Five Hours in Toledo

Yesterday my friend Emmy and I went to Toledo. We hopped on the fast train around mid day and got there in 25 minutes! We need these trains in the US!

I found this photo on the internet.

When I first visited Toledo with Lily in December 2009 it was rainy and cold the whole time, which seemed to fit with the mood of the place. The streets are narrow, keeping the sun from penetrating too much. Therefore the city is kind of dark and with all the Gothic architecture, it sort of feels mysterious and ghostly, in a beautiful way.

Toledo is the capital of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It’s famous for its cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures.

Toledo’s history in a nutshell is sort of this: humans were living there in the Bronze age, then the Romans ruled and it was a main commercial and administrative center. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths made it their capital. The Visigoths forbade Jewish rites and culture, forcing many to practice in secrete. Then the Moors took over in the 8th Century. Under Muslim rule, Toledo experienced a period known as La Convivencia, the coexistence of Jews, Moors, and Christians.

The Christians began ruling when Alfonso VI of Castile took over the city. During part of the 16th Century Toledo was the capital of Castile until the Monarchy moved to Madrid.

Here we stopped to say hello to Miguel Cervantes, the author of Don Quxiote.

Plaza Zocodover

Notice the moorish arch way. It leads to the statue of Cervantes and the Mueseo de Santa Cruz.

Patio inside the museo de Santa Cruz. This building was once a hospital. There are lots of El Greco's paintings here and ceramics and fossils that archeologists have found in the area.

This tusk is HUGE. I should have stood in the picture so you could compare it to something. The tusk, antlers, and wild bull horns were all discovered in Castilla La Mancha. 

This is one of El Greco's most famous paintings: Immaculate Conception

Painting of men tanning hides. (Nicole, I thought of you when I took this.)

Tiles, beautiful tiles! Many of the tiles had pictures of animals and houses. I really like the simple blue ones. 

We also checked out the Cathedral of Toledo. Here's a photo from the internet:

A narrow street with the Cathedral in the background.

Before we caught the bus back to the train station we drank cafe con leche in a plaza overlooking the river.

Outside of the El Greco museum was this garden with an abundance of two of my favorite herbs: lavender and rosemary.

The door to the School of Art, where, two years ago, Lily and I met several art professors and they took us out for a night on the town. One of them ended up giving us a ride to Madrid.


Sunset over the rio Tajo

Señorita Emmy