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| Toledo from across the river |
About 50 miles outside of Madrid is the city of Toledo. Within the walls of the city center are more than 2000 years of history. By comparison, Madrid which was founded in the 9th century is a mere child. Although with less than 90,000 people (approx. 6,000 reside inside the walls of the "old city") it is much smaller than Madrid (over 3.2 million people). They have at least one thing in common. They have both been the capital of Spain. Toledo served as the capital in the mid-1500's until Phillip II moved it to Madrid.
Throughout it's long history it has been under Roman, Jewish and Arab rule. This has led to Toledo often being referred to as the city with three cultures, the city with three religions or the Jerusalem of the West. Another name that would be appropriate for Toledo would be "the maze city". The streets within the old city are narrow, with many turns and intersections creating what seems to be a huge maze. We learned this was intentional with the credit going to the Muslims. It was the second line of defense in protecting the city. If an invading army was to somehow penetrate the walls, which would be difficult, the narrow maze like streets would be confusing, giving the home team a significant advantage.
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| If the invaders got over the wall...………. |
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| they still had to deal with the narrow, crooked streets. Although they probably weren't lined with shops back then. |
There are several options to get to Toledo for a day. The most common are trains and buses. Today we opted to take a bus. Along with the transportation, there were options of having a guide or "Toledo on your own". We chose the "on your own" option which did provide a short (45 minute) walking tour. We weren't expecting much as far as the walking tour went and it easily lived down to our expectations. The bus with the tour was still a few dollars less than the train, so we really viewed the bus as simply providing an inexpensive way to get there and back.
Once we broke away from the tour group we wandered around a bit. We made our way to Zocodover Plaza which seemed like "tourist central". There was an information booth there that provided a very good map. When we told the nice young lady that we had about 6 hours time she suggested the "tourist train" as a way to get oriented and to also get the best view of the city, which was from outside the walls and across the Tajo River. Something named "tourist train" and the Tucker's generally doesn't go in the same sentence. However, she seemed so sincere and convincing, coupled with the fact that it only cost 6.5 euros each ($7.30 US) that we soon had tickets in hand. The train was well worth the price and the investment of about 40 minutes of our time. We got a little information, a little orientation and some magnificent views, just as promised. The train leaves frequently from just outside Zocodover Plaza, and it's certainly something that both of us would recommend.
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| The Tourist Train! |
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| The Roman Bridge taken from the tourist train |
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| Toledo and the Tajo River |
While waiting for the train we asked the train attendant for a recommendation of where we could eat and get the local specialty, carcamusas. She suggested a restaurant just down the narrow road from where we were standing. A few minutes later she came back and suggested another restaurant which was also very close. We went for the second choice she gave us, a small place named Bar Ludena. We arrived right around 1:00 and only a few tables were occupied. We chose one of the 6-8 outside tables. Within just a couple of minutes it was as if the lunch bell had rang. Every table outside and inside was full and people were milling about patiently waiting for a table. Now if you've never heard of carcamusas you're not alone. Neither had we until last night when Beth did a little research on Toledo. Carcamusas is a type of stew made with pork and peas cooked in a tomato base, flavored with white wine, bay leaves and other seasonings (they would probably tell you but then they'd have to kill you). After the first bite I was so sad and disheartened. I couldn't believe that I had spent so much time on this earth without tasting this incredible dish. Lunch also includes a first course. Beth chose paella (yellow rice, seafood and chicken) and I went with the White Spanish Bean soup (white beans and chorizo, very similar in taste to Spanish bean soup served in many of the Cuban restaurants around Tampa). Both were very tasty! As if both of those weren't enough, there was also bread, dessert and wine all for 15 euros each. Needless to say, other than maybe a light snack we're finished eating for the day.
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| Small and unassuming, just off the Zocodover Plaza |
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| Today's special and since it's in paint and bolted to a sign I'm assuming it's tomorrows special as well |
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| Carcamusas……….simply amazing! |
After lunch we still had several hours to explore before we needed to be at the bus stop. At that point we starting roaming around and soon did just exactly what the narrow, crooked roads were intended to do...…….got lost. No big deal! We were inside a walled city mostly surrounded by water and usually getting lost leads to a great adventure or at least a humorous story. Today it was a great adventure. We made our way towards the Jewish Quarter (although we really didn't see it) and down to a really nice trail along the river. The name of the trail was the Camino Natural del Tajo. It's a part of a trail system that is over 600 miles in length. Fearing we'd miss the bus, we only did a couple of miles, mostly following the flow of the river until turning back into the city. Maybe next time we'll explore a few more miles of it or the more famous Camino de Santiago Trail.
Some views from along the trail:
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| San Martin Bridge |
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| The top of the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes |
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| Another view of the San Martin Bridge and Tajo River |
We made it back to Madrid. In a few hours it will be packing up time. This will take about 3 minutes. Simply throw everything into the suitcase. While most things have been washed in the bathroom sink (or bathtub if we were doing a large load), they are really in need of a real washing machine and detergent.
Also, based on what I've seen the last few days, I think it's a good time to be getting out of Madrid. Not knowing hardly anything about soccer I didn't realize the significance of the Champions League Final which is being held here this coming weekend. It was explained to me that it is held every two years and is the culmination of a tournament of Europe's top league teams. TV broadcast trucks are being set up everywhere. The Plaza Mayor has been converted into "soccer central" with stands, huge TV screens and even a mini field (I think the correct term is "pitch"). There is now a huge concert stage in the Plaza Sol near our hotel. Soon the fans of Tottenham and Liverpool will begin arriving and I'm sure taking over the town. I did a quick search for tickets and they are going for Super Bowl prices, with the cheapest ones I could find being around $5,000. I don't guess I'd be making the game (I think "match" is the correct term) even if we were here a few more days.
It's been an incredible three weeks. I am going to try to get out one more blog as a "Spain wrap up". It'll probably be a few days before that one is posted. As always, thanks for following along!
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| Adios! |
