April 4, 2017: Family Farm & Toledo Again

April 4

This is the day we gather with Javier's Father for a trip through their land of olive trees, fields, vineyards and trees. But first Me and a bit later Jim open the door to find Javier's Wonderful Mother. As Javier warned us, she speaks not a word of English but that does not matter as she runs on a mile a minute with a beautiful smile and you love her right away.

Off we go for Lunch at a most awesome restaurant where we just ask Javier to order for us some traditional Tapas and the food keeps coming, as well as wine for the next two hours. And everything is delicious! We are ready for our field trip and we meet with Javier's Father who speaks a great deal less but is just as wonderful.

Javier's Father, as is he and his Grandfather - Pharmacists but invest in land. Many of Javier's family, including his Aunts and Uncles all live in the area and are major land owners in La Mancha. A part of our tour is a "ghost town" abandoned when trucks replaced the mules and the need to live on the farm land was needed no more. This land has been used by folks for a very long time - Roman coins have been found among other relics. Lastly we see pines planted by the Father some years ago not only for harvesting but as a love of the man. What a nice tour! But the day is not done.

 

We head back to Toledo to meet with a friend of Javier that knows the city well. Our latest friend shows us a few shops and then we enter an unassuming tapas bar that serves us up some more delicious food including bull's tail - left over from the bull fights a few days before and it was yummy. We are not allowed to pay whatever we do as our hosts will simply not hear of it! I want to see the famous Cathedral of Toledo but Jim, Tina and Krim have in mind some shopping. They find some great knifes and other stuff and I enjoy the Cathedral - the finest in Spain so they claim. Begun in 1226 this Cathedral is a beauty modeled after the Bourges Cathedral in France but it incorporates some features of Arabia and although gothic it has only one tall steeple. The highlight of this place is the fantastic figures of stucco, paintings, bronze castings and multiple colors of marble set beneath a "hole" in the roof allowing a shaft of light highlighting the figures that hits a beautiful gold Altar several stories below. It is a marvel. The Cathedral has other features to admire including the painted curved ceiling and gold treasure created for the parade of Corpus Christi each year. Cool Cathedral. Time to head home.

Dinner is another night to remember forever. The conversation flows and the more we talk the more we love Javier. Again the clock strikes 3:30AM and we all need some rest. We say our good by to charming Alexa and know this lady is headed to great things. And so ends another day to remember.