A day in La Mancha

View from the rooftop terrance of the hostel/hotel.
see all photos »

La Mancha is a vast provence of Spain is dotted with treeless plains and lonley windmills. It is also the 7th stop on our trip, and formally Christy's assigned meaningful nickname in her Comp Civ class.

We took a morning bus to Toledo, worrying all the way about accomodation. None of the hostels in Toledo had websites for online booking, and we were told it's almost always ful on weekends there and nearly impossible to get a room. So the first thing we did was run to the closest hostel, Hostal Centro, and luckily enough, there was one room left. Hostal Centro is like a cross between a hostel and a hotel. We got a private double room with our own bathroom for 24 euros each. It also has a really beautiful rooftop terrance, and is located right in the middle of Toledo.

Martial Arts Dancers in the Plaza below.
see all photos »

There isn't much to do in terms of sightseeing in Toledo other then to just walk around and soak it in, which we did willingly! The city is on a hill with impossibly narrow, winding streets. It's also terribly touristy, with tons of little souvinier shops on every street corner.

This was the only place so far in Spain that we managed to find a real, true Tapas Bar. Traditionaly spanish tapas are free so long as you keep drinking, and such was the case with this place. We paid about four euros each for three rounds of drinks and very good tapas. The place was packed with people, and there was a long wait to get a table.

City Streets.
see all photos »

After a great nights sleep in what felt like a five star resort after being in a hostel so long, we booked a bus to Valencia, the next stop on the map.