Welcome to Toledo

We did it the tourist way. Well, at least we weren’t alone in that aspect on our trip to Toledo, an almost-fortress city just about a one hour drive south of Madrid. We had a great tour guide to show us along the narrow streets of Toledo (staying out of the way of the cars as best as we could!) and help us understand the history of this ancient city.

The group getting guided

Dodging cars

The highlight of the trip was definitely the Gothic cathedral, on which construction was begun in the 13^th century and didn’t finish until the 15^th century. The anticipation of seeing the cathedral built as we caught glimpses of the tower from across the city, slowly weaving our way through the streets in its direction. The level of workmanship and the sheer feat of erecting such a building in medieval times simply astounds me.

The Cathedral's tower from the city

After crisscrossing the city, we were left with about a two and a half hour block of free time, which we used to scour the shops, admiring the intricately detailed gold “Damascus” plates, trying to start a sword fight using the many swords being sold at every corner (unluckily, the swords were tied to their racks), and browsing the selection of fans that are essential to completing the accessories of any truly Spanish woman. We also took some time sitting at an outdoor café in the Plaza del Conde, where the people-watching was at its best.

Holly and Caroline at the cafe

By the end of the day, we were all completely exhausted and almost everyone dozed off for a few minutes on the bus ride home (Lindsay has the pictures of mouths hanging open in sleep to prove it). To sum it all up, I think we all left with the same attitude as this statue: