A Day Trip to Toledo

Paul had Monday March 18th off--we didn't know why at first, but we knew that we wanted to use that time for sight-seeing.  Well when we went to Church we realized that Paul got the day off because it was Día del Padre--or Father's Day.  The official day was on Tuesday the 19th, but each city decides when to celebrate it.  Madrid decided to celebrate it on Monday.  Here in Spain the 19th of March is also Saint Joseph's Day. Paul said that it was fitting because Joseph was Jesus' earthly father.

Anyway, we were happy to have a day off to go touring.  We found a tour company that does half and full day trips from Madrid to surrounding cities.  We looked at their tour for Toledo and thought it sounded like a good deal.  So we went downstairs to our front desk and were able to book it from there!  We got Zach--the other guy who came here from the Austin office--to come with us.  Glenn was excited to see Zach and wanted to spend most of the time being with him.

They picked us up from our hotel and took us to their office where others gathered for different tours.  Then we left for Toledo around 9:15am.  We had about 20 in our group and our guide also spoke English.  That was great!  We learned so much more than what we would've if we had gone on our own.

The bus ride wasn't long and we were able to see some of the countryside.

Soon enough we were arrived in Toledo.

Before stopping at any of the sights, the bus took us up and around the opposite hill for some spectacular views of the city.

Isn't it gorgeous?! 

Then we into the city.  The bus dropped us off at the base of one side of the hill.  We took a series of escalators up to the oldest part of the city.

 These were some of the views from the escalators.

The old city was set on a hill and it had so many windy streets!  I should have taken a video of some of the streets...I couldn't believe that cars could actually fit down them, especially with people walking all around, but they did!  Amazing!  Our guide told us to not get lost, because if we did, she would not be able to find us!  I don't doubt it!  I was sure glad that we had someone who know the city to take us around.

Toledo is famous for a few things: religious tolerance, marzipan, sword-making, El Greco, and the fact that it once was the capitol of the Spanish Empire.  We definitely saw evidence of these things as we walked through the city.

Good use of the small space--have gardens hanging out your windows!

This just made us smile--it seemed kind of random.

We thought about getting this for Glenn...maybe next time...

These last two pictures were tiles on the streets.  They represented the Jewish quarter of the city.  The first one was actually the name of Spain in Hebrew.

The Catedral de Toledo

I'm not going to explain each picture, but it was an impressive building!  It was nice hearing explanations about the different artwork and pieces contained therein.  The pictures at the end were in this special room.  If I remember correctly, these are very old and are only brought out for special parades and such.  I did like how light it was inside.  I've been to other European cathedrals that are so dark inside.  The stones used were lighter and it was very nice inside and I liked that.

 Glenn was doing pretty well during the tour, but did get tired.  While I was holding him he fell asleep.  So I quietly held him as we walked through the cathedral.  By the time we were going out my arms and back were getting tired.  He is pretty heavy!  When I walked out, one of the men in our group asked if he could hold Glenn to give me a break.  I was about to say no, or to give him to Paul--because he had offered too--but when he just opened his arms and pleaded with me, I gave in.  He was so happy to hold him.  We later found out that he has three grown sons, none of them are married and some don't want to or have children.  I think he saw this as a chance to hold a little boy because he may never have a grandson.  We walked along the streets to our next site and that's when Glenn woke up.  He was kind of surprised that this man was holding him, but he did okay.  We told Glenn that Carlos--that was his name--that Carlos was Glenn's 'abuelo español'--his Spanish grandpa.  Carlos and his wife both liked that, and Glenn even days later when looking at this picture said that he was his Spanish grandpa.  

Iglesia de Santo Tomé

Our next stop was to visit the church that houses a famous painting by El Greco.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but if you are curious as to what we saw in there, it's called 

El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz, or The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.

El Greco painted himself and his only son into the painting.  The son is copied here on the entrance sign.

Views Across the Río Tajo and the Puente de San Martin

That bridge was built in the late 14th century--so really old!  We walked along it near the end of our tour and it was pretty impressive!

Sinagoga de Santa Maria La Blanca

This synagogue was one of the more simple ones, but it is the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing!  It was interesting inside because you could see traces of different religions inside.  It was built on Christian soil by Islamic architects, but for Jewish use.  So the architecture is more Islamic--the arches--but it was for Jews.  And later it was converted into a Catholic Church--hence the cross.  So very interesting...

Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes

This monastery was founded by Isabel and Fernando in the Jewish quarter of the city to demonstrate the supposed supremacy of the Catholic faith.  They planned to be buried here, but after gaining control of Granada in the south of Spain, chose to be buried there.

It had a beautiful inner garden where rose bushes and orange trees were growing.

This is my favorite picture of Glenn and his buddy Zach!  Zach was so good to carry Glenn and be with him. Glenn of course loved being with him!

This is a portrait of Isabel...our guide said that she was ugly.  "In the movies they portray her as being beautiful, but she wasn't.  Plus she was cold in the painting," our guide said.  : D

The chains on the outside of the building are from the freed prisoners from Granada.

Cigarral Monte-Rey Toledo

On the opposite hillside from the city, we ate lunch with the group.

Lunch was really good, and we were glad we chose to have lunch included with our tour.  I wish I had taken a picture of the group we sat with, but I didn't.  They were wonderful people, even if I couldn't understand most of what they were saying. : D

We had a beautiful view from our window!

Alcázar and Museo del Ejército

Our final stop was to the Alcázar fortress...

...and the Museum of the Army.  I was bummed to find out that this structure was not the original building.  It had originally been a fortress built by the Muslims, then altered by the Christians.  It was rebuilt as a royal residence, but when the court moved to Madrid, it eventually became the Military Academy.  It was mostly destroyed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War, and was rebuilt to house this museum.  It's still a really great-looking building and one that stands for so much for the Spanish people.

There was this beautiful monument dedicated to those who lost their lives during the siege on the fortress.

(Sorry for the weird blur--I was in the bus.)

Puerta de Bisagra

This was our final picture of Toledo.  It is the main entrance to the city of Toledo.

We of course stopped at a couple of souvenir shops--as part of the tour.  The only thing we bought was some Santo Tomé marzipan.  But we did have fun with some of the other things. : D

As we were leaving, Zach simply asked,

"So it that where the phrase 'holy toledo' comes from?"

I had never thought of that before...but I'm sure it is.