Toledo 2/02

Today was our day trip to Toledo. It is just over a two hour bus ride to get there. The bus took us first to a panoramic view of the city which was beautiful and then we got dropped off in town.  We walked through the old streets constructed by Muslims a long time ago.  The streets have no organization to them (no grid pattern) because 1. it offered them safety if an enemy came in (they would get lost) 2. there is a lot of shade (Toledo is one of the hottest cities in Spain). We wandered around to the Plaza Mayor and from there went to the Cathedral.  It was the first Gothic Cathedral built in Spain (the last one was built in Segovia, cool to recognize the differences).  The ceiling was very simple, and it used pointed arches instead of rounded.  It was very beautiful though! It doubles as a museum, it has a lot of wonderful art and a collection of clothes worn by bishops in the old days.  I thought the outfits of the bishops said a lot about the church of that day because they were ornate, made of gold, and very expensive.  How could men justify wearing these when their congregations were starving and homeless?  Not very Christian if you ask me. The church is also home to tombs of archbishops.  Tombs are on the floor of every Cathedral for people to walk over (very rich or important people get buried there) as a sign of not caring about the body. Gladys was walking on the tombs of the Archbishops saying "hola, wake up!" It was very funny. Toledo is a mix of Muslim influence, Christian influence, and Jewish.  A lot of the art reflects this combination.  The famous jewelry there is black and gold with geometric designs (muslim influence) which later had floral designs (christian influence) and the Cathedral mixed Muslim and Christian styles of art and architecture.  After the Cathedral we had free time to eat lunch and then shop around.  We got some good deals on the beautiful jewelry and on marzipan for dad (they are known for it in Toledo, I hope it is good).  It was supposed to be a beautiful day so we all wore light jackets, but as the afternoon came along, so did a cold front.  We were all freezing! But despite that we got some home made gelato (chocolate for me) from a very nice Italian man. It may have been the best ever.  Free time is always fun, getting to explore and dividing up into smaller groups.

Later that afternoon we met up again and walked through the Jewish quarter of Toledo.  After stopping by a museum , we ended up at a Jewish temple which was very cool.  The men prayed on the ground level and women prayed on an upper level, always separated.  It was beautiful and we saw similar things to the Jewish museum from yesterday. I feel like things that would have bored me to tour as a kid (or younger adult) are much more interesting to me now.  I love learning about all of the history and influences! The bus ride back was very relaxing, listening to music and dozing off. Day trips always take a lot of energy out of you! I came back and had spanish tortilla for dinner (LOVE) and some flan (a dec flan, however not my fav dessert).