Toledo and Segovia, May 2016

Saturday, May 7

We got up early this morning, 6:45, as we have to travel a bit to meet our tour to Toledo and Segovia. We are to meet at Ventas Plaza at the Metro at 7:45.  We have arranged this through Viator, whom we have used a few times before.

It is chilly, overcast but dry as we make our way and, as usual we arrive early.  The metro in Ventas leaves us off in front of a huge bullfighting ring, so we wonder around it for a while. It opened in 1931 and is described as the heart and soul of Spain's bullfighting tradition. It has a Moorish style exterior and seats 23,000.

 Greg finds a cafe across the street for coffee and a croissant.  Two other couples arrive for the tour, one from Argentina and the other Spain, and our guide (Teresa from Spain) soon arrives and leads us to a large van where we join about a dozen others.  And we're off.  This tour will be in Spanish and English and the group is about evenly divided.

Toledo is about 64km south, and takes about an hour to get there.  Madrid is huge and it is quite a while till we reach countryside and individual homes.  Many many high-rise apartments.

We first stop at an overlook to get a look at Toledo.

Like many cities in Spain, there is an old city and a new.  The old city was built on a hill for defense purposes and is partially surrounded by the river Tajo.   It was unique in that three cultures lived peacefully together for many years - the Moors (Muslim), Jews, and Catholics. We begin the tour at San Martin Bridge which  has muslim style arches at one end and christian style at the other.

 Several heavy doors could block the bridge as needed.  This leads us to St John's Monastery (named for Isabell and Ferdinand's first son).

There are many chains hanging on the outside of the building (upper left)- these were chains from the rescued Christian prisoners the Moors held at Granada - which was the last city to fall to the Christian armies and so last stronghold of the Moors, in 1492.

We also pass St. Thomas' Church which has a huge Goya masterpiece inside, though it wasn't open.  This was Goya's home town.  Most of the buildings have tile roofs all over Spain.

We walk up many cobblestone stairs and come to a Synagog , built in the 12th century by muslims for jews. Teresa points out keyhole arches and the use of brick layered with stone, which were typical arabic style.  We pass several street performers including this sax player who would freeze until someone gave him a coin, then play a bit.

We pass a few shops that sell marzipan, made from almonds and sugar, and originating here.  Lots of goodies in fantastic shapes.

  We also see several stores with swords, knives and armor.  Toledo was famous for its ironwork (and gold) and supplied much of world.  We could buy a full set of armor for only about $3000!

And of course the ubiquitous ham shops.

Next is the Cathedral built in the 14th century.  It is one of the last Gothic style cathedrals.  We take a peak inside later and it is very dark with beautiful stained glass and elaborate altars.  Teresa ends her tour and we have an hour to wonder around.  There have been very few people around this morning but as it nears 10:30, tour groups begin to appear and the streets become busy. Here is Teresa at work.

Greg and I go back to the Cathedral and have a look, then just wonder and watch and window-shop a bit.   We pop into a Burger King (aackk!  I KNOW but we just wanted a drink and bathroom! But shared a whopper too, which I have to admit was tasty!) until it is time to meet our group.
 Sad that the oldest square in Toledo features both McDonalds and Burger King. There is a series of six or so escalators down to where our van waits.  And we are off to Segovia, which is north of Madrid....nearly a two hour ride.  Teresa suggests we have a siesta.

Segovia is noted for its Roman ruins, notably a huge aqueduct which towers over the old town.

 We have time first for lunch, which we aren't hungry for since we ate in Toledo.  We do have room for a gelato however :)  and we wonder and take photos till it is time for the walking tour. This statue was presented by Rome, one of only a few that were given to new Roman cities.

The "acueducto" was built in the 2nd century when the city was founded.  Water was brought from the nearby mountains 16km away.  Most of it was underground, but the last km was elevated through the city. It is awesome!

No mortar was used in the over 20,000 granite blocks and you can see shallow holes in the blocks where they used metal tongs to lift and move them.  There is a carousel in the plaza near the aqueduct with unusual features.  No horses here, instead there is a pterodactyl , an airplane, hot air balloon, titanic, grasshopper, etc.

When Greg asked why a particular shop wasn't opened, Teresa responded that Spaniards are lazy and many shops don't open on the weekend! Of course there is another cathedral, and this one, says Teresa, is more beautiful on the outside and not so spectacular inside.

Many of the buildings have an ornamental stucco design, again from the Moorish influence.

Instead we head to the Alcazar, which is a kind of combination of castle and fortress, begun in the Middle Ages and added on to, it has been a museum since 1862.  We enter the Alcazar and it is more elaborate than I expected, with many paintings, statues, armor, tapestries, etc.

Hall of Monarchs has these three-dimensional monarchs all around the room.

They say that Walt Disney was partially inspired by this castle when he designed his.

Outside we see a pair of storks that are building a nest atop a tall tree.

After the Alcazar, we hike down the hill and meet our driver, Victor.  Then it is back to Madrid.  There is a bull fight scheduled today and the plaza at Las Venta which was nearly empty this morning is crowded now with vendors and patrons.

 The Spanish do not consider bullfighting a sport and you will not find reports of fights on the sports page of newspapers, but in the culture section.  Still, there is controversy and some parts of Spain have outlawed bullfighting! Another Metro ride and we walk a few streets in a new direction to look for a place to eat.  We stop at Tei Tendido, a bullfighting bar/cafe, which is decorated with matadors, photos, and other related materials. These are popular all around Spain, we hear.

Our free tapa - Tortilla Espanola

Calamari

 The woman who waits on us doesn't speak much English but is very helpful.  After some wine with a (free) tapas of tortilla espanola (potato with red sauce) we have a plate of calamari, andalusian style which is very lightly battered and fried with a mayonnaise type sauce.

On the way back to our room we stop by Cortes Anglais - a large department store with chains all around Spain.  The view from the 9th floor is supposed to be good, so we go up there for a peek from the restaurant/bar.  Then, it is back to our room for showers, internet and sleep.