31 Jan 2015. <ES> Toledo, Castile-La Mancha; Andalucia; Valdepeñas, Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha; Santa Elena, Jaén, & Andujar, Jaén, Andalucia —

Just before we left Toledo, Warren went out to the end of the park we were and found a good view of the Alcázar, and also an overshot water wheel that is apparently a bit of a tourist attraction.

But today was basically driving, from Toledo to a park off the road at Andujar, a town in the Jaén province of Spain. This was to put us within range of Córdoba tomorrow, a town which has a rich history — it was the capital of Moorish Spain 600 years ago!

Our driving took us through a huge horizon-to-horizon olive groves — Andalucia must be the main olive-growing region of Spain! We also passed quite a few windmills — Don Quixote can't have had much trouble finding his antagonist! Interestingly, all the windmills we saw were of virtually the same design!

The roads are marvellous — but we were on main roads today. Let's hold our judgment until we get onto some of the byways!

The sky was a picture as the sun was setting.

After we had gone through Valdepeñas, we went through a tunnel at Desfiladero de Despeñaperros — translate that as 'The Gorge of the Terrible Cliffs'. There's some spectacular terrain around here!

Finally, we got to Andujar, and found a parking spot on a service road just off the highway, and we tucked ourselves for the night.

Distance driven — today, 173 miles ( 279 km ); to date, 12,150 miles ( 19,554 km )

30 Jan 2015. <ES> Toledo, Castile-La Mancha —

We were going to go in to the Hospital de Tavera this morning, but when we found that the only part we really wanted to see was only available with a guided tour (which we really don't like, as they rush you past the things you want to linger on!), for twice the price we had counted on, we decided to go elsewhere instead.

So we walked up into the old city, to the Santa Cruz Museum. This too was nothing like we expected — but this may be that we weren't in the right museum — we'll double-check this when we return in late February. But, wherever we were, it was free, so we went in. This is a modern art museum in what was an old monastery. They've kept the architectural gems from the old monastery intact, and worked them in to the modern feel they now have for the whole place. It seems that they were between exhibitions, so there were only 5 rooms set up with displays, with the rest of the place mainly bare walls! But what they did have on display was fascinating.

There were a lot of photographs, but also a Miró lithograph, and one of the Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe serigraphs. There were works by artists we didn't know that grabbed our attention — not a planned expedition, but one we enjoyed!

Our evening serenade

We then came away from the town (via the escalators we had now found!), had lunch in the van, then went out to Macca's and its associated retail park — Suzie did a little clothing shopping! We decided that it would be easier to go back to our car park in Toledo for the night, and to set off for places further flung in the morning.

Alcázar by night

Distance driven — today, 11 miles ( 17 km ); to date, 11,977 miles ( 19,275 km )

29 Jan 2015. <ES> Toledo, Castile-La Mancha —

The view from the bridge

Today was a v-e-r-y interesting day. We walked back into Toledo, but this time skirting the southwest wall and up via some escalators near the Cambrión Gate. This took us virtually straight into the old Jewish Quarter, where there is the El Greco Museum, and also a Sephardic Museum set up in an old synagogue. But first we walked round past the most spectacular old bridge — the San Martin Bridge. This old bridge is quite a tourist attraction — when we got there, a tourist bus was disgorging passengers on the other side. Luckily, they didn't stay long — another good reason for making one's own way around a country — there's no rush!

We then walked up into the Jewish Quarter and round to the Casa del Greco and the Sinagoga de Transito (now the Sephardic Museum). On the way there, we had a most interesting — and not very nice — experience. Suzie was hit with what she thought was bird droppings, and a couple rushed up to her very solicitously to help her out. Fortunately we had become aware of this scam — a couple will squirt you with not-very-nice food sauce (in our case, we think it was some kind of pickle sauce), then come and clean you up, all the while stripping your pockets clean. In our case, they chose the wrong target, as Suzie doesn't carry anything valuable — Warren has that duty, as he has a myriad of secure inner pockets. And Warren was on top of it straight away, warning them off and calling Suzie to him. We sought help in a nearby shop, and the shopkeeper directed us to a public toilet close by where we could do a reasonable job of cleaning up, well sufficient to go on with our day. As we came out of the toilet and made our way to the El Greco House, Suzie spied our two assailants, and revealed a talent she has kept hidden for decades — she gave them such a tongue lashing!

Our first port of call was the burial chapel of Don Gonzalo Ruíz de Toledo, gentleman of Orgaz and the head notary of Castile. This is at the foot of the church of Santo Tomé, very near Casa del Greco. Above the tomb itself is what is commonly regarded as El Greco's masterpiece — The burial of Count de Orgaz. The story behind it is intriguing, and the painting itself is breathtaking. It was painted specially for the place it is hanging, so its upper curve fits perfectly into the alcove. It divides into two distinct halves, with the lower part painted in a very realistic manner, and the upper part in El Greco's allegorical style, with elongated figures and somewhat arbitrary colours. When Warren first saw later allegorical El Greco paintings, he was amazed at the similarity of these and Picasso's earlier Blue Period works, even though about 350 years separate them!

Anyway, the Casa del Greco. This is not actually El Greco's house. A civic benefactor, round the turn of the 19th-20th century, decided to recreate a dwelling of the type El Greco would have had, in the general vicinity of where he had lived. This was an intentional move to raise the profile of the artist and also to create more tourist interest in Toledo. It worked. The house gives you a good idea of how he would have lived and worked, and as an added bonus, when they started building, they found intact beneath it the cellars of the mansion of Samuel Levi, King Don Pedro's treasurer. These are also on display. In the museum are a number of contemporary copies of El Greco works held elsewhere, but there is also his entire series of the 12 apostles (although 3 were currently on loan to other international museums). There is also a wonderful painting be El Greco of the city of Toledo — from it, you can see that little has changed in the past 450 years!

Then into the Sephardic Museum. You don't often get a good glimpse of the Jewish history of a place, but this old synagogue has the lot. The main hall is still left as a large open space, although there is a large modern painting on display there.

There are historical exhibits in the side rooms, and in the upstairs Women's Gallery, and outside in the courtyards are some old tombstones and some modern sculptures.

It all goes to show that the Jewish presence in Toledo was long-standing, until the expulsion of the Jews during the Inquisition.

We left to walk back to the van, passing on the way the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, and we detoured in to look around. Totally worth while. The double cloister is delightful, and had orange trees growing in the middle of the courtyard. The church itself is a large space, different from anything we have seen so far. The ornate retable behind the altar, although not as spectacular as the one in the cathedral, is significant in its own right! Plainchant was coming from hidden speakers as we walked about, and we spent a most relaxing hour of peace and contemplation there.