Europe 2023

We were ready and out the door by 8.15 am to make our way to Atocha station to catch our fast train to Toledo. We had plenty of time up our sleeve and had been walking for about 2 kilometres when Ian realised that we were going in the wrong direction! Turns out, he mistakenly put in another address. So now we didn’t have so much time to spare as we had to retrace our steps and then head in the right direction. It was a bit stressful for both of us. We finally made it to Atocha station, got through security and found our platform with about ten minutes to spare. It was then that we realised our seats were at different ends of the carriage; no big deal as the trip was only about 35 minutes.

We arrived at Toledo station at the designated time. Toledo has a wonderful station that has been beautifully restored. We headed off towards the old city but stopped at a local bar for a coffee and a piece of delicious lemon cake. Feeling much better after being fed and watered, we headed off for the old town across the Puente de Alcántara which spans the river Tajo and up into the old city.

We decided to head to the Alcazar first, and passed a few interesting museums that we decide to visit on our return in the afternoon. On entering the army museum, which is located within the same building as the Alcazar, were advised that, as part of the site was closed for renovation, entry was free.

We went through the army museum’s permanent display and also had a look at the archeological site which is located between the old and new buildings. At the archeological site you can view the origins of this defensive spot upheld ever since the Bronze Age, thereby keeping remains from the Roman, Visigoth, Arabs and Christian eras. It is one of the largest indoor archaeological sites in Spain.

We then headed up to explore the Alcazar and Gardens. The Alcazar is a huge beautiful building that is well preserved, and we got to visit the Charles V courtyard and take in panoramic views across Toledo. We also wandered through the Alcazar gardens that had some beautiful sculptures.

Afterwards, went in search of the Toledo Cathedral. We found an entrance but it was the ‘poor man’s’ entrance as you only got to view things from behind a gate. The with the assistance of Apple Maps we made our way around to the front entrance passing through a maze of narrow streets. We purchased tickets and made our way inside. It is indeed quite magnificent and grand.

We wandered around taking in the grandeur and sheer scale of things. We went out to the cloisters and found some interesting large figures that are used for a range of fetes - the Spanish don’t half love a fete. The paintings in the cloisters were well maintained and extremely good - I have been impressed by the art contained in these large churches and cathedrals in France and Spain.

We then made our way into the Jewish quarter in search of the Synagogue Santa Maria La Blanca. This church was converted from a 12th Century, Moorish style synagogue with a hall of horseshoe-shaped arches to a Catholic Church. It is considered to be the oldest synagogue building in Europe that is still standing.

By this time we were ready for some refreshments in the form of lunch. We found a nice little restaurant as we started to retrace our steps. The staff were lovely and the food was delicious. I drank rosé and Ian had a beer. We ordered tomato salad with tuna and white onion, some croquettes and fried calamari and baby octopus. Everything was fresh and tasty, the tomatoes were like the ones my uncle used to grow, so packed with flavour.

After lunch we treated ourselves to a delicious sorbet as we made our way back to the centre of town. Toledo is a beautiful place and I think we only saw a snapshot on our day here. As we started our descent back to the station we stopped at Hospital de Santa Cruz that has been converted into a museum. We again had free entry, as part of the museum was closed for renovation. We wandered around the areas open to public and also had a little rest in the cloisters as the day was heating up.

We slowly continued our descent back to the train station for our return to Madrid. We stopped at the same bar, Qãntara, where we had had a coffee in the morning and had a cool drink. The train trip back to Madrid was smooth and quick. We then walked back to our Airbnb, with no navigation issues. It was a big day with us walking more than 23,000 steps.Weiterlesen