We began our day by being driven to the panoramic view of the city, which for me had been a 3 hour walk one of the days I had been there my Junior year (the day after the Ravens won the Superbowl to be exact). That view was as breathtaking as it was the first time, and I was immediately glad I had decided to go on the trip.
The panoramic view was then followed by a tour of some of the most famous religious buildings in the city. We visited San Juan de los Reyes church, which was the church that Queen Isabel had constructed to thank God for her and King Ferdinand’s conquest of Ganada. We then went to the Museo Sefardí-Sinagoga del Tránsito, where we learned about how awesome Toledo was back in the day. Toledo was split into three separate sections, the Jewish quarter, the Christian quarter, and the Muslim quarter. This basically meant that Toledo harbored all religions peacefully, which was basically unheard of back in Medieval times. Like I said: awesome.
We then went to la iglesia de Santo Tomé, where we got to see one of El Greco’s most famous works, “El Entierro del Señor de Orgaz” and we got to learn about what a genius El Greco was. Most artists at that time focused on working for the royalty and nobility, so work was scarce. El Greco was smart enough to see all the new churches popping up during that time, so he did most of his work painting religious scenes and people for the Church (which was almost as powerful as the royalty at that time).
We then went to my favorite place in Toledo, la Catedral de Santa María. I’ve seen that church three times now, and every time I walk in, my jaw still drops at the sheer architectural beauty (and also because there’s gold everywhere). Our tour guide gave us an excellent tour of the Cathedral, but I was very surprised he did not point out that the Cathedral is believed to have a piece of path that Mary supposedly walked on. The stone is very small and hard to miss, so everyone else in the group walked by it without a second glance. I, knowing what it was, stopped to brush my fingers over the stone for good luck, as thousands of people have done before me.
We then went to the town square, Zocodover, and were set loose for two hours to shop and eat. Emily and I went to a cute restaurant that served a three course meal for relatively cheap, and then I took Emily to see my second favorite view of Toledo. This one I saw almost every day I was there my junior year, because it was between the school I went to and Zocodover. Emily and I then went and shopped. I bought a fantastic black dress (the one I wore the day I went to the Eiffel Tower) and a gold ring to replace the one I had gotten the last time I was in Toledo. I also introduced Emily (and reintroduced myself) to the majesty that is mazapan. Mazapan is small pieces of sweet bread that taste like heaven. I still haven’t sent the box I got for my mom to her yet, and the box gets more and more tempting every day it sits here.
And thus ended our day. Going back to Toledo felt like going home in a way. It will always be my favorite city in the world. If I had not gone there my junior year of high school, there is no way I would be sitting in this apartment in Madrid writing this blog post, the same apartment I will be in until the end of May. Toledo was where my love of travel and adventure began. I will always be grateful to the city that changed my whole life, and I will always consider it home.
We then went to la iglesia de Santo Tomé, where we got to see one of El Greco’s most famous works, “El Entierro del Señor de Orgaz” and we got to learn about what a genius El Greco was. Most artists at that time focused on working for the royalty and nobility, so work was scarce. El Greco was smart enough to see all the new churches popping up during that time, so he did most of his work painting religious scenes and people for the Church (which was almost as powerful as the royalty at that time).
We then went to my favorite place in Toledo, la Catedral de Santa María. I’ve seen that church three times now, and every time I walk in, my jaw still drops at the sheer architectural beauty (and also because there’s gold everywhere). Our tour guide gave us an excellent tour of the Cathedral, but I was very surprised he did not point out that the Cathedral is believed to have a piece of path that Mary supposedly walked on. The stone is very small and hard to miss, so everyone else in the group walked by it without a second glance. I, knowing what it was, stopped to brush my fingers over the stone for good luck, as thousands of people have done before me.
We then went to the town square, Zocodover, and were set loose for two hours to shop and eat. Emily and I went to a cute restaurant that served a three course meal for relatively cheap, and then I took Emily to see my second favorite view of Toledo. This one I saw almost every day I was there my junior year, because it was between the school I went to and Zocodover. Emily and I then went and shopped. I bought a fantastic black dress (the one I wore the day I went to the Eiffel Tower) and a gold ring to replace the one I had gotten the last time I was in Toledo. I also introduced Emily (and reintroduced myself) to the majesty that is mazapan. Mazapan is small pieces of sweet bread that taste like heaven. I still haven’t sent the box I got for my mom to her yet, and the box gets more and more tempting every day it sits here.
And thus ended our day. Going back to Toledo felt like going home in a way. It will always be my favorite city in the world. If I had not gone there my junior year of high school, there is no way I would be sitting in this apartment in Madrid writing this blog post, the same apartment I will be in until the end of May. Toledo was where my love of travel and adventure began. I will always be grateful to the city that changed my whole life, and I will always consider it home.
panoramic view
Rose Window in the Cathedral
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