Toledo: Hot Air Balloon Flight, Breakfast and Cava Included

Toledo makes more sense from the air than from the ground. The old city, a World Heritage site, sits on a rocky hill wrapped on three sides by a loop of the Tagus, which is why the walls only had to close one gap and why the streets inside them never straightened out. From a basket the whole arrangement resolves at once, the river ditch below the walls and the roofline broken by the cathedral tower. On foot you get the alleys. From above you get the reason for them. The pilot talks while flying, and that is the part that changes the morning. Live commentary from the basket means what passes underneath gets named as it goes rather than looked up later. There is a light snack on board. Otherwise a balloon is quieter than most people expect, because it travels with the wind and has no engine, just the burner firing overhead every so often. On the ground a Spanish breakfast follows, with a glass of cava. At 215 EUR the food and the drink sit inside the price rather than alongside it, which is worth knowing when comparing quotes. The morning starts early and the flight depends on the weather. The part in the air is shorter than the part around it, so wear shoes you can land in.