We saw the strangest thing on the train. A gentleman across the row from us had been reading a newspaper. About 5 minutes before we arrived in Toledo, he took several sheets of newspaper and placed them in his shoes! Then he jumped up and down a few times, and proceeded on his way. This became a running joke for us throughout the trip.
Toledo is a very confusing city, as the main part is walled-in, and basically the same way it has been for centuries.
The streets are very narrow and curvy; however, this does not stop the locals from driving through them in ridiculously fast speeds. On more than one occasion, we had to press ourselves up against the buildings so that we wouldn't be squished. I am not exaggerating. Most of the streets are one-way (which is what that red sign is indicating).
The first sight we wanted to see was the chapel Santo Tome, where El Greco's masterpiece, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, hangs. Our map was confusing and many of the streets were unmarked. We walked around for almost an hour searching, until we found it, having walked by the building several times. Perhaps the most confusing part is that the chapel is not labeled as "Santo Tome" anywhere! There is a small sign that says "Count Orgaz" referring to the name of the painting. It took us a bit to make that connection. In the picture below, you can see Brian wandering, searching for the chapel. It's in the background on the right, across from the map that's in the background on the left.
We visited the cathedral, where pictures are not permitted, and the Santa Cruz museum. This was one of our favorite parts of Toledo. Entry was free, as they are undergoing a multi-year renovation. There were some beautiful cloisters:
And a special art exhibition:
But the best part was that it was heated! We spent a long time with the tile exhibit, as it was warm and there were heaters where we could place our hands.Outside, I posed next to a statue of Cervantes:
So Brian wanted to pose by the next statue we saw. We are not sure who this is commemorating:
We generally stay away from too-touristy things; however, our guidebook recommended the tourist train as a "tacky but fun 50-minute trip through Toledo's highlights with great Tajo Gorge views." We decided to go, and it was great! The conductor went through and took our picture together:
And here are a couple of views of the city:
Toledo is the city where we had our most disappointing meal. We walked into what looked like a small diner. The only items on the menu were pizzas. Unbeknownst to us, they were frozen pizzas. He brought mine, undercooked, and then Brian's about 10 minutes later. He only had one toaster oven to cook the food! Brian's pizza was overcooked. We chalked that up to a funny travel experience, though, and as we were extremely hungry, we ate it.But then we went to get some little desserts at this little mazapan place. I liked the little pastries; Brian not so much.
We visited the San Juan de los Reyes Monasterio, where Isabel and Ferdinand were supposed to be buried. I didn't realize until after we left that photography was not allowed, so I was able to get this picture of Brian and the tiny door:
We walked back to the train station and had a few minute wait. We were exhausted from our day of walking! We calculated that during every day, we walked a minimum of 12 miles, and a maximum of 20 miles. At the end of the day, we couldn't wait to lie down! Here is Brian, waiting for the train.
We got back to Madrid around 8:30 pm, just about time to start thinking about dinner! We passed this place:
Restaurant La Traviata. Even though it's Italian food and we were in Spain, we decided to go there. First, as vegetarians, Italian food often fits in with what we eat. Spain's food is mostly focused on ham or offal. Here I am inside with my fantastic pasta dish:
We had heard about Spanish vermouth and wanted to give it a try. On our walk back to the hotel, Brian noticed this place:
It's hard to see in this picture, but "vermout" is clearly written on the side. We stopped in. I loved it, as I tend to do most sweeter wines. Brian was happy that they brought a plate of olives. We returned to this bar later in the week for another after-dinner drink.
And here is Brian, opening the street-level door to the building where our hotel was located.
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