Spain: The Train to Toledo

Our first week in Spain has been filled with amazing sights, exceptional cuisine, and wonderful friends. Highlights from the dining category include churros con chocolate, tortilla española, gazpacho, and trying our first go at a real tapas experience. Madrid is a very walkable city, and on every stroll we come across more historical architecture, street art, and restaurants and shops of all kinds. We've been learning more Spanish slang specific to Madrid, and have been entertained by some English translations we've seen (how does "cheese paste"...um, cheesecake...for dessert sound?) 

Delving further back into Spanish history, we day-tripped down to the former capital city, Toledo, which is a quick 30-minute train ride away from Madrid. A city constructed on a hill and protected by a river and a wall, Toledo is a charming city with a labyrinth of a historic center made of narrow and winding streets. At times as we were walking along these streets we had to duck into the entrances of people's homes to let a car go by as there was not enough room for both pedestrians and vehicles to use the same street at the same time. 

The left tower of the Cathedral in Toledo represents Gothic style architecture. The other was meant to be constructed in the same style, but as was discovered after construction, the ground beneath the right tower could not support a structure that tall. Hence the asymmetrical towers.

Touring the Cathedral gave us a glimpse into what life in Toledo was like throughout the past centuries. It was once a mosque during the Arab-reign of the Iberian peninsula, then converted into a Basilica during the Visigoth empire, and finally made into a Cathedral when Spain was established as a Catholic monarchy in the late 1400s. As it has been pieced together by different architects throughout the centuries, each stone, sculpture, column, window, and painting tells its own story. Within the Cathedral itself are 28 separate chapels, 11 organs, and the burial sites of at least 4 Cardinals. We spent about two hours in the Cathedral and could have easily spent about 7 more as it really is an art museum, historical archive, and Cathedral all in one.

Toledo has also preserved two Jewish synagogues and a mosque from the time period before the Spanish Inquisition and establishment of Catholic Spain. It is known as the city of three cultures for the (not always peaceful) coexistence of these three religions throughout history. We did not tour the synagogues or mosque on this trip, and agreed with our tour guide from the Cathedral that Toledo really deserves more than just a day trip (although 90% of tourists choose this option).

Click here to see more of our photos from Toledo.