Holy Toledo

Holy Toledo … that was a great stop.  We visited Toledo on the advice of friends Sam and Cheryl, and others.  We were not disappointed, except maybe Deborah who had hoped to do more shopping.  When you are a shopper like her, you are disappointed if the number of shops does not outnumber your ability to see them all, but if you like ancient hilltop medieval towns, Toledo is the place for you. 

Toledo is located about a half-hour train ride outside of Madrid.  It is small in comparison to most of the cities we have visited and has an ancient core within the city’s walls that dates back to medieval times.  Toledo’s core is a designated, World Heritage site due mainly to the city’s street layout that has not been altered since medieval times.  As a result, the streets are extremely narrow and have no resemblance to the typical grid pattern of today.  We stayed at the hotel Cigarrales de Carravantes located just outside the walls on the opposite side of the river Tagus.  We had our own private courtyard with a view across the canyon to the walled city.  At 70 Euros a night, we would recommend it to others.

Train Station

View From Our Mini Courtyard

Hotel View From Bar/Restaurant

Toledo has been home to the Romans, Moors, Jews, Visigoths and Christians.  It once stood as the capital of the Kingdom of Toledo.  The architecture embodies the different styles each group brought to the city.  The Jewish Quarter still exists and features the Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca and the entrances to the city are shaped in the Arabic “keyhole” design.

Road Sign Lit At Night

One of the City's Entrances

One of Two Bridges Entering the Town

The hilltop is dominated by the Toledo Cathedral (hence Holy Toledo).  It was started in 1226 and finished in 1493.  We were a little short on touring patience (and money) so we opted for the free short version tour but it was enough to see the opulence and grandeur.  At night the up lighting makes it standout for miles in every direction.

We also visited the Roman Baths unearthed during excavation, not more than 200 meters from the Cathedral.

We entered the city via the San Martin Ponte  (bridge), built in the 1300’s.  We had a lunch in the Plaza Magdalena and a dinner in the Zocodover Plaza, the main square of the city.  The Zocodover was teaming with tourists and while the food and drink was a little expensive, it was an experience to be there when everyone comes out to play.

Not Sure What a "Farton" Was But We Weren't Buying

Toledo is Famous for Its Marzipan

We also took advantage of a free tour of the Santa Cruz Museum that houses some of the works of the top Spanish painters of the 16^th and 17^th centuries.  Toledo was home to El Greco’s for a great many years and his work can be found throughout the city.  We watched a short film that helped me get a little more understanding of the painters' work.  All these masters were professional painters.  They earned their living painting and therefore went to where the money was.  In those days it was the Church, royalty, and the emerging merchant class.  In light of these facts, it is less surprising that the bulk of the master painters’ subjects were: i) the birth of Christ, ii) the death of Christ, iii) the resurrection of Christ, iv) virtues espoused by the Church, and v) portraits of members of the royals and wealthy merchants families.

Museum Courtyard Had Antiquities Dated in the 1200's

For our exercise, we walked the Tagus River trail that circled the walls of the city.   It was picturesque with its abandoned mills, weirs, bridges, and fishermen relaxing by the river’s edge.

View Looking West From the Top

We spent our last evening enjoying a local bottle of wine and cheese on our private courtyard.  We could hear the laughter of a wedding taking place next door and the lights of the walled city came alive at night.

We took some time to reflect on our trip to Portugal and Spain.  There is no one place that stands out better than the others but “gun to our head” we would both say Barcelona would top the list of cities, with Lisbon a close second.  As for experiences, we will both remember enjoying the “stinky beers” immediately after the completion of the Camino.  We formed a bond with our group that will last our lifetimes.  When you accomplish a significant physical goal as a group, an emotional attachment forms that is not easily broken.

This will be the last post for this trip as we ready to go to the Madrid airport and fly home to Vancouver, via Frankfurt on Lufthansa.  Until we travel again, so long!

Seville

I am writing this post as we leave Seville by Fast Train on our way to Toledo via Madrid.  As mentioned in a previous post, it has become increasingly difficult to come up with ways to describe the great European cities we have visited.  Seville has: a river through the centre, beautiful buildings depicting the blend of Middle Eastern and European flavours, great food, and a historic core.  In this post we are going to try to describe what we think we will remember most about our visit to Seville.

We will always remember the journey from Madrid, for both good and bad reasons.  The good was the travel by Spain’s Fast train.  We covered 465 kilometres in 2 hours and 20 minutes, including a 10-minute stop in Cordoba.  Each coach had a speedometer and we reached a top speed of 271 km/hr.  The countryside reminded me of travelling in Alberta from north to south, flat/rolling flatland with the foothills on the horizon.  Most of the crops were being harvested or the ground was already under plow for spring.  

Madrid Train Station

Inside Madrid

Our Fast Train

Note the Speed - 271 km/Hr

The bad was finding our apartment hotel.  Deborah received instructions from the owner indicating it was only one km from the station.  Since we hadn’t any exercise, we decided to walk.  The “bad” began as we left the station following the owner’s direction to turn left.  As it turned out, he meant his other left and we were lost in a matter of minutes.  After struggling for over an hour with maps and Spanish directions we surrendered and hailed a cab.  He drove us to an intersection, took our money, and were still lost.  It turned out the apartment was on a no-car road. After another 20 minutes of wandering we finally found our temporary home.  It was on the first floor and only 100 meters from the Cathedral.

From Our Window

By Day

We will always remember the “vibe/feeling” of the city.  Seville is near the southern coast and has a laid-back California-like feel to the place.  People are not rushed, go to work after nine am, go out for dinner after 9 pm, and dress casually.  The “bad” was the fact the whole “don’t smoke cigarettes” concept has not caught on there.  It was only in the last few years that smoking in restaurants and bars was outlawed.  As a result everyone smokes outside so prime seats for people watching are in a constant fog of smoke.  That said, the inner old city is teaming with great street side cafes where the tapas and beer/wine are both tasty and relatively inexpensive.  As well, our apartment overlooked a great little restaurant bar but when the windows were open we were treated to secondhand smoke.

Bull Fighting Arena

Old and New Co-Exist

Love Their Meat

River Walk - Moor Tower on Right

Opera House

Art - Made of Wood

We will always remember how nice it would have been to have bicycles in Seville.  It is a city set up for bike riding.  Dedicated bicycle paths criss-cross the city and vehicle drivers are very courteous to pedestrians and cyclists alike.

A Great Place to Have a Bike

We will always remember the Cathedral.  I know, I know … you’ve seen one cathedral, you have seen them all.  While we subscribe to this theory, Seville’s Cathedral deserves a close look.  It was originally a Visigoth church in the 12 century, then the Moors converted it to a place to worship Allah by bricking over the previous owners idols, then the Christian church (Catholics) came and took it over and added their own embellishments.  It has a tower with 35 ramps instead of stairs.  Apparently the old time catholics like to ride horses inside and were into walking stairs.  It is the largest Catholic Cathedral in the world according to our guide, Juan.  An Aussie in our tour group called bullshit and he smiled and said, “the church in Rome is a Basilica, not a Cathedral, and the Cathedral in London’s is Anglican, not Catholic, therefore Seville’s is the number one Catholic Cathedral in the world.  It is memorable for its glistening gold decorations but more importantly as the tomb of Christopher Columbus.  One of the Cathedrals side chapels is called Antigua.  It is said that Columbus prayed there before setting out on his voyage that led to the discovery of America.  He named the present country of Antigua after the chapel when he found it.  Some of his bones are buried here while others are in Dominican Republic, Cuba and Madrid.  Columbus got around in life and in death.

Columbus' Tomb - Sculptures of Spain's Four Kings Carrying.

View From the Tower

We will always remember the fact that Seville has been host to two World Expositions in 1929 and 1992.  The parks, buildings and bridges remain in full use, unlike many of the pavilions from Vancouver’s Expo 86.  The highlight is the Plaza de Spain.  It is a huge curved building with waterways, bridges, fountains, and gardens built to symbolize Spain’s love for its South and Central American neighbours.  It is built in the shape of a large “hug”.

Expo 1929 - Plaza of Spain

Lastly, we will always remember our night at the Museo del Flamenco.  While I admit Deborah had to drag me kicking and whining, she was right, it is a must see in Seville.  We were treated to an hour of Flamenco guitar, singing and dancing.  The hall only held around 60 people and you could feel and see the power of the dance and the expression of the story.  I didn’t want it to end.  We enjoyed a last series of tapas, wine and beer on a side street café before ending the night at our favourite gelato place just outside of the cathedral.

Cafe Dining After Nine

Enjoying a Plate of Baby Eel

Not Sure Why You Couldn't Just Poor - Wine Pump

On to Toledo for two days and then it will be time to head home….