A Day in Toledo, Spain

Monday was the second of two very long days. This time, we had to travel from Úbeda, where we’d staying in the Parador of a 16th-century palace. How can I possibly complain about the Wi-Fi when we are staying in such a stunning building? It didn’t help it was under repair (EU funding) making it hard to appreciate its beauty. 

We arrived in Toledo at 12:45, so the first order of business was lunch. I walked along a street crammed with tourist shops, but wasn’t coming up with anything promising. As I was looking, a couple from our tour group appeared, and so we found a place and had lunch togehter. The man had a burger and fries. I picked a dish from Toledo, because the Google translation of the Spanish said it was pork in a mild tomato sauce. And so his wife picked it too. It was delicious.

After that, we had our tour of Toledo. But I was so exhausted from yesterday’s visit to the Alhambra that it took all of my willpower to go along on the tour and not bow out. We visited the huge Gothic Cathedral that was consecrated in 1493, just after the Reconquista. Thankfully, our guide said she was only going to show us the highlights. Then we visited the 14th-century church of Santo Tomé, to see the El Greco portrait on the wall. The place was heaving with Japanese tourists, and we had to wait our turn before we could get a decent picture. Then we visited the Synagogue. Finally, she led us down out of town (Toledo is on a high hill) to the Tajo river, which was replete with brown, rushing water due to the recent rains. On the other bank of the river, away from the tourist tat, crowds of schoolchildren, and poor lunch offerings, I could finally appreciate what a beautiful town Toledo is. 

At 5:00 pm, we left Toledo, and drove to Madrid, which took us an hour and a half. Finally we arrived at our very fancy hotel, The Wellington Hotel & Spa in the upscale Salamanca neighborhood of Madrid, and got our room keys. Naturally the elevators, in this Art Deco palace of a hotel, didn’t wish to work. There were two lifts. But if you pushed the up button of Lift A, while Lift B still had its doors open, then you delayed Lift B. Finally, I figured out what was going on, and after some coaxing, I was finally in my room. I would have been totally knackered had I not had a piece of very yummy chocolate cake, that woke me up!

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