Today we took the fast train to Toledo. It took under thirty minutes to get to Toledo. We went and looked at some local craftsmen at work, they were making jewellery. It was intricate work.
We then moved on to visit the Cathedral. Toledo was once the Kingdom of Castile Leon and Aragon in 1516 under the raign of Carlos 2nd meaning that Toledo was once the capital of Spain. So most of the monuments in Toledo are well decorated such as the Gothic Cathedral as it is one of the largest churches in Spain. It contains a very impressive art collection in Spain.
We spent two hours wandering through the nave, the cloisters, the sacristy and a range of other spaces. It was an interesting and moving church.
Toledo was occupied by the Moors, Arabs, Jews, Cristians.... so the culture has been influenced by many. The architecture is a mix of the above although you can differentiate between each period quite clearly.
Christian Arch
Moorish Arch
The Cathedral
After the Cathedral we wandered the streets looking at the interesting homes and shops.
We ended up at the main plaza and decided to catch the tourist train that takes you around the whole city. Very cheesy but they make a stop which means you have the best view of Toledo.
Our tummies were rumbling so that means it was lunch time. We found a quaint little place and again opted for the meals of the day. Great pork knuckle!
With our bellies full we set off walking around this beautiful city.
Alas we had to return to Madrid. The kids were tired so requested pizza from the shop next door. Ed and I headed down the road for a drink and some tapas. The wine was lovely. The tapas fantastic! Tomato and asparagus risotto, mussels on a pizza base that was coloured with squid ink to look like a mussel shell, crispy shell with a delicious filling and something that resembled a cigar ( they lit it and you dipped it into the ash of burnt cinnamon) - Wow! The restaurant is called D' Fabila and I found it in one of my guide books. It was fabulous!
The food has been great. Sad to be leaving Spain but excited about the prospect of seeing Ed's family in a couple of days. Yeah!!!!!!!
The churches, art history and culture has been wonderful to see. Glad too that food has also been a high priority on your travels. Oh, it is 1 July here so a big happy birthday to Edward, no doubt big celebrations today!
ReplyDeleteSounds like Toledo was a pleasant surprise? I love it when places exceed expectations - that was St Malo for us. Hope you experience many more pleasant surprises! Sounds like Ed had a great Birthd1ay too! xx
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