Spain: Day 7, Toledo

Toledo is just a 30-minute train ride away from Madrid, so, although we knew most of the major sights would be closed on New Year’s Day, we decided to make the day trip as the city is a national monument itself.  Toledo is like a time capsule—narrow streets, fortressed walls, architecture that hasn’t been touched in 500 years.  Exploring and, quite honestly, getting lost on the streets of Toledo made for what I think was one of our favorite days while in Spain, the quiet exploration of such a historic and distinctly European place. The weather was gorgeous which was fortunate because we spent nearly the entire day outside, walking around and enjoying the views.  Enough shops were open for us to buy some beautiful souvenirs unique to Toledo, which is part of the essential experience: damascene earrings, simple pocket knives for the kids (only in Toledo), and marzipan (eaten at a park overlooking the river and rocky hills).  And, after a little searching, we even found a little restaurant for yummy lunch.  So, holiday or not, we thoroughly enjoyed our Toledo experience and we’re glad we made the time for it during our time in Spain.

{From left to right, top to bottom: our walk up from the train station; first view of Toledo; pretty close to how El Greco saw it; checking out the Tajo River and the walls of the city; Ella in Toledo; the gate on the bridge.}

{Tossing stones into the river, far down below; this is the only place on our trip that made my heart skip a beat with the kids—Jack at one point wedged his foot into a crevice to help hold him as he leaned far over the edge of the bridge to get a better look; it’s a long way down, over 30m; Toledo is surrounded on 3 sides by the Tajo River; crossing the Puente de Alcántara.}

{Stepping through the Puerta de Doce Cantos; and into Toledo; Convento de Santa Fe; checking out the view from within the city; Convento de la Concepción.}

{Toledo’s own Miguel de Cervantes; view of the Alcázar of Toledo; checking out the famous swords of Toledo; Don Quixote; the Alcázar.}

{Exploring the grounds; and trying to get a better view; Iglesia de San Miguel; we honestly had trouble finding the large cathedral among the winding and labyrinthine streets of Toledo; interesting metalwork and doorways were everywhere; Toledo is very hilly; getting closer.}

{The streets are so narrow, you find most sights framed by other buildings when you viewed them; we had such a fun time just walking around, getting lost, and exploring the old streets of Toledo; Toledo’s Cathedral—we made it; construction on the cathedral began in 1226 and finished in about 1463; Toledo’s cathedral was High Gothic; and more narrow streets and alleyways…we got lost more than once.}

{Near the cathedral; another doorway’s detail; we found a marzipan shop that was open (most were closed for the holiday) near the cathedral (mazapán has been made in Toledo since the 13th century); more exploring; quite often we had the streets to ourselves—it was definitely the quietest day, which was kind of nice after days of holiday crowds; like all of the cities we visited, Toledo was thoroughly decked in holiday lights.}

{The rocky terrain of La Mancha; checking out their new pocket knives from Toledo; trying some mazapán; we all agree—yummy in small amounts; snack with a view; I like this view even better.}

{Unstrapped myself from my camera to actually get into a few shots and enjoy the view of the beautiful terrain of Castile-La Mancha.}

{Before leaving Toledo, we climbed the stairs along the city walls to get a better view of greater Toledo.}

{Back through the Puerta de Doce Cantos (the Door of 12 Songs); hard for him to stand still for long for a picture; finding some wildlife (“take a picture, mom”); there are Moorish influences in the architecture in Toledo, too; on the bridge; a look at the Puente de Alcántara (Alcántara Bridge).}

{The gate on Puente de Alcántara; view from the bridge; Ella took quite a few pictures on her iTouch; crossing back over the Puente de Alcántara; last view of Toledo.}

{Café con leche at the train station; enjoying a drink at the beautifully-tiled train station before catching our train back to Madrid; the bar at the train station.}