A Day in Toledo

by annie

We decided to conclude our time in Aranjuez with a day-trip to Toledo. We took the 8am bus from Aranjuez because it is the only one that runs between the two cities. Alfredo was up early too for his dialysis appointment. I found him in the kitchen dipping digestive biscuits into his milk and "cereales" (small nuggets that dissolve into liquid, I'm not sure exactly what they are). He was so focused on his breakfast that he didn't respond to my "buenos dias" for about five minutes. Cute.

The walk to the bus stop took about 40 minutes and we had tons more walking to do in the day ahead of us. Old Town Toledo rests on the top of a hill- getting to the center means climbing steep inclines and lots of cobbled stairs. Not much was happening in Toledo at 9am, so we walked through the middle of the city to the other side, stopping at the cathedral along the way. On the other side, we found a walking path along the perimeter of the city and stunning views of the surrounding landscape. Toledo has it's own built-in natural moat: the Tajo River.

It's a beautiful city, much like some of the others we've seen- there's a cathedral, a castle or two, many plazas with patio-set restaurants, and lots of little bakeries. Marzapan and turron seemed to be the local specialties.

In the afternoon, we stopped by a museum of Spanish history and a church that housed el Greco's most famous painting of the burial of a popular political figure and church benefactor. For lunch, we ate veggie paella on a sunny terrace, unfortunately situated directly behind some old, rich, southern American tourist who made no effort to speak Spanish or play nice with the waiter. They demanded salads to be returned, orders changed and the older gentleman complained that he couldn't eat his "Mac-Donald's" on the patio of this particular restaurant. Instead of a dose of southern comfort, it was an unsettling reminder of a certain type of American who happily abuse their privilege. We felt quite shocked by their behavior and were glad to immerse back into the Spanish streets. We spent our final hours soaking up sun in plazas and walking one last time through the city.

Our feet were tired when we made it back to Aranjuez, so we didn't linger too long in the Royal Gardens, although it was extremely beautiful. Set surrounding the palace, the gardens stretch beyond what I would normally consider "garden size." Apparently the king still makes it back to the palace in Aranjuez for occasional hunting.



Slide show of Toledo: