MIDIEVAL TOLEDO
Written: Oct 03 '99 (Updated Oct 03 '99)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great place to explore, wonderful Cathedral, and El Greco's paintings
Cons: Hard walking with rough, cobblestone streets
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| signeann's Full Review: Toledo |
A customer at the desk of HOTEL EUROPA in Madrid talked us into taking the bus to Toledo. He said,"It's easy!", so we caught the Metro in Plaza Del Sol to LEGAZPI, and transferred to CIRCULAR 6, going one stop to MENDEZ ALVARO. We got off right there in the bus station, where we bought our ticket to Toledo. It was a very comfy coach, and the ride took about an hour, making stops in small villages along the way, which were all very clean and modern-looking.
Being dropped off at the back of the bus station, we walked around to the front, and set off toward the city walls of Toledo, which we could see on a hill in the distance. We stopped in some small shops on the cobbled street near the entry when we spotted some Lladro porcelain statues. Not many people were about and we could linger without being jostled. We didn't think about how awkward it was going to be to have to carry the huge boxes they are packed in (to protect from breakage), all the rest of the day. I did request the saleslady only pack mine in bubbles, though, so it would fit in my small backpack.
The Museum of Santa Cruz was only open until 2pm, when it closed promptly for lunch. Cameras and coats had to be checked before checking out the inside shaped like a cross, where paintings and tapestries were displayed in all four arms, and some were even on the floor, protected by ropes around them. Two busts of Mary had cut-out areas containing, supposedly, relics of a million virgins. Displays were on two floors, with those from El Greco being upstairs. The ceilings were carved wooden squares, and the entry and arches were of carved stone. The building had once been a hospital. They did let me take some video footage and one snapshot in the courtyard, before shooing us out.
From there, it was a climb up to the town square, Plaza De Zocodover, where lunch was at Horchateria, an outdoor cafe. I finally ate octopus, which was very good, and also a vegetable sandwich, grilled, with tomato and asparagus and lettuce. It was delicious! It was so much fun to watch people dressed up in their finest, being a Sunday, out enjoying the sun and possibly an ice cream cone.
It was soon discovered that every Lladro shop had different statues, every one being an example of exquisite workmanship. One could have spent a whole day just looking at one gallery of statues after another, and enjoyed them as if in an art gallery.
The famous Cathedral, once found, was so unique as to be difficult to describe. In the center was an area you could sit in and look both ways at caged-in walls of colorful carvings, depicting the life of Christ in important moments of his life. On one side, everything was in gold, and one needed a ticket to get in, as you did to the Gallery of El Greco, which contained his paintings, gold vestments, and altarpieces. In the back of the Cathedral was a floor-to-ceiling series of marble carvings, which had been hard to see, so the architects put a hole in the ceiling to let light in, and then more carvings were put up there, which looked like they were ascending to heaven. One statue of a man was trying hard not to fall, as he held the long chain with a chandelier on the end of it.
All along the walls of the outer perimeter were chapels to various people, like San Juan Bautiste, San Sebastion, and others. Around the outsides of the inner walls were lots of character carvings. It was hard to take it all in, there was so much to see. Our senses were almost overwhelmed.
Not to be missed was Iglesia De Santo Tome, a church with a small chapel museum containing El Greco's famous painting, The Buriel Of Count Orgaz, painted as a tribute to the Count of Orgaz because of all the good he did, and money he gave to the church and to the poor. Following the signs to El Greco's House, we were noticing the decorative bricks and cobblestones, and taking pictures of them, when we looked up and saw the sign on the front door saying that was his house. It too, closed at 2pm on Sundays, so we didn't see it from the inside.
At the bottom of that hill was a Synagogue. Jews, Christians and Muslims all lived peacefully in Toledo at that time, an unusual situation in Spain.
We were in Toledo for eight hours that day, but didn't really see a whole lot, because of getting lost, going in the wrong direction, while climbing up and down very steep, mountainous, cobblestone hills, backtracking and starting over, trying to follow a map. We sure saw a lot of the town that way, but boy, were we tired when we got back on that bus back to Madrid!
Thinking back, Toledo was a cute little medieval town with lots of character (and characters!), and a fun place to just wander around in. It was very hilly, though, so it's necessary to wear shoes with thick, soft soles which can conform to the rough cobblestones underfoot. We skirted the perimeter on the way out, taking photographs of the surrounding countryside, which was beautiful at sunset!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
signeann
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Member: Signe Buchholz
Location: Verona, WI
Reviews written: 199
Trusted by: 80 members
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