Day 3 - Toledo

After a really long day in Salamanca, we had to leave home at 6:30 am to catch a 7:30 train to Toledo.  Just as we were leaving, Sunil could not find his Metro card.  after turning everything inside out and not finding out anything, we left a few minutes late and made it in time to catch the train.

Arriving at the Toledo train station was amazing.  The train station is a an historical building that has been around for many years.  It is an architectural amazement for a train station building.

Ticket counter of old that are not used today but show the intricate designs of the station design

Since we had booked the tickets based upon out desire to pack as much sightseeing into the day, we booked the train tickets early with the hopes of  touring Toledo as early as possible.  What Americans we are, assuming everything opens early everywhere.  When we told our private tour guide of our arrival times, he was aghast that we were arriving so early.  His rationale was that nothing opened before 10 am and since we had fixed train booking to and from Toledo, he had to adapt to our schedule.  This obviously meant we missed some things he expected to show us.  The one place we were not able to visit due to our schedule the Church of Santo Tome. 

Of course we blame the tour guide because he didn't mention anything about timing.  Ines in Salamanca told to about the timings so our schedule was set around those timings.  The tour of Toledo was in wet raining weather so it was difficult but tolerable.

Historical Toledo

Roman bridge to historical Toledo

The city is rather amazing in its history of Roman, Christian and Islamic archaeological relics and architecture.  A different tour guide and weather would make this a truly enjoyable place.

We first toured Synagogue of El Transito, which was converted into a church when the Jews were expelled from Spain.  It has been converted into a museum, home to the Sephardic Museum that is famous for its unique wood ceiling and rich Mudéjar stucco decoration, which bears comparison with the Alcazar of Seville and the Alhambra palaces in Granada.

Side door created for the church

View of the wooden ceiling

details of the holy ark interior

second floor details

Holy Ark

 

Colorful carvings of the interior. 
Note the Hebrew script

Arch relief

History of the Synagogue

Toledo was part of the ebb and flow of control between the Islamic and Christian empires.  On the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, there are many iron chains hanging high off the building's exterior.

The chains were worn by the Christians imprisoned by the Muslims. During the reconquest, the prisoners were freed and the chains were given to Ferdinand and Isabel. Upon first seeing the chains, a first thought is that the person being punished was hung this high off the ground but, no, the chains were only incorporated into the building's exterior as a reminder of the freedom from Islam and thanks to the church for helping achieve it.

Walking through Toledo, one is reminded of cities of old forts with narrow cobblestone paths with shops and old buildings all around.  Walking through Toledo one is also reminded by the many stores offering souvenirs, that many parts of Spain were used in episodes of the "Game of Thrones" shows!

We walked thru the paths and found our way to Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo.  The cathedral is a 13th-century High Gothic cathedrals and is considered to be the best of the Gothic style in Spain. It was begun by Ferdinand III and finished about 200 years later by the Catholic Monarchs. It  combines some characteristics of the Mudéjar style with spectacular incorporation of light and the structural achievements of the ambulatory vaults are some of its more remarkable aspects.

City Hall

Toledo Cathedral

Admiring the Gothic Architecture

Sept dedicated to Mary.  Look at the carvings

Looks like the Sistene Chapel.

Altar

Gold Pasos

Detail from the Pasos

After our visit at the Cathedral, we went to the market and had a quick bite to eat and took taxi's back to the train station.  The trip to Toledo was a quick half-day trip followed by a return to our Madrid apartment and then off to catch a high-speed train to Seville at 4:30 pm.

Getting ready to board the Renfe AVE train for Seville

Aah the trains in Spain are awesome.  Did we mention how nice the trains are in Spain.  Wish we had these in the US.

The trip to Seville took 2 1/2 hours and for the most part, we all took a snooze and rested before the next leg of the journey began.  On this journey, Yasen and his parents (Vanya and Rohit) also joined us on the train to see the sights in Seville.