City of the Greek
Wednesday, October 2
Toledo
Wednesday morning found us going back to Atocha terminal and catching the train to Toledo. We had a little more time to look around the terminal and realized that the main lobby was built in an older building several stories tall, now really neat looking with tropical plants in the center. The ride was only about 30 minutes, and we arrived in Toledo’s small station without a hitch, then took a city bus up the hill to the old city.
The first time in any city is always confusing and a little disorienting until you get your bearings. We got off the bus where we were supposed to and found ourselves at the edge of Plaza de Zocodover, the starting point for pretty much all tourist visits to Toledo. We had two goals for the day: I was more interested in the Cathedral than anything else, and Tori wanted to buy a piece of Toledo steel. If she couldn’t swing a sword to add to her collection, she was willing to go home with a dagger, a smaller knife, or maybe just a letter-opener.
We pulled out the map the tourism people in the train terminal had given us and tried to get oriented. After checking with a friendly official, we started off for the Cathedral. The walk wasn’t bad, not far at all, but it was slow going. There were far too many shops opening up to just head out for a goal, looking neither left nor right. Eventually we got to the Cathedral, made a wrong turn, and found ourselves at the door reserved for people attending services. Not a bad-looking part of the building by any means, but not where we needed to be.
Actually paying attention to one of the street people, parked at that doorway to ask for coins from passers-by, we made away around the building to the opposite side, where KC, Mark and I paid the price of admission and received audio-guides with red ear-buds in return. Then we entered the Cathedral, and the fun began. John Martin had told me that next to St. Peter’s in Rome, this was the most beautiful church in Europe. During his year working in Spain, he and his family had traveled quite a bit, and he had seen many other churches, but I must confess that I wasn’t so sure about his judgment until I walked around a bit.
Get ready to check out the Toledo Photo page. At this point in the day, we all went a little nuts.
This was one of those times that the reality of what I was seeing made all those descriptions I had read and heard seem completely inadequate. Yes, the building is huge, and yes, it contains design elements not only from all the centuries since its construction began but also from the unique cultural traditions of Toledo’s history. Not that I just forgot myself completely and went bananas over the decorative and structural elements without looking for an organ. After all, this was the place where I could expect to see some of the Spanish organs I had only read about before. I was not disappointed in the least. I looked up when we entered and the first thing I saw was the back side of one of the two large organs in the choir. That was only a start. The first and third photographs are the two organs in the choir. Mark noticed they both have “thrones” in place instead of benches. Not a bad idea. And all those chamades don’t do a thing to harm the appearance. The third one is the “Emperror’s Organ,” called that simply because it’s over the Emperor’s door.
Not that I was so focused on the organs that I missed other things. You can check out the Toledo Photo page to see many more shots from inside the Cathedral.
We spent a little time in several chapels, at least looking into them, and went out into the cloister. Neat to see oranges on the trees, and the sight of the tower through the arches of the colonnade was nice. Finally, we gave in to visual overload, returned our audio guides, and joined Judy and Tori on the plaza. It turns out that they had enjoyed a little side trip to one of the gold-smith workshops while we were in the cathedral.
We worked our way back to Zocodober for lunch together, then moved in different directions. Judy and Tori went shopping again while Mark, KC and I bought tickets for the little train ride around the city. We had to wait for the 3:00 departure, so the three of us walked through some more side streets, actually getting outside the tour-centered area a little. After that Mark and KC did a little shopping too, while I just sat and watched people. At least, I watched people while I sat and ate a couple of pieces of Marzipan I bought in one of the shops.
Riding in the little train was fun, and we got our last ear buds of the whole trip, red again. There was a sense of being on “The Little Engine That Could” when we left the plaza by heading up one of the steeper streets, but we made it to the top. The commentary was good, and getting out in the countryside, which reminded me of places in central Texas, was fun. The highlight of the ride was the one stop we made, which might sound a little contradictory. The stopping place was across the river from the old city, and the view we got was stunning. It was easy to see elements of El Greco’s painting right there in front of us. More than worth the cost of the ticket.
After we got back to Zocodober and met Tori and Judy, we again took a city bus back to the train station. The little café there was a pleasant place to wait until our train ride back to Madrid. Dinner that night was at El Gaucho, an Argentinian restaurant, where we were actually served more grilled meats than we could eat. And two desserts apiece. The service was excellent, as were all the dishes, and we were more than satisfied when we stopped to watch street performers in Puerta del Sol on the way back to the hotel.