Day 4! Holy TOLEDO we are on our way to BEDAR!!

   "Today was the big 7 hour drive. We got up really early, took our bags down the spiral staircase, down the elevator, and in to the car. We drove for a while and then stopped in a place called Toledo. There was a large castle, but we didn't go there. I was first shift with the shoulder torturer a.k.a. Tanners bag that we carry on our shoulders." Dallin.
  Toledo is 1 hour southwest of Madrid and is Spain's old capitol city.We parked in a tiny parking garage   - Benson is Amazing! And we got out and walked the ancient streets of charming, old Toledo.

Spain's famous Sancho Panza . . .

 . . . and Don Quixote.

Every couple of countries, we would give the kids souvenir money, and I think shopping became one of their favorite past times. "On day 4, I went to Toledo. There were really cool shops. I saw a whole shop that was made out of GOLD. I also got a cool old fashion fan. It was awesome. There was an ice cream shop. I got cookies and cream ice cream. It was a LONG walk back." Ashlynn.

They would attach fabric to the roofs of the buildings lining the streets to provide shade on Spain's hot summer days.

Dallin with the shoulder torturer.

This is where we started our daily ice cream (later gelato) ritual. It's amazing how far little legs will walk for an ice cream cone!

An example of one of Spain's numerous plazas.

Kennedi, with her newly purchased fan.

Right outside of Toledo, we pulled off the side of the rode & Benson helped the kids climb up into the window of a building. With Benson, everything is an adventure!

A sight that will always remind us of Spain: A castle on top of a hill (usually surrounded by a small village).

Where we will find Benson for the next 3 months and 14,000 miles.

 

We pulled off the highway for lunch in a small town surrounded by beautiful, tall mountains. Here we experienced siesta in full swing. All of the restaurants were only serving drinks, and all of the women and children were inside, while the men all lounged around outside. From all of the stares we got, I don't think this town sees many tourists.

Thank goodness for supermercados in Spain! They got us through countless siestas with hungry kiddos. I thought I was used to lots of stares, with six kids in tow, in the states - that was nothing! We would pull around a small basket that had a handle and wheels and everybody would throw things in. Then we would have to buy bags, weigh and put stickers on our produce, and bag our own groceries. Somehow it seemed like the bill was always right around $30.00.

We decided to go without a phone all summer, which did cause some challenges when we were to meet up with our hosts that we were renting from. This is when I would get very nervous that I had messed up on our accomodations or that we wouldn't be able to meet up with the people we were renting from. Luckily we were able to find a payphone and get some help from some young locals in using the phone and translating where to meet Gabrielle.  He met us at the plaza and we followed him to a remote neighborhood, overlooking the Mediterranean.  He gave us a tour of the home with three balconies and a pool and my worries were put to rest! We arrived late, so his wife, was so kind and made us some authentic Paella and Pasta. Buena Noches.