Holy Toledo

Location: Toledo, Spain

















Recently I took the advice of my coworkers and grabbed an early train out of Madrid to Toledo, located a mere 30 minutes away. My sole travel buddy was another tourist passing through Madrid as he toured Spain for 6 weeks on a bicycle. Obviously much more hardcore than me.

Like many of the cities in Spain, Toledo is rich in history. The Romans left behind a fortress from their occupation, and likewise many Visigoth churches are still present from their rule during the 6th century. The city also became home for the famous painter El Greco, and many of his works remain throughout the city.

We arrived at the train station located a little outside the city. After getting our bearings we started walking towards town, where we had to cross this bridge.
And the view from that bridge looking downstream. This is directly outside the city, which is slightly visible on the right-hand side.Much of the city looked like this with 3 or 4 story buildings and very narrow streets.
Lots of shops also had Damascene plates, swords, and armor. It's modern characteristic look is gold interlaced with black steel. Here's a shot of one particular shop's inventory, but they were many such ones.
And then there was the good stuff...
Here's me in an "on guard" stance holding a 1500€ (~$2000) Damascus sword. As you can tell from my huge grin, the saber-fencer in me was quite pleased with its light weight design.
I am proud to say that I was able to restrain myself from purchasing anything (not too difficult considering I didn't have much money)...but lets face it, walking around with a sword tends to make people nervous. But since the city is so close to Madrid, I can always return in the future :)

We quickly got thirsty from all the walking around and sword shopping, so we dropped into a local bar which was still packed with the post-lunch crowd. We eventually found seats at the bar and ordered two cañas (small beers), and much to our surprise we received free tapas with it.

This was my first experience with free tapas, and I have to admit that I am still hooked on the idea (perhaps the appeal is leftover from my grad school days). This is what arrived with our beers, which only cost ~$2.50 together.
And when we ordered a second round, we got another full plate of food again!

Of course we couldn't hang around drinking beer and eating free food all day, so we got back on the road. Next stop was Toledo's main attraction - the Cathedral. It took 3 centuries to build and was finally finished in 1493. Because it took so long to construct and obviously outlived numerous architects, the building itself reflects the various styles and trends in architecture throughout history. Sorry if you want to know more but that's as deep as my historical appreciation of architecture currently goes.

Taking pictures inside is strictly forbidden, and since I would never disrespect such a request these following pictures are credited to another, albeit "anonymous" author. But if you feel the need to complain that they are a bit blurry, he also wishes to remind you that he clearly couldn't utilize his camera's flash :)

A look down one of the long hallways. Just for reference, I'd guess those ceilings are at least 100 feet high.
This one is right outside the center altar called "Reredos". Notice the impressive cross in the middle and stained-glass windows above.
Same place but with another angle and taken further back.
This next part was actually my favorite of the whole experience. There is an altar in the back called "Transparente", and it goes all the way up to the ceiling and consists of solid marble and gold angels, cherubs, and saints. The picture doesn't do it credit, but the detail on the figures is simply amazing.
In another part, they have more art pieces from some of the most famous artists indluding El Greco, Goya, and Van Dyck. And then there's a separate room with nothing but really old Catholic garb. Check it.
Our next stop on the walking tour was another church to the Southwest, and although I thought I knew which one it was I'm not so sure now. This is what it looked like from afar.

And then another one up close.
Unfortunately we couldn't go it because there was a wedding. Too bad we weren't dressed up enough to attempt a crash!
We then hiked it back across town to the Plaza de Zocodover, which is the main square and market. The area also has lots of cafes and shops.
For dinner, I had a traditional Spanish dish called Paella. I think it always consists of baked dark brown rice and usually vegetables like peas, green beans, and beans. One also gets to specialize the it with something like seafood, but I chose the equivalent of a "meat lovers" with sausage, beef, and chicken. Really good stuff.
This particular establishment was located next door and was a little disheartening to see, but I guess they do wind up everywhere. The really depressing part is they had more business than our local place.
All in all a great place to visit for 1-2 day trip. And now I will leave you with my favorite picture taken which shows the massive cathedral towering over the rest of the city.
For additional pictures, click here.