Holy Toledo!

On my last full day in Spain, I take a daytrip to Toledo, the historic capital of ancient Spain, or more correctly the Visigothic kingdom around the 7th Century.

I had booked the fast train departing at 0850 and the return at 1725, at a highly discounted price.  The journey was only 30 minutes each way but required a short bus ride to town (or a walk in the heat).  The bus that was supposed to drop me in Zocodover Square in the heart of Toledo didn’t.  I had to take a series of escalators up to near there.  I later realised that roadworks meant that some buses no longer enter the centre.

With a free walking tour booked for 1100, I had to decide whether to just relax or rush to go see something somewhere.  With the Cathedral closed till 1400 and the Alcazar being too big to see in one hour, I decided on the Transito Synagogue on the far end of town about 15 minutes walk away.

Being Sunday, entry was free.   All the explanations posted on the exhibits in the synagogue were in Spanish and without my glasses, it was too hard to attempt to read them.  In each room was an overview in English that was too hard to read too.  The architecture was somewhat Moorish possibly because that was the prevailing style in the area and also they may have employed Muslim artists.  I was out in 20 minutes making my way back to the meeting point for the free walking tour in time for the start.

Text continues after this gallery.

The two hour walking tour was OK but not amazing like some I’ve had.  The guide was pleasant and tried hard.  Some of the more memorable take-outs were:

• The overhead decorations on the street were for Corpus Christi celebrated recently.
• The San Vicente church and the adjacent university were sites for the Spanish inquisition.  Ironically the church is now an arts centre and night club!

After a snack-lunch I visited the gorgeous Cathedral and then the Alcazar.  The latter could not have been more boring for me as it was a comprehensive military museum of military artefacts through the ages and from around the world.  Fortunately it was free today.

Text continues after this gallery.

The only thing remaining that I wanted to do was Mirador del Valle to get a view of Toledo with the river in the foreground.  There was a choice of the public  bus, the toy train or the hop-on/off bus.  The bus didn’t have a frequent schedule being Sunday, the toy train was full until it would be too late for me and the hop-on/off bus … well, I had lost interest by then.

I had another snack before returning to Toledo’s pretty railway station by bus, with an hour to spare before boarding.  Editing the beautiful photos from my final excursion in Spain, time went quickly.  While I enjoyed the outing to Toledo very much, I couldn’t help thinking that I liked Salamanca and Segovia better (but only just).

I was back in Madrid around 1800 and took dinner in the Chinese-operated Spanish restaurant, having fifteen garlic prawns!