Spring Break in Spain–Last Day: Toledo

This was our last day in Spain.  The Chuggs stayed for another two days of fun but we wanted to take advantage of cheaper airplane tickets and two less hotel nights… and spend the weekend at home saving our ‘2 extra leave days’ for the many trips planned for this summer.  

We woke up early and were downstairs eating breakfast in the hotel lobby by 8:00 with luggage packed and Chris having already run to get the van.   The breakfast was a good spread of bread, meat, yogurt, toast and creams.  All the kids found something great and we took up exactly half of the small breakfast area seating.  The other guests stared and smiled as the kids – all spread out throughout the room -- got their food and ate.  Then some of them looked at Chris and I and gave us a thumbs up to communicate their admiration or maybe wishing us good luck.  It made me happy.  When we left the area Matthew smiled back at the ladies behind the buffet and said, ‘THANKS!’ with a smile and the ladies practically melted.  He has that effect on me too.

The drive north to Toledo was beautiful.  We saw several large ‘billboard’ bulls along our drive that I had to capture.  We drove through fields and fields of olive trees and it really smelled like olives… green olives.  In several of the restaurants we ate in they served green olives at the beginning of the meal, instead of bread or chips.  The landlords who stalked our fridge full of food for us gave us the most delicious jar of green olives… best I’ve ever had, besides on a good Italian pizza.  Wished I could have found another jar of it for my Dad. 

As we drove into Toledo we could see the city on top of the hill.  Before parking we took the recommended scenic drive around the outside of the city to check it out.

Scenic Drive around Toledo

  

Toledo was a picturesque little city… which made me think it was the Rothenburg of Spain.  “An hour south of Madrid, Toledo is incredibly well-preserved and full of cultural wonder. The entire city has been declared a national monument. -- It’s so well preserved that the Spanish government has forbidden any modern exteriors. The rich mix of Jewish, Moorish, and Christian heritages makes it one of Europe’s artistic highlights. Toledo remains the historic, artistic, and spiritual center of Spain.”

We climbed from our parking space, through the gate into town.  They say “In Toledo, everything’s uphill”  The streets were twisty and confusing which added to the medieval charm.  

 

There were ‘bulls’ all over the shops of Spain but I thought these were pretty funny…

 

Holy Toledo!

“For centuries Toledo was a Roman transportation hub with a thriving Jewish population.  After Rome fell, the city became a Visigothic capital, then it became a Moors (Muslims) center.  Then it was re-conquered by Christians, but many Moors remained in Toledo, tolerated and respected as scholars and craftsmen.   While Jews were commonly persecuted elsewhere in Europe, Toledo’s Jewish community – educated, wealthy, and cosmopolitan – thrived from the city’s earliest times.  The American expression “Holy Toledo” likely originated from these Spanish Jews who eventually immigrated to America.  To them, Toledo was the holiest Jewish city in Europe.”   Since the city is pronounced “toe-lay-doe” in Spanish, our family had fun adopting the old saying with a new ‘Antonio Banderas’ twist.    Holy Toledo!

The Toledo Cathedral was hardly impressive from the outside.  I could barely stand back far enough to get a picture since it was squished in the center of town amid all the crooked cobblestone streets and shops.

But INSIDE the Cathedral was breathtaking…  Chris and I both really liked it, even better than the Cathedral in Sevilla.  It was a similar square-ish shape with grand arches and a really spectacular altar piece.  We – mostly Ryan and Chris --  walked throughout whispering “Holy Toledo!”

 

Outside the cathedral we stopped to listen to this cello player. He was excellent – I kind of wished that I bought his CD.

    

Pizza for lunch in the square.  Matt asleep and carried back to the van by Dad.

 

The girls used their own hard earned spending money to buy Spanish fans from Toledo and on the way back to the van mastered the opening of them with one hand just like a flamenco dancer.

From Toledo we drove north to the Madrid airport to return our big white bus and catch our Ryan Air flight back to Frankfurt and then back home.  It was a really great Spring Break!