4th October Toledo-Madrid

I'm trying to catch up on my posts...not having wifi in Madrid has put me behind...as well as exhaustion some nights!

Today we headed for Madrid but we stopped along the way at the beautiful town of Toledo. It is known as 'the city of three cultures' because of the coexistence for centuries of Christians, Arabs and Jews. Toledo was famed for religious tolerance and had large communities of Muslims and Jews until they were expelled from Spain in 1492 (Jews) and 1502 (Muslims). Today the city contains the religious monuments of the Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca, the Synagogue of El Transito, the Mosque of Christo de la Luz and the church of San Sebastián, which all date back before the expulsion. We walked through the ancient narrow streets to see the majestic Gothic Cathedral with its beautiful stained glass windows that filter light into the Church. I loved the red hats hanging from the ceiling in front of El Transparente, these belonged to the cardinals who are buried in the tombs directly beneath, and they are left there until they rot...which is a very long time. The centerpiece of the Treasure Room is a 15th-century gilded monstrance made of solid silver, it was gilded 70 years later, allegedly with gold brought back from the New World by Columbus. It is still carried through the streets of Toledo during the feast of Corpus Christi

It was in Toledo that I was introduced to the painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, El Greco. He is best known for his tortuosly elongated figures and a dramatic expressionistic style. We saw several of his works including The Burial of the Count of Orgazl which is housed in the Medejar Church of Santo Tome.

I am also ashamed to say that it was in Toledo that i had my first Spanish McDonalds! Mainly because we needed a toilet and we knew we would get food quickly which meant we had more time to explore the streets of Toledo on our own. The Spanish have siesta from 2-5pm and most of the shops are closed during this time. Stopping at a cafe or restaurant for lunch (as we usually do in Spain) can take at least an hour, so today...McDonalds was the best option!

Next stop....Madrid! After dinner at our hotel in Madrid, eight of us jumped in a Taxi and headed out to have our first real Spanish churros! We went to the Chocolateria San Gines which has been serving churros and chocolate since 1894! The churros were greasier than what I am used to and the hot chocolate that you dip them in was thick. It is also what you get if you order a hot chocolate. I am not complaining however...I still ate it :)