Seniors Visit Wine Country

Yours truly is continually searching for new travel sites to share with seniors readers all over the country.   I read in the news an article about Castilla-La Mancha in Spain and discovered that La Mancha is an ideal area for growing grapes. La Mancha is the largest wine region in the world with around 465,350 hectares of vineyards.

I did not know for sure where it was located but soon discovered that my wife and I had driven through the area a few years back. We found it to be an inspiring concoction of villages, historical tales and friendly locals.

Castilla–La Mancha is very close to Madrid and right in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula. Of major interest to senior visitors are the monumental cities and towns of historical importance, like Toledo its capital city, enchanting Cuenca and Albacete, the largest city with over 170,000 citizens. It’s the land of the famous windmills immortalized in Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

Seniors Find Cheese, Olives and Mystery

The history of Castilla-La Mancha is a history of sheep-herding, that is the history of Spain. Archeological remains confirm that Bronze Age Spaniards lived on this Meseta (inner plateau) nearly 4,000 years ago.

This is a land famous for its arts and crafts, full of unique monuments in its towns and cities, and the setting for the adventures of the famous literary hero Don Quixote of La Mancha.

Any trip to this area in inland Spain should include a visit to its World Heritage cities, Cuenca with its famous Hanging Houses, and Toledo with its cathedral and Alcázar fortress. The area has the largest number of officially designated nature reserves, nature areas and national parks and acts as a natural buffer between the rich industrialism of northern Spain and Moorish, tourist-driven Andalucia.

 Senior visitors will find a land of craggy cliffs, golden fields and red soil, producing savory Manchego cheese, olives, saffron and more than its share of mystery.

Pass through the Bisagra Gate to experience the walled city of Toledo, a UNESCO World Heritage site that pays stylistic tribute to the Christian, Jewish and Islamic cultures.  If ever a city had the atmosphere of a living museum, it has to be Toledo.

Situated on a hill and more or less surrounded by the river Tajo and the old walls, the old town is totally untouched by modern development, making it crammed with monuments of every age in Spanish history and home to El Greco.

TripAdvisor will add 247 things for you to see and do. It is certain that you will want to spend several days in the area having fun and dining well. We loved visiting Spain and you will too.  Buen Viaje! jeb