Ciudad Real is not a touristic city at all. Although its
name is ‘Royal City’, there are very few signs of the old times. Over time the four kilometers of walls and 130 towers that protected the city in the middle age
were destroyed, with the last stroke coming in the 60's where all but two gates
were removed. So there is not so much to see in terms of cultural tourist attractions.
Yet the city is pleasant and very walk friendly. D. Quixote de La Mancha, the
legendary character of Cervantes novel with the same name, is present in the
city (as well as in surrounding cities).
The city has also got a beautiful park which I used for
walks/runs. In the summer walking or running starts at 8 or 9pm due to the high
temperatures. We had a maximum temperature of over 40oC every day (?!) and there
were days when I went for a run at 10pm as it was too hot to do it before then. The first picture below was taken at 7pm...
The salsa scene is actually good for a small city (75.000)
and I managed to go to two salsa parties. Bachata is very popular in the city
so I could also practice this genre.
Angel and Marta were great hosts and spend some time showing
me around or invited me to join them in social events they were attending. The
first weekend I was taken to Toledo, a beautiful historical city north of Ciudad
Real. We spent our time there visiting the grand and beautiful cathedral, walking
through the narrow alleys and having lunch at the very nice restaurant. We
ended the day tasting the Marzipan sweets that are traditional in the city.
On two different occasions, Marta and her parents invited me
to go to their summer house and enjoy the swimming pool (a must given the hot
weather!). The house is close to River Guadiana and an artificial lake and they took me there at dusk. The scenery was just beautiful. See for yourself!
Angel had talked about a nice restaurant where they
served beef that is mature for 60 days. So I invited him, his wife and Marta to
go there for my farewell meal. The restaurant works on price per person basis
and you are served eight courses (and can eat as much as you like!). It starts with cheese and two types of smokes meats, followed by tuna on tomato, two types of prawns, lamb and finally the matured beef. It
all ends with a desert. The food was delicious throughout, as was the wine that
Angel selected. Here are some pictures of the food and wine:
The owners of the restaurant are cheese producers and they
also have a delicatessen next to the restaurant, with products there are mouth
watering. Obviously the smoked ham legs are on display, as are the different
types of cheese. There are many wines available to purchase (Castilla-La Mancha
is an important wine producing region), and an impressive selection of canned
food.
After the meal I was taken to the Mirador de La Mancha Hotel & Restaurant, which sits on a mountain overlooking the beautiful Castilla-La Mancha plains. The impressive D. Quixote statue made of wood really stood out, as did the paintings in front of the car parking places, inspired in Cervantes' novel.
