March 20
Toledo
We were up and about a bit early today, but that did not interfere with our usual breakfast of tasty bits and bites topped off with Churros and chocolate.
Churros for breakfast
Sara was right on time and had a surprise for us, or rather for Anders! Her son, Marko (11) wanted Anders to have the sword and shield from Toledo that he had when he was little. That is just another reason we like Sara. It is a little wooden shield with a blue cross and a black handled wooden sword to match.
We met our driver for the day, Juan Carlos and his nice new Mercedes hybrid van. He expertly guided us out of the Madrid Centro and onto the A-42 south to Toledo. In a little over an hour we were circling Toledo in the “off and on” rain up to the Parador. This is the best view of old Toledo. In fact, some Japanese magazine picked this view of Toledo at night to be the most beautiful view of a city at night in the world. We wondered about that for a minute.
The Parador is a chain of classic hotels around the Iberian Peninsula. I think our son Cliff and his wife Sarah spent their honeymoon at a Parador on the coast north of Barcelona. We managed to go out on the deck and take a number of pictures.
From the deck of the Parador
Juan Carlos then took the very curvy road down the mountain and across the bridge and let us off at the main square just below the Alcazar. The Alcazar is an impressive building. It was damaged during the civil war then rebuilt. It now houses government offices. We did not go in. Instead, we walked through the heart of the city toward the Cathedral stopping here and there to buy this and that.
Sara and Shirley in the Main Square
Paul and Shirley at the Cervantes Gate
Paul and the owner of the Damascene shop.
At the Moreno Damascene store we saw the craftsman at work, the owner explained the technique and the relative prices of a China product, and a handmade product (60 Euros to 400 euros). We purchased a nice plate starring Don Quixote and a set of earrings and pendant to match. The owner introduced us to her father who started the business and was a craftsman. His picture is above our heads.
By this time the rain was coming down steadily. Thankfully the cobblestone streets were not slippery as we made our way down the hill to the Cathedral. We bought the tickets and entered a very, very large church. It is very cavernous. There were 3 highlights to note:
Under the tower was a room dedicated to displaying the very large and ornate Monstrance. This is taken out on special days and paraded through the streets holding Jesus in the form of the Blessed Sacrament.
The high Altar
This altar was made at the height of Spanish Power and the most powerful prelate in all of Spain resided here in Toledo. The figures depicting the life of Christ are sized so the spectator at the bottom level sees all the figures the same, even though the ones high up are much larger than the ones at the bottom. It is because of perspective that the builders made it in this way.
The third highlight was at the back of the high altar where the builders managed to design a window so that on the summer solstice, the light would enter and shine through a hole in the back of the altar illuminating the elevation of the Host at the time of Consecration during the celebration of the Mass. That took some planning and precise execution by the designers and the builders.
Outside the Cathedral the rain let up and we were treated to the immense power this building conveyed. Small wonder the King decided to move his Capital to Madrid to escape the influence of the Archbishop Cardinal.
The Main entrance
We walked down to another church, San Roman. It is old. It was a Roman Church and we saw the evidence of the stonework. It was a Visigoth Church and we saw the evidence of a column still holding up the nave. It is a Catholic Church with an active Parish today. In the picture note the Roman Column, the Visigoth Column and the Moorish keyhole arches.
Three ages in one Church
It was time for more shopping. Shirley saw a ceramic store that looked very small but was revealed to be a warren of many rooms with thousands of pots and plates and beakers and whatchamacallits. Shirley found an olive oil cruet that would look nice in our kitchen.
Pottery, pottery and more pottery
On our way to lunch we stopped off and visited an old synagogue where Sara told us the story of how the three religions lived and worked together in peace for many years. This synagogue was designed and built by Moors and some parts reminded us of the ceilings at the Alhambra.
Lunch was an adventure. In New York they called it a prie fixe; here it was three courses for one price. We ate fish, some sort of bread dressing with Chorizo, really good bread, French toast with ice cream and tasty chocolate. It was relaxing and good.
After lunch we toured another synagogue with definite Moorish architecture in the nave. After the Reconquista it was converted to a church and some time after that became the museum it remains today.
Our last stop was on the outside of the Church of San Juan de los Reyes. It was the outside that held our interest. Hundreds of manacles were hung on the walls of the Church. These were worn by the Christian Prisoners set free in 1492 when the Catholic Monarchs completed the Reconquista.
We were ready to meet Juan Carlos and the very comfortable van after that. Sara made a call and voila Juan Carlos appeared and whisked us back to the Palace Hotel in a little over an hour. Siesta and some blogging followed.
Once back at the Hotel we siesta’d and blogged and generally reset. At 6:30 the weather looked nice and we decided to walk a bit. On our way to the Plaza de Santa Ana, we saw a very unique place called the Bestial. We ate there and marveled at the atmosphere.
After that there is no more to say. We walked back in a downpour and recorded the days events. 10,981 steps and 4.83 miles.
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