Day 3 Toledo and Cordoba

We were awakened at 6:45 to begin our journey to Toledo. The day was cold and overcast and I was suddenly regretting bringing 8 dresses to wear. Mari Luce came with us on the bus and gave us facts along our drive. About 20 mins into our drive we were pulled over by the police. Apparently there are very strict bus driver regulations in Spain and a lot of documentation is necessary. The regulation says something like drivers are only allowed to drive for 3 hours straight and then they are required to take a 30 min break. It took around 25 mins for the cops to go through the paperwork and confirm we were being safe before we were allowed back on the road.

Policio checking the driver

Can't escape the popo even across the world

After another hour of driving, we reached the walled city of Toledo. It is a fortress on top of a hill and it is stunning. There is a river forming a natural barrier to the surrounding landscape that was breathtaking. The old city of Toledo is still behind the original wall and the new city surrounds it on the outside of the wall. The streets within the wall are so narrow the bus couldn't fit so we were dropped off at an escalator that carried us up into the city. The streets were so narrow they were barely wide enough for compact cars to drive through and they twisted and turned and made absolutely no sense. Mari Luce explained to us that this was to confuse an enemy if they ever infiltrated the city. The streets were made of cobblestone and rock that was uneven and made for very interesting walking.

Toledo

Toledo is most famous for its swords and metal work. They made most of the armies of Spain's swords through the ages and continue making prize swords today. One of the coolest facts about that is Toledo was asked to design the swords used in Lord of the Rings. (Everyone who knows me knows I have a love affair with Lord of the Rings, I can basically quote every movie and have seen them hundreds of times...for real hundreds) They had mini replicas all over the city of the LOTR swords and I wanted to bring one home SO badly, but I was informed it probably wouldn't make it through customs. We walked through a few of their metal shops and watched the men working on carving designs with gold. It was beautiful but so expensive.

Narrow streets for people and cars

Mari Luce

Metal worker

Swords!

Awesome handles...Princess Bride swords

All I really wanted but couldn't bring home :(

After walking around the shops, we stumbled upon our first Spanish Cathedral. It was in the gothic style and it was stunning. For someone like me who had never really seen any Catholic cathedrals in my life, it was jaw dropping. All of the carvings and arches and details were overwhelming- I think I took at least 30 pictures of this one building. The Last Supper was painstakingly carved out over the front doors and it was awesome.

Last supper over the door

Close up of the last supper

Toledo is also famous for its marzipan. I had heard of it before but I couldn't remember ever trying it. We were told it's traditionally a Christmastime food in Spain, but Toledo is famous for it all year around. Being brave, I decided to try a piece and I was super disappointed. It was not very good at all. I had planned on bringing some home since that is what they were famous for but quickly changed my mind.

Toledo is like many of the cities in Spain in that it was home to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim people throughout time. The layers of the city show the different influences. There was the Jewish quarter that was marked by Stars of David tiles set in the road, there was a monumento nacional (National Monument) named Santa Maria La Blanca that had at one time also been a Jewish synagogue and a Christian church, and there were different religious symbols marking the walls. We went into the building and although it was completely empty and no longer used as a church, the religious symbols were still overlapping everywhere. It was sad to see this beautiful building reduced to nothing more than an empty museum.

Lastly we went and saw the painting The Burial of Count Orgaz in the tower of Santo Tome by El Greco. This painting is painted above the tomb of Don Gonzalo Ruiz (the subject of the painting) and cannot be moved so you have to file reverently into this old church that only serves as a tomb now. The painting is beautiful and has been preserved well from the late 1500s. It shows the burial of the count and the sadness of his people when he died. El Greco was somewhat mischievous and painted himself as well as his son into the painting. It was another sign that I actually do enjoy art.

We then went on to eat one of my favorite lunches of the entire trip. We stumbled upon a cafe that offered everything potato. I ordered a huge baked potato that came with ham, cheese, green olives, corn and sour cream-like-yogurt. It was amazing, even typing this my mouth is watering for another one just like that. After a bit of shopping we met up with the bus and headed on to Cordoba.

Narrow streets of Toledo

Walls built in different time periods

City Hall in Toledo

Yummiest baked potato I've ever had

Bridge out of Toledo

Car entrance to the city

View on the way out

When we finally arrived in Cordoba it was dinner time (which in Spain is around 9 pm). After a delicious buffet provided by the hotel, we wandered around Cordoba a little bit before the sun went down. Our hotel had a rooftop pool and lookout and we could see the whole city. It was another beautiful city, thank you Spain.

The hotel we stayed at

View from the roof

Cordoba

The yummiest ice cream ever