When I remember Spain, I think that my brain will first go to images of Toledo.
After two days in Madrid, we woke up relatively early for an hour bus ride down to Toledo. Since most of us had enjoyed a pretty late night, we pulled the curtains on the bus, put our sunglasses on our faces, plugged our iPod headphones in our ears, and took a little siesta. I sat by Nikki, a fellow Iowan who also wanted to get a nap in on our way to the holy city.
However, upon arriving in Toledo, we could not have been more alert. Toledo is over 2500 years old, and proved an important city for the Romans, the Visigoths, and in more recent times, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. We learned that while the Jews and Muslims were driven out from the rest of Spain in 1492, many remained in Toledo, under the radar of the Reyes Catolicos (Ferdinand and Isabella).
We first took a little bus tour around the perimeter of Toledo while our guide, Silvia, told us a bit about the history of Toledo. Most of our guides use all Spanish or do both Spanish and English, helping us to expand our vocabulary and spend more time thinking in Spanish. There are two parts of Toledo: Toledo Antiguo, which is surrounded by high walls and a natural moat, and the rest of Toledo, which no longer fits inside the original walls. We drove across an ancient bridge that used to be the only way in and out of Toledo.
Our group stopped at a viewpoint outside the city to take photos of Toledo. The view there is breathtaking. Since we are all narcissistic Americans, we all needed to get our picture taken with the city behind us. Heaven knows that photo will make a great Facebook profile picture! Southern Spain is dry dry dry, so many students ran over to the cleverly placed Tabaco to buy these giant 1.5 L bottles of water they sell here.
To get up into the old city of Toledo, you have to take a series of escalators. I think there is a picture of this in my Facebook album somewhere. Apparently the architects/engineers who figured out how to put this in without making it look awful won an award and the King himself came to Toledo to give it to them. The best part about the escalators was that they were perpetually in the shade. La asombra (shade) is SO important in Spain because el sol siempre es fuerte! (the sun is always strong!).
In the city, we toured the Cathedral of St. John of the Catholic King and Queen. Today is it a monastery, but we were able to see the nave and the cloisters. There were symbols of Isabela (Ysabela) and Fernando every where, Y's, and f's, and the yoke of Aragon and arrows of Castile. In the central area of the building, I saw a real orange tree with oranges growing--I do not know why I thought that was so cool, but it was. We also went to the top part of the cloisters and looked at the hand-woven ceiling, once again covered with symbols of los Reyes Catolicos. On the outside of the cathedral hang many pairs of shackles--we learned that after the Reyes Catolicos defeated the Muslims in Granada, they hung the Christian slaves' shackles up their as a thank you to God.
We took a little break after that, and I went into a store to buy water. Once inside, I discovered shelf after shelf of Don Quijote stuff. I love Don Quijote. La Mancha, the area of Don Quijote was from, is associated with Toledo, and for that reason, the gift shops of full of stuff related to him. I got into a long talk with the cashier about Don Quijote, and when she saw Michelangelo's David, on my credit card, she told me all about how she loves los artes romanos, Roman art. I did not want to cut the conversation off since we were communicating so well in Spanish.
When I got outside of the shop, my group was gone. In my American life, this would not have been a big deal, but at this point, I did not have a phone, did not really know anyone in the area, and Toledo is basically one never-ending maze. I sprinted down a few different alleys and resigned myself to just walking over to the Plaza Zocodover where the tour would end, when I heard Rrrrrrraquel calling my name. My friend, Rubia, had noticed that I was no longer with the group and sent her back to find me. Dios es fiel!
After that, we toured a synagogue that had been transformed into a church, and saw la obra maestra (masterpiece) of El Greco, El Entierro del Conte de Orgaz. The tour group in front of us was from Japan, and their tour guide was yelling really loudly. Silvia told them off for being too noisy in Spanish, and the poor guide did not speak enough Spanish to know what to do so they just left. I think most of us felt a little smug for knowing what Silvia had said.
We proceeded down a narrow alley, and came out upon the great Cathedral of Toledo, from which we get the phrase "Holy Toledo." For many years, Toledo was the religious center of Spain and Fernando and Ysabela planned on being buried there. The Cathedral may be in my top ten of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It was so tall, so imposing, and so powerful.
Our final stop on the tour was la Plaza Zocodover where we had lunch at a little cafe after taking some photos with the statue of Cervantes. After lunch, Rubia and I ran back into the maze of Toledo to find some of the mazapan (marzipan) that the nuns in the convent make. We found it and it was delicious. We also stumbled upon a little dulceria (sweet shop) where we bought candy shaped like cherries, motorcycles, fingers, fried eggs, and coke bottles.
That night, after arriving at our hotel, enjoying the siesta, and having a meeting, Rubia, Alejandro, Jen, and I headed out into the city for an "authentic" dinner. After walking for a long time and asking a nice Sra walking her dog where all the restaurants were, we found a place called Donner Kebab. Kebabs in Spain are a bread pocket stuffed with meat, vegetables, and sauces. I had a ternera (veal) kebob. So good.
I started talking with the two men behind the counter, and we had a nice conversation. They were impressed with my Spanish and asked me how I had learned so much. As we ate our food, we watched a Spanish tv program similar to Candid Camera that was hilarious. One of the guys behind the counter just about fell down from laughing. I think that they really liked us, because when it came time for the bill, they only charged us 20 euro. I went through the bill item by item with them because we thought it was closer to 36 euro, but he said that was all we owed.
After making a stop at an ice cream and pastry store, we headed back for the night. Every day is an adventure.
Click here for photos!
After two days in Madrid, we woke up relatively early for an hour bus ride down to Toledo. Since most of us had enjoyed a pretty late night, we pulled the curtains on the bus, put our sunglasses on our faces, plugged our iPod headphones in our ears, and took a little siesta. I sat by Nikki, a fellow Iowan who also wanted to get a nap in on our way to the holy city.
However, upon arriving in Toledo, we could not have been more alert. Toledo is over 2500 years old, and proved an important city for the Romans, the Visigoths, and in more recent times, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. We learned that while the Jews and Muslims were driven out from the rest of Spain in 1492, many remained in Toledo, under the radar of the Reyes Catolicos (Ferdinand and Isabella).
We first took a little bus tour around the perimeter of Toledo while our guide, Silvia, told us a bit about the history of Toledo. Most of our guides use all Spanish or do both Spanish and English, helping us to expand our vocabulary and spend more time thinking in Spanish. There are two parts of Toledo: Toledo Antiguo, which is surrounded by high walls and a natural moat, and the rest of Toledo, which no longer fits inside the original walls. We drove across an ancient bridge that used to be the only way in and out of Toledo.
Our group stopped at a viewpoint outside the city to take photos of Toledo. The view there is breathtaking. Since we are all narcissistic Americans, we all needed to get our picture taken with the city behind us. Heaven knows that photo will make a great Facebook profile picture! Southern Spain is dry dry dry, so many students ran over to the cleverly placed Tabaco to buy these giant 1.5 L bottles of water they sell here.
To get up into the old city of Toledo, you have to take a series of escalators. I think there is a picture of this in my Facebook album somewhere. Apparently the architects/engineers who figured out how to put this in without making it look awful won an award and the King himself came to Toledo to give it to them. The best part about the escalators was that they were perpetually in the shade. La asombra (shade) is SO important in Spain because el sol siempre es fuerte! (the sun is always strong!).
In the city, we toured the Cathedral of St. John of the Catholic King and Queen. Today is it a monastery, but we were able to see the nave and the cloisters. There were symbols of Isabela (Ysabela) and Fernando every where, Y's, and f's, and the yoke of Aragon and arrows of Castile. In the central area of the building, I saw a real orange tree with oranges growing--I do not know why I thought that was so cool, but it was. We also went to the top part of the cloisters and looked at the hand-woven ceiling, once again covered with symbols of los Reyes Catolicos. On the outside of the cathedral hang many pairs of shackles--we learned that after the Reyes Catolicos defeated the Muslims in Granada, they hung the Christian slaves' shackles up their as a thank you to God.
We took a little break after that, and I went into a store to buy water. Once inside, I discovered shelf after shelf of Don Quijote stuff. I love Don Quijote. La Mancha, the area of Don Quijote was from, is associated with Toledo, and for that reason, the gift shops of full of stuff related to him. I got into a long talk with the cashier about Don Quijote, and when she saw Michelangelo's David, on my credit card, she told me all about how she loves los artes romanos, Roman art. I did not want to cut the conversation off since we were communicating so well in Spanish.
When I got outside of the shop, my group was gone. In my American life, this would not have been a big deal, but at this point, I did not have a phone, did not really know anyone in the area, and Toledo is basically one never-ending maze. I sprinted down a few different alleys and resigned myself to just walking over to the Plaza Zocodover where the tour would end, when I heard Rrrrrrraquel calling my name. My friend, Rubia, had noticed that I was no longer with the group and sent her back to find me. Dios es fiel!
After that, we toured a synagogue that had been transformed into a church, and saw la obra maestra (masterpiece) of El Greco, El Entierro del Conte de Orgaz. The tour group in front of us was from Japan, and their tour guide was yelling really loudly. Silvia told them off for being too noisy in Spanish, and the poor guide did not speak enough Spanish to know what to do so they just left. I think most of us felt a little smug for knowing what Silvia had said.
We proceeded down a narrow alley, and came out upon the great Cathedral of Toledo, from which we get the phrase "Holy Toledo." For many years, Toledo was the religious center of Spain and Fernando and Ysabela planned on being buried there. The Cathedral may be in my top ten of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It was so tall, so imposing, and so powerful.
Our final stop on the tour was la Plaza Zocodover where we had lunch at a little cafe after taking some photos with the statue of Cervantes. After lunch, Rubia and I ran back into the maze of Toledo to find some of the mazapan (marzipan) that the nuns in the convent make. We found it and it was delicious. We also stumbled upon a little dulceria (sweet shop) where we bought candy shaped like cherries, motorcycles, fingers, fried eggs, and coke bottles.
That night, after arriving at our hotel, enjoying the siesta, and having a meeting, Rubia, Alejandro, Jen, and I headed out into the city for an "authentic" dinner. After walking for a long time and asking a nice Sra walking her dog where all the restaurants were, we found a place called Donner Kebab. Kebabs in Spain are a bread pocket stuffed with meat, vegetables, and sauces. I had a ternera (veal) kebob. So good.
I started talking with the two men behind the counter, and we had a nice conversation. They were impressed with my Spanish and asked me how I had learned so much. As we ate our food, we watched a Spanish tv program similar to Candid Camera that was hilarious. One of the guys behind the counter just about fell down from laughing. I think that they really liked us, because when it came time for the bill, they only charged us 20 euro. I went through the bill item by item with them because we thought it was closer to 36 euro, but he said that was all we owed.
After making a stop at an ice cream and pastry store, we headed back for the night. Every day is an adventure.
Click here for photos!
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Hey David, great to read about your travels. And I'm so glad you got to go to Toledo - it's one of the most memorable stops for me too! When you get back, you'll have plenty to work with for a Collegian article or two. (c:
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