peace, tranquility and splendour of the building.
Dinner that night was outstanding, cheese pancake to start, cook your own steak…. but Dessert was the highlight. I couldn’t decide between Green Apple sorbet with a coconut foam or Violet ice cream so we ordered both!!
Next stop, Santander Ferry!!
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