Toledo & Madrid, Spain

A couple weeks back, the three legged monster (Jenna, Erin and I) along with Stu and Kate, headed to Madrid for a weekend of tapas and sightseeing. Jenna and I set out a day early to sneak a day trip to Toledo. Toledo is a quick 30 minute train ride from Madrid's Atocha train station (located by the Prado and Retro Park) and costs about €8 each way per person. If in Madrid for more than 2 days, Toledo is a must.

Toledo, a UNESCO world heritage site, was a former capital of the Spanish empire and is known as an unusual city for its history of religious tolerance between Jews, Muslims and Christians. Much of the existing town is several hundred years old and walking through the streets is great, with lots of small winding roads where there is something new at every corner (at least a different souvenir shop selling the same products at every corner).

The arrival from the train station is great, a 10 minute walk crossing an old and imposing stone bridge before breaching the castle walls (as Jenna did with easy below). The town is perched on top of a hill along a river, so it undoubtedly provided great protection against the uninvited in the past.

We wandered around the town and went into the Gothic Cathedral of St. Mary, which was actually a really pleasant surprise. Many times these churches charge and arm and a kneecap for an average experience, but this was definitely worth it. Reminiscent of the church we visited in Seville, it was full of surprises. The Cathedral, built in the 1400's, was very impressive and its unbelievable it has been standing for so long and in such great condition. The choir was remarkable, as was the altar (retable). My favourite part was the wall/ceiling behind the altar (or part of the altar), called El Transparente, several stories high, with fantastic figures of stucco, painting, bronze castings, and multiple colors of marble, enhanced by the sunlight giving the impression that the whole altar is rising to heaven. It was really really cool. I love the churches where you can't exactly tell if the painting or the actual building has an angle in it.

After the church we were determined to find a church to climb up to check a view of the city, which Iglesia San Roman provided (see first photo). We had lunch and watched the first match of the world cup (South Africa v. Mexico) over some tapas, then walked it off and had a pre-trainride home beer atop the bridge before returning for Madrid. You really only need 3-4 hours in Toledo and can easily manage as a day trip....a very worthwhile day trip.

When we returned we cleaned up and headed out to Calle Baja near Plaza Mayor for some eats before the rest of the gang made it in....the photo below at a great wine bar (whose name escapes me), sums up the night pre-Stu, Kate, Erin arrival; ham and wine. However that's not fully true as the place below served up some of the best squid I've ever had.

Once the others arrived, we went for some more Jamon, nicely partnered with Sangria and Manchego.Stu was hungry. After dinner Jenna and I showed the others our elaborate hand shake we created, which really consists of dancing aimlessly and isn't much of a hand shake...let's just say its a work in progress.

The next day, much to our dismay and disbelief, it was pouring all day long:-(. Everyone warned us about going to Madrid in June when it was supposed to be so dry and hot....let's just say we wished that was the case. Thankfully we spent the morning in the Prado and the rest of the day eating and drinking!! We made it to a bar and watched the US and England draw, which as many media outlet's proclaim as a US victory. If only we could've scored one more against Ghana. The beers, though small, were really refreshing...I soon transitioned to Spanish Douro, which never fails to satisfy.

Following the match, we went to El Mollete, a great little spot that is operated by a lovely couple. The wife cooks up some amazing food and it was a great cap to the night, although a couple of us had too much to drink so we had to cut the infamous 5am night short. You can see how excited Kate is to indulge!

The next day was much much better, so we were up fairly early to see the city. It was a pretty uneventful day, but we enjoyed walking around the likes of Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, Park Retro and down the Gran Via.

Park Retro had some pretty crazy trees that allowed for some needed shade for the whitey below!

All in all, it was a successful weekend and fun to get away with Stu, Kate and equally as fun to continue to show Jenna Europa! If only easyJet wasn't four hours delay and there was no rain; but every weekend away can't be perfect!