toledo for a day

I think I found the place I want to live for forever. Seriously. I had the chance to visit Toledo for a day this past weekend and the city looked like it popped out of a movie. The streets were tiny and the buildings had amazing architecture and I felt like I could just drop everything and stay there for the rest of my life. Well, if this whole career thing goes sideways you know where to find me.

Arriving in Toledo the first thing I did was take a picture of the train station. The details of the walls and ceilings were incredible for a place you would normally not see such intricate architecture. I had to walk a ways to get to Toledo itself and then cross a bridge before actually entering the city. After walking up some very steep roads, my friends and I came upon the heart of the city. Each little shop was so decadent and had their own style; when all lined up together they flowed effortlessly from one style to another. We decided to go to the Santa Iglesia Cathedral Primada de Toledo first. This huge cathedral had so many chapels within and many different rooms for various uses. Through listening to the audio tour, I found out that many people are actually buried in the cathedral itself. In fact, each part of the cathedral for the most part had someone buried in it. This was interesting because I originally thought that they would all be buried in a similar location. The person I found most interesting who is buried in the crypt was Saint Ursula. The urn she is kept in is clear, so you can seen into it. She died around 451 BC and yet her body is very well preserved. I thought it was so cool because you could physically see her body. This was something I had never experienced before and the fact that Saint Ursula passed away so long ago made this experience even more crazy and cool.

In the cathedral's garden, there are large paintings on the walls surrounding the garden. Each one was similar to the rest, yet unique and tells their own story. At churches I have been to in the US, such large paintings are for the most part non existent. This is largely attributed to the time period different churches/cathedrals were created. It was so interesting comparing different parts of the cathedral to aspects of churches and religious places I have been to previously.

After seeing the entire cathedral, which was extremely cold from the elevation and stone walls, my friends and I ventured to a small restaurant where I met my new favorite friend from Europe, Joel. The restaurant is family owned by Joel, his wife, and son. The food was delicious and I ate the rarest steak ever. I realized that medium rare in Europe is extremely rare, and not at all similar to the US medium rare. Next time I know to order medium well. Joel was super funny and made jokes with my friends and I as well as the other patrons in the restaurant because we are American. We got pictures with him, joked around more, and Joel even gave us a list of things to see in Spain and Paris for when my friends go to France next block.

Later in the day I visited Museo El Greco. I loved the portion of the exhibit where they had all the portraits of the apostles and other saints all lined up in one hallway. It really captured Greco's painting style and each painting was very moving in their own way. The Museum was also a recreating of Greco's home when he lived in Toledo. Although it was not the exact house he lived in, it was cool to see what his house may have looked like when he was alive. I also visited the outside of the Alcazar which is the fortress in Toledo that houses the museum for much of the history of Toledo and the armory used throughout history in Spain.

At night my friends and I walked around and were able to see how much more beautiful Toledo is at sunset. The mountain ranges surrounding the city make for a breathtaking backdrop for the city throughout the course of the day. Overall, I had a great experience in Toledo and totally want to visit again and would not even mind living there for a while.

xoxo, j