Spain 2024-Day 19-Toledo

A glorious full day in Toledo. We were feeling more centered and relatively well-rested with our own kitchen and a double bed.

We had decided today would be a touristy day in the morning, with work in the afternoon. But it all began with a long walk down by the river to explore the river-side path we had seen on our walk into town.

It's important to note, in Old Town Toledo, where we were staying, you are either going up or down. And the more you go down, the more up you will have to do later.

We went down, down, down by the river, and it was splendid. Art and ruins, and rushing water. A beautiful path that wasn't too busy. We did several folks fishing, which was a first for this trip.

There were several works of art stationed along the path we walked, and we had a delightful interaction with one of them.

As I walked toward it, I let out a burst of laughter because it looked like a joyful pregnant woman.

Buds was walking slightly ahead of me and looked back and also smiled at the art. From his angle, he could see a puppy perched.

Looking at it from Buddie's angle, it also mirrored the tree above, or vice versa.

It was a lovely bubble of laugher and delight, no matter how we viewed it.

After the walk, we climbed up, up, up and looked out over the river we had just strolled next to.

As we walked our way back to our apartment, we passed by:

Also walked past:

The chains hanging all along the sides are from Christian prisoners when they were freed.

Buds spied an Italian cafe that we'll try to get back to tomorrow.

We timed our outing so that we could be at the Manchego Cheese Museum and Shop when it opened. Exactly the sort of experience we love; quirky museum with interesting facts, interesting, kind people, and lots of time to relax and learn.

There are three little rooms that talk about the process of making the cheese, the certain types of sheep, etc.

And a touch of humor:

The museum was free, and then you could choose to have a cheese tasting. I abandoned my veganhood for this particular outing.

The wonderful woman explained to us to begin with the youngest cheese, in the bottom middle of the picture, next to the pate. (Two slices of each of cheese.) Take a small bite of each age, with a small bite of the bread stick to cleanse our palate, working our way around to the oldest cheese, the two crossed over slices on the right of the picture, between the pate bites. After we sample each type of cheese alone to see which we liked that way, then sample them with a bit of the pepper jelly or an almond.

We also each had a glass of wine, and the whole experience was so simple, yet so delicious and delightful. We sampled and savored and loved the whole process.

Knowing what we now enjoyed, we bought some manchego (#2 in age) and a bottle of the rosé that had been the sample I chose. That was our afternoon meal.

On the walk home, we realized we had been passing by the Bitter Well everyday without knowing.

Homemade sangria and a lovely dinner at home made for a splendid end of the day.