/ohpiglet

Gooses!

Bye bye gooses.

Riu went to Toledo to visit a city named after her Papa’s first car. It was a triumph – the visit and the car.

Here she meets Cervantes.

She’s a huge fan; she’s head over heels about him.

Apart from friaries, monastaries, synagogues, mosques, cathedra, and other assorted religious venues, there are also a lot of churches in Toledo.

Writing about Toledo, Miguel de Cervantes said that it was “the glory of Spain and the light of her cities.”

Writing about Toledo, James Joyce said that “a good puzzle would be to cross Toledo without passing a church.”

We took secular sanctuary in the art gallery.

El castillo de El Cid.

Just down the road from the windmills is the castle of El Cid. It’s not in such good shape, but it is pretty old, dating from the Arabic times.

Kisses for Mama…

She almost blends in, except for the purple bearsuit…

In this thermonuclear explosion, her purple bearsuit helps her blend in perfectly.

Windmills on the horizon…

Riu plays the part of Don Quijote. Rebecca plays the part of Rocinante.

Post-battle calm…

The day at Consuegra was the highlight of our mini-tour of southern Spain.

Riu went to see the castle at Consuegra…

… but mostly Riu went to see the windmills at Consuegra. Giddy up, Mama.

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These are the windmills that inspired the classic section of Don Quijote.

Very dramatic lighting, clouds, and landscape.

We camped the night right by the windmills. It was pretty magical.

After a few days relaxing in Barcelona, it was time to travel south.

Here’s Riu in her grandad’s house in Murcia.

We went to see the sea, at the seaside, beside the sea.

Riu has been learning to climb steps.

She’s fearless about them.

Riu went for a slide down the inside of the hammock.

It’s a little lesson in how static electricity works.

Riu doesn’t like how static electricity works.

“Hey, it’s good to be back home again”

“Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend
Yes, ‘n, hey it’s good to be back home again”

“And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the road again”

“Goin’ places that I’ve never been.
Seein’ things that I may never see again”