Bound for Toledo

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Rather than spending time searching for breakfast options in Villa del Rio this morning, we got straight onto the autovia and pointed the car towards Toledo, hoping to pick up supplies from a supermercado we might spot in a town near the road. Our search was successful, so with the car under shade in the carpark we were enjoying our selection when a departing car stopped and the driver called “Bon appétit!” She had spotted our French rego plates and thought we may be French, like her. We spent a few minutes talking, wished one another well, and we were on the road again.
Our day’s drive was around 300 kilometres and we were constantly reminded of what a huge country Spain is. Endless vistas stretched far into the distance and then more opened up each time we reached the brow of a rise in the road. More olives, grapes and fields of sunflowers beginning to bloom, were punctuated by swathes of red poppies. A hot haze seemed to hang over everything as the temperature rose.
We saw signs that mentioned Don Quixote and soon spotted a ruined castle on top of a hill, surrounded by a number of windmills. The town at the foot of the hill was a great place to eat our boot lunch, and gave us a chance to see the old windmills which looked just like those in photos of the Greek islands.
Our hotel is in a little town outside Toledo and with native cunning as well as some help from the GPS staff we managed to outwit roadworks and closed roads to arrive at destination Hostal Rural at siesta time. We succumbed to the need for our own siesta and are now refreshed and ready to wander out and look for some dinner at a cafe, if there is one.

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