Today we took a day trip to the city of Toledo, Spain. Toledo is 70km outside of Madrid, and for €20 apiece, our hostel drove us there (this is about 2/3rds of what this trip would cost if you used a tour company, or just bought train tickets yourself). After a thrilling drive across the Spanish meseta (which roughly translates to "Iowa" in English), we came to the city of Toledo.
Prior to 1561, Toledo was the capital of both Catholic Spain, and the Moorish caliphate of Al-Andalus before the Spanish captured it. Taking it was quite the feat, as the old city is surrounded by a river on 3 sides, and is on a large hill topped by a fortress called the alcazar. In its time, Toledo was the wealthiest and most important city of one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with buildings and architecture to match. These buildings line a jumble of twisting streets, many of which are too narrow for cars, and more of which are unlabeled. Our intrepid band set off into the labyrinth to find the cathedral.
Toledo cathedral was the seat of the Catholic Church in Spain even until the 20th century. It's still a far nicer cathedral than the one found in Madrid. Begun in the 1200s, it wasn't completed until 1493, and is the most beautiful Gothic cathedral I've ever seen. It makes Notre Dame de Paris look like your local parish church. There's more stained glass, more (and better) art, and unlike Notre Dame, the exterior adornments haven't been broken by war. Toledo cathedral also has an excellent collection of works by the Spanish painter El Greco, which would be well worth the €8 admission. The rest of the stuff is just the cheese sauce on the potatoes.
After further wandering, we went to see El Greco's masterwork, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. It's in a small and otherwise unimportant church near the old Jewish quarter, and sits in the vestibule over the count's grave. El Greco's painting has the rich colors and surreal figures that have popped up so frequently in the works of centuries of Spanish artists long after he was working in the 16th century.
After finding an ATM (and weirdly enough, a craft beer), we had about an hour to kill before the ride home. Since our pickup spot was at the alcazar, we decided to head that way. The alcazar has been converted into an armor museum, which charges admission. However, it has also been converted into a library with a cafeteria on top. The cafeteria has stunning views of Toledo, and unlike the cafe in the Eiffel Tower, the prices aren't a robbery.
Neither are the prices at the Mercado San Miguel, for that matter. We returned there after a ride back from Toledo and a nap. By this point, we have figured out that any €1 tapa is a good deal, and you can get octopus Galician style at this price. €2 will get you a plate of fresh olives that would easily be triple the price at your local grocer, and unlike your local grocer's old olives, these are so fresh that Alecia will even eat them. Getting this meant returning to Plaza Mayor after dark. Normally, this would be uneventful, but this is the holiday season in Madrid. That Christmas market we saw with a tree and lights was now all lit up, and a flamenco band was playing. Locals were out shopping for silly hats with their kids, and everybody was having a good time. The same was true in Plaza Del Sol, where a metal tree taller than any building was illuminated.
We returned to the hostel just in time for €4 giant paella portions full of shrimp and mussels and seafood (delicious), and socialized with our fellow hostel guests from 4 continents and 6 (or 7) countries until the wee hours of the morning.
It's 2AM, and we aren't even up late by Spanish standards.
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