Change of plans

At the end of 2022, as we had enjoyed our 2021 honeymoon and 2022 holiday so much, we thought we should plan a holiday for 2023.

The first thing to sort out were the dates. Fortunately, my husband John is the engineer where he works in a bowling alley, so he has to take his holiday when the bowling leagues break up for the summer, whereas the bar and kitchen staff have to take their holiday anytime but in the summer.

As we had “done” Andalucía over the previous years, we decided to head in a different direction. My wish for a long time had been to see two particular cities in Spain, Córdoba and Toledo. Córdoba, we visited on our honeymoon, so now it was time to see Toledo.

With that in mind we planned a trip where we would explore the region of Castilla-La Mancha, including the cities of Toledo and Cuidad Real. Yes, we were going to Don Quixote country! Very soon we had our itinerary planned and the hotels booked. Every now and then we would look at one of the towns we were going to and search for places to visit and bars or restaurants that appealed to us.

However, another thing was happening as the months went by, my hip pain was getting worse. It was obvious by April that my hip operation wouldn’t be happening anytime soon, so we cancelled our dog sitter and cancelled our hotels, (fortunately all booked with free cancellation). It was the only decision really, as I could not have walked far, and a hotel room is no place to be when in pain, far better to be at home.

Well, that was a huge change of plan! John still had the time off work, and it was very hot this July, so during the two weeks we swam a lot in our pool and John caught up with some jobs around the house. We dined out quite a bit, or had a salad at home and went out for tapas later and we had the Aljariz feria, and the classic car rally that I told you about in my last blog. We made the best of the time that we could, though a lot of it was spent with me resting. Despite the drastic change of plans, it was still lovely to have John with me 24/7 for a fortnight and I miss him, now he is back at work!

However, we spoke to the dog sitter the other day and have booked him for July 2024, when we plan to go ... Yes, you guessed it! Castilla-La Mancha!

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