Posted by We boarded our bus to Toledo at 9am. It turned out that the tour was only 8 hours and I was glad. After 3+ weeks of travel I am pretty tired.
The bus ride took a little over an hour with the customary coffee stop. They let us off right below the city and we took 6 escalators to get to the height of the city center. Our group was 2/3 Spanish speakers and 1/3 English speakers. The guide said everything twice – once in each language. We walked up and down the hilly streets of Toledo stopping to hear about the different buildings. We visited the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes. The outside of the building has chains with manacles hanging from the walls. They are from Christians captured by the Muslims who when saved moved to Toledo.
We went to a building that was a synagogue in the 1400’s. We learned that other countries had expelled Jews before Queen Isabella did it in 1492. (The guides think this makes it not as bad.)
We went to the Toledo Cathedral. I was here in 2021 and it still takes my breathe away. The interior is beautiful. We saw the El Greco paintings as well as some by other famous painters.
We went to the main square where we were given an hour and a half for lunch. I found the side street where Carolyn, Sira, and I had drinks and tapas in 2021. Oskar and I asked a solo Italian woman if we could share her table. She said yes so we had an enjoyable lunch talking with her.
The city is celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi on May 5th when they have a 4 hour processional from the Cathedral through the city. Special lights were already hung in the streets.
After lunch we headed down hill to the bus. We got back to our apartment before 5pm.
Tomorrow Is May 1st, Labor Day in most of Europe. Museums and businesses are closed. We might just wander over to the main park.
Neppa Adventures