When we got to Toledo, we had to take a 10 minute bus ride to the top of the city. Toledo was actually built on a hill and is considered to be the religious capital of Spain, as it as Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim influences and all three religions have flourished here together and the influences can still be seen.
When we got to the top of the hill, we went to the tourist office to get a free map. Then, we headed for the Cathedral. We used a Rick Steves tour and spent approximately an hour and a half there. The cathedral was built in the gothic style and was gorgeous - way more beautiful than any of the churches we saw in Madrid. The Cathedral also had a collection of relics and other valuable pieces. They even had a gift given from their sister city in Toledo, Ohio. Anya was a little grouchy during our visit and we had to get her out of the stroller a couple of times.
Next, we headed to the Victorio Macho Museum where there was a spectacular view of the city. This picture definitely doesn't do it justice!
Anya slept through most of the museum, which was a relief after the Cathedral but she woke up when we stopped for lunch. We had some sandwiches and once again, Anya surprised us by eating salami. We couldn't figure out what was up with her!
After lunch, we went to the Synagogue de Santa Maria Blanca. The interior itself was beautiful but the exhibit wasn't much.
We did some shopping on our way back to the main square and stopped at Santa Tome for some marzapan, which we ate in the main square. Marzapan is a sweet treat that is really popular in Toledo. It tastes a lot of pie dough, so I loved it.
Toledo is very different from Madrid in that it seems older and more "authentic." Not that Madrid isn't great, but it is a bigger city, part of which has been more modernized. Toledo still had the cobblestone streets. Some of the alleys were so rough, we were really worried we were going to lose a wheel on the stroller!
Our train didn't leave until around 7:30 in the evening, so we had time to visit the Santa Cruz Museum as well. It is an art museum that houses some of El Greco's paintings. We spent about an hour and a half viewing the art, using another Rick Steves tour as our guide.
We took the train back to Madrid and arrived in Madrid around 8 pm. we stopped by the room to drop off some of our stuff we had bought in Toledo and then headed out for dinner. I know this sounds late, but everyone eats late in Spain. We went to a place called Taberna Kaixo that served more tapas. We had sangra, beer, more toast with brie and carmelized onions, toast with jamon (Spanish ham) and mushrooms, croquettes de jamon (like fried ham balls), and some kind of egg-based tapa that had eggs, potatoes, and sausage. I know it sounds wierd, but it was absolutely amazing. Just writing about the tapas in Madrid makes my mouth water!
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