Toledo, Spain

     Today we are off on a tour of Toledo, Spain.  The whole town was declared a  "World Heritage Site" by  UNESCO in 1986. The old stone walls and gates still surround the town. The tour took us on walks over very uneven and narrow cobblestone streets and up and down many stairs.  The old city is located on a mountaintop, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Tagus River.  The town is known for its metal working and has a tradition of making fine swords and knives that goes back to Roman times when the city was a center during the Roman occupation.
    We walked through the town to Church of Santo Tomé to view El Greco’s painting: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz."  We also visited a synagogue and a monastery.   In its earliest days, Toledo was known for its religious tolerance and had Christians, Muslims and Jews all living together.  The detail in these buildings is amazing with endless carved details and stonework.
    As we walked the streets we noticed that there were markers on walls of the buildings on each side which indicated the width of the street.  We saw lots of big trucks and tour buses going down them despite almost zero clearance.  We had to keep our eyes open as we walked.  No real sidewalks so you just had to duck into a doorway when a wide vehicle came by.
   Our tour was a “half day” trip so we were back to Madrid by 3.  We had a sandwich at Starbucks and then went back to the hotel for another afternoon rest.  Our legs were really tired from all the ups and downs and walking on uneven surfaces.  At dinner time we went back out and walked back to the “Opera” square.  There was a long “shopping” street that had no car traffic – just shoppers on foot who were strolling along window shopping.  It was warm and sunny with lots of folks enjoying the perfect evening and sitting at sidewalk cafes having a drink.  It was just exactly what I think of when I think of European cities.  We had dinner at an Italian restaurant which was in a beautiful old building and full of charm.  However, it was also full of smokers.  The ban on smoking indoors has not made it to Spain.  I am still coughing.
     We packed up for our travel tomorrow and finished my Nevada Barr E-book.  I am so happy to be able to bring plenty of reading along without filling up my suitcase.