I took these photos from the medieval converted fortress at the top of the hill that dominates picturesque Jaen, in Spain. The town looked much bigger from up there, ironically, though you can see how far up we were. The house in the last shot, which I really like, is visible among the trees in the forefront of the first picture.
A couple more photos of the fabulous parador (fortress-turned-hotel) in Jaen, as well as the view from our room. Not bad, not bad at all.
Sorry for my title pun, but I think this spectacular fortress built by the Arabs in the thirteenth century is so perfectly at peace with its surroundings you have to look twice to see where the stones end and the edifice begins. The fortress held many invaders at bay but, of course, it's a hotel now and I was lucky enough to stay there when I was in Spain. We had actually planned to go straight to Granada after leaving Toledo, but we saw this castle and had to investigate. They had a room--with a fabulous view--and so... It was fabulous.
Driving through La Mancha on the way from Toledo to Jaen, we passed a calvacade of windmills, all lined up and waiting for Don Quixote. I loved the way they looked up on the hill, under the lovely morning clouds. I especially like the doughnut shaped formation on the right!
