Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Holy, Toledo!

If you have a few days in Madrid, Toledo should be a must on your list of day trips! It's a city Anna and I had hoped to visit on our summer trip last year, but just weren't able to make it. I am so glad I was able to visit - what an amazing place!

Within minutes of walking into the city, I fell in love. I don't know why, but I immediately liked the feel of it. The narrow, stone streets were very reminiscent of Sevilla, yet the hilly-ness of the city reminded me of the mountains. The stone and bricks everywhere, the history, the beautiful buildings - they definitely made Toledo one of my favorite cities in Spain!

I loved the streets!

Once arriving at the train station (only a 30 minute/20 euro trip from Madrid), you can walk or take a bus or taxi into the old center. I chose to walk, and although it only took about 20 minutes, a large portion of that walk was up tons of stairs - whew! From there, I just wandered around the streets, knowing that I would happen upon the sights I wanted to see. (FYI - most of the streets are brick and stone - not so nice for walking! Make sure you have comfortable shoes :)

As well as being the old capital of Spain, Toledo has some really interesting history. At one point, Muslims, Jews, and Catholics were all living in the city together - pretty unusual in Spanish history! For this reason, there are still multiple churches, a mosque, and a synagogue.

La Catedral

In addition to the history, I found everyone super-friendly and food and drinks surprisingly inexpensive - always a plus in my book. Yep - Toledo is definitely a city worth seeing!

Old Spanish men hanging out in the plaza made me love the city even more!

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