Toledo
After finishing our drive into Toledo we toured the Cathedral of Toledo. We were very grateful for the audio-guide we bought. It was full of all kinds of information and turned a nice visit to the cathedral into a very long and informative visit. Daniel and I found ourselves looking at an impressive mural, then after listening to the narrator we would turn to each other and raise our eyebrows with awe b/c of the insight.
This is one of the organs inside.
After the cathedral we were ready for dinner/snack. Daniel and I had a great paella in the Plaza de Zocodover.
After the paella we hopped onto this funny "train" that drove us around Toledo and the Don Quioxte Route. It was a nice change for our feet, which were getting tired.
Toledo was Spain's capital until 1561 when Philip II moved it to Madrid
Daniel and I enjoyed Toledo. It was a very pretty town.
This is the view from our hotel outside of the city in the afternoon.
This is the view from out hotel in the evening. It was breathtaking! The moon was the most amazing site.
The next morning we wen to the Santa Tome church to see El Greco's famous piece The Burial of the Count of Orgaz
Then we drove up to Segovia.
This is what I had written in my journal for Oct. 6th:
After waking up is Granada on Monday morning we quickly packed our bag and checked out of the downtown hotel. We found a parking ticket on our car, put our bags in the car and went to find breakfast. We had a yummy pastry (which we always bought in the future when we found it!), a box of orange juice and a little cheese and ham baguette.
We arrived in Toledo around 2pm and went right to the cathedral built from 1226-1495,mostly gothic. There were many paintings here by Goya, Titian, Rubens, Velazques, and Bellini. After the cathedral we went to the Plaza Zocodover for dinner. After dinner we realized the last tourist "train" was going to be leaving. So we quickly paid and jumped on. It was a nice change for our feet and had a nice tour around the town. Then we went to the best place in Spain to have mazapan, Santo Tome. We sat on the plaza for a while and enjoyed the people and the mazapan.
Our hotel tonight was the best lodging of our trip. The hotel Almazara was the summer residence for a 16th century arch bishop of Toledo and a retreat for El Greco. The view was amazing.
In the morning we went to the Santo Tome chapel where El Greco painted his famous work of Art the Burial of the Count Orgaz. I was really looking forward to this chapel and know the churches we had been inside I thought this was going to be quite a site.... well... After we paid Daniel started to open the door in front of us to go inside. A guard said, "That is the exit, enter over here." So we turned to our left and opened that door. We stepped inside and turned to the right. There was the painting, very impressive, but only 20 feet away from us. It was the smallest church I have ever been in! After Daniel and I got over the shock of the smallness of the Santo Tome church we studied the painting for quite some time. After the painting I window shopped a while and bought a few gifts. This is where we found a knife for my mom. For centuries knifes and swords have been made here and are still made here for the bullfighters today.
After waking up is Granada on Monday morning we quickly packed our bag and checked out of the downtown hotel. We found a parking ticket on our car, put our bags in the car and went to find breakfast. We had a yummy pastry (which we always bought in the future when we found it!), a box of orange juice and a little cheese and ham baguette.
We arrived in Toledo around 2pm and went right to the cathedral built from 1226-1495,mostly gothic. There were many paintings here by Goya, Titian, Rubens, Velazques, and Bellini. After the cathedral we went to the Plaza Zocodover for dinner. After dinner we realized the last tourist "train" was going to be leaving. So we quickly paid and jumped on. It was a nice change for our feet and had a nice tour around the town. Then we went to the best place in Spain to have mazapan, Santo Tome. We sat on the plaza for a while and enjoyed the people and the mazapan.
Our hotel tonight was the best lodging of our trip. The hotel Almazara was the summer residence for a 16th century arch bishop of Toledo and a retreat for El Greco. The view was amazing.
In the morning we went to the Santo Tome chapel where El Greco painted his famous work of Art the Burial of the Count Orgaz. I was really looking forward to this chapel and know the churches we had been inside I thought this was going to be quite a site.... well... After we paid Daniel started to open the door in front of us to go inside. A guard said, "That is the exit, enter over here." So we turned to our left and opened that door. We stepped inside and turned to the right. There was the painting, very impressive, but only 20 feet away from us. It was the smallest church I have ever been in! After Daniel and I got over the shock of the smallness of the Santo Tome church we studied the painting for quite some time. After the painting I window shopped a while and bought a few gifts. This is where we found a knife for my mom. For centuries knifes and swords have been made here and are still made here for the bullfighters today.
