Toledo, Spain

The day started off with the now some what traditional croissant breakfast at 11 am, before walking to the town’s Cathedral. This huge church (140m x 60m) is unbelievable. In between its marble floors and 45 mm ceilings, are 85 columns and over 200 stained-glass windows, 20 chapels and some of the most amazing art I have ever seen. One end of the cathedral had cherub paintings along with numerous sculptures (including the Guests of the Last Supper) just underneath a glass ceiling, which made it literally look heavenly. The main pulpit had a silver statue of Mary surrounded by 20 pieces of art depicting various stages in the life of Jesus. The choir area was fronted by a statue of Mary and Baby Jesus. The wooded statue is considered invaluable, as it is one of a few pieces in the world that actually shows Mary smiling. Amongst the chapels were four rooms, which were filled with art, clothing and jewelry of a religious nature. Most of the art was done, once again, by El Greco, but also contained works from Valazquez and Goya.

We returned to Plaza de Zocodover for lunch, before escaping the afternoon heat with a siesta. Our plan for the afternoon was to go to the Alcazar, Toledo’s main landmark, and one time fortress come military museum, but for reasons unknown it was closed, so we walked to the south west part of town to one of the synagogues, Santa Maria la Blanca. This is a sparse 12 century church, considered a masterpiece architecturally for its time. Besides that, and a religious mural from where services would’ve been performed, there was not much else to the building.

Santa Mana la Blanca, Toledo, Spain

After cooling ice-blocks in this 40ºC heat, we found a small café for dinner. After this we headed to an outdoor bar which looks north west over the outskirts of town. We sat there for a couple of hours, happily watching the town’s lights and traffic go by.