Day 24 - Blogabond

Today is Holy Toledo day. We were up and going by 8:00 today, which is very early for us lately, so we could catch the train to Toledo. This was the Capital of Spain until 1561 when King Phillip II moved his court to Madrid. Toledo sits in the middle of the Iberian Peninsula so was a trade route for every power and religion in history. There is still a very strong Christian, Jewish, and Muslim presence here. The town is a historical shrine so the walled portion of the city is maintained as it has been for hundreds of years, other than the hundreds of tourist trap stores selling medieval weaponry. Mark as you can imagine was in heaven. Toledo is also well known for its metal work. The knives are some of the best in the world and the decorative metal plates with inlaid gold and bronze are everywhere. Mark made it his quest to find the perfect toy catapult. Paul and I quested after the perfect lunch. No surprise there.

Before lunch or any purchase we visited the most elaborate Cathedral in Spain. It contains so much famous art work including El Greco, Rubens, Goya, and Velázquez masterpieces. This is the real reason one should travel to Toledo, a most definite do not miss. El Greco who was born in Greece and trained in Italy said, while in Italy, that he would have done a much better job than Michelangelo on the Sistine chapel as that Michelangelo is a nice guy, but not a very good painter. He was then banished to Spain. He did leave some beautiful artwork in Toledo. We went in search of one of his most famous works next in a nearby chapel, Santo Tome’, The Burial of the
Count of Orgaz. This is another do not miss in Toledo.

Now we were ready for lunch at La Perdiz (the Partridge) where we had one of the best meals in Spain. Paul had the Partridge and Suzy the suckling pig, both of which were excellent, but the grilled goat cheese with caramelized onions was out of this world. This is one Suzy will be attempting to duplicate at home.

Full of good food and Toledo we caught a train back to Madrid 3 hours earlier than planned. The train station bears a mention. It was a beautiful tiled building in the Moorish tradition. The 30 minute ride back to Madrid wasn’t quite long enough for the nap we needed so we went back to the hotel to relax.

Paul was enjoying a nice glass of wine on the veranda when after a large noise noticed by Suzy, but not Paul, he says, “Where did the umbrella go?” We quickly located it on the next veranda. A call to the front desk required the manager to come to the room as we had a bit of a language barrier with the words flying umbrella. By the time he got there, the umbrella was on the roof. “Not Good”, were his words. Soon it was 6 stories below on the ground, thankfully not hitting any bystanders or vehicles. We were without an umbrella the rest of the stay.

After recovering, Paul and Suzy went to dinner and a Flamenco show at Taberna Casa Patas. Its nick name is the house of feet and that is very apt. The dancers have incredible energy and stamina to move so fast in such a small warm little room. They were literally wringing wet after each performance. SKC

written by

pscossette on July 11, 2007 from Madrid, Spain

from the travel blog: The Cossette Family Sabbatical

Send a Compliment

comment on this...