Toledo!

Hellllooo from Toledo! We left Madrid around 9am and took an hour-long bus trip to Toledo – one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been! There was SO much history to take in here, and I’m sure I didn’t catch all of it, but the basics are that at different points in history, it was ruled by leaders of all three of the major religions of the world – Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Walking through the streets felt like I had stepped into a time machine or a part of Disney’s Epcot or something. The narrow, windy cobblestone streets, old buildings, and beautiful religious sanctuaries were unlike anything I’d ever seen. For the first time since I’ve been here (which I realize has only been like, 3 days) I felt like I was in a foreign country. Madrid was different and beautiful and great, but it could have just as easily been Washington, D.C. with a lot of Spanish speakers!

Our tour guide told us that Toledo is described in 5 words – Santos, Cantos, Cuestas, Sabios, y Encantos (I hope I got those right!) Santos means saints, referencing all of the religious significance of the city. Cantos means pebbles, referencing the pebbles that come from the river surrounding Toledo and line the streets. Cuentos means hills – self-explanatory! Sabios means wisdom, or wise men, also self explanatory. Encuentros translated means “charm” or “charms,” referencing the city’s overall charm as well as all of the little charming places and things you can find walking around.

After climbing up the steep hills (not kidding – really steep), we went to San Juan de los Reyes Monastery. It was built by Queen Isabel (well, she planned for it to be built – a famous architect actually did it but I forget his name) as a thank you to God when she was awarded the throne of Spain…sometime in the 1400’s. It was home to Franciscan monks and nuns – all of whom must have been in really good shape, because the walk to get there and the walk up and down the stairs was pretty exhausting! I could have misunderstood the tour guide, but I think he said that there are only 7 Franciscan nuns left in the world!

After the Monastery we went to what used to be a synagogue, but has been turned into a museum for the Jewish faith. There were only 2 Jewish people in my group (2 and ½ if you count me!), and according to our tour guide, there are only 2,500 Jews in Spain. You could see in the building where the men were allowed to worship, and the upstairs portion where women and children under 13 years old had to go. There was also a museum with all of the different parts of the Jewish faith – the Torah, menorahs, etc… plus explanations of all of the different Jewish ceremonies and traditions.

Our last stop was at a beautiful church that was decorated by the famous painter, el Greco. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but I snuck a few =] We didn’t stick around there for long, though – just long enough to hear about the significance of the beautiful painting by el Greco showing the contrast between the “people” in heaven and those on earth.

I was really impressed with this city. We had some time after our tours to get lunch and shop – two of my favorite activities! I had paella, a traditional Spanish food made of rice and seafood. It was delicious!

We shopped a little bit and then went back to the buses to check into our hotel. After some time at the pool and a meeting about our classes, we decided we hadn’t seen enough of the city, so we went back out to watch the USA world cup game at an Irish pub that we found earlier in the day. After that a group of 4 of us ate dinner at this really cute Italian restaurant! It was delicious!

Now it’s time for bed, since we have to wake up at 7:45 to begin our 7-hour bus ride to Barcelona to meet our Senora and begin to get settled in for the next 5 weeks! I can’t wait to meet her, to be able to unpack and stop living out of my suitcase, and to explore Barcelona.

Soon I'll put all of my pictures on facebook! The internet connection isn't great though, so hopefully it will get better soon.

Adios for now!

Xoxo

Lauren