Toledo was once a walled city atop a hill. Now it spreads out beyond the wall for several miles--the interior city still very similar to the 1400s. The walls are impressive, the hill a work-out, and the views incredible. Toledo was at one time the capitol of Spain... much like just about every other major city in Spain.
The Cathedral made entirely out of marzipan. It made me think of Aunt Carol and her many gingerbread masterpieces. Remember 321? Amazing. This sculpture was about three feet tall.
The Cathedral. It's crammed in among other buildings with a tiny little plaza at the front doors. I chose to only photograph details of it instead of trying to get the whole frontal facade. Think what you will of that.
The Cathedral.
One of many sword shops in Toledo. One of the Cathedral towers is reflected in the glass.
Toledo boasts a small but impressive Safardic museum in an old converted Synogogue. It was beautiful, many of the original hebrew plaster embellishments and tapestries still decorate the walls. The women's gallery was very beautiful and they had gathered jewish artifacts from all around Spain to commemorate the lost culture of Safardic Jews and explain their way of life before the Reconquista. This is a photograph of how the roof was built (it had to be restored and was very beautifully done).
Toledo is known for a style of metal working that includes black ceramics inlaid with gold filagree. Very beautiful and very expensive, but Emily stopped at this shop and the charming owner entertained us for a while. He makes a good deal of the merchandise and even danced a few steps with Molly. Emily picked up a medium sized plate and he shook his head and suggested she try something a little smaller, it was over 100 euros! It was wonderful to meet such a friendly local craftsman and I'll be back soon.
Swords are big in Toledo. You can buy them in all different sizes, shapes, and historical contexts. This is a miniature Round Table. You must remember that knights were hugely influential in these parts as the crusaded through on holy quests and such. To me, it seems ridiculous to equate the knights of my childhood with Spain, but Emily assures me that Spain was just as knighty as all the other bits of Europe.
Yes, that's right. This is creamy goop sandwiched between wafers of some sort. Unfortunately the sense of scale is lost in the photo... but the pile is about six inches tall. It takes my breath away.
I love the windows of bakeries in Spain. Especially when they involve queso, belen, y marzipan.
The classic Toledo cookie being attacked by Molly. I believe it's called something like "toldeoean" or something logical like that. It has these rocky pieces of sugar on the outside that are slightly sketchy, according to my teeth.
Toledo is such an old city that the streets are often so narrow you can reach your arms across and touch both sides. These buildings are very close together. Emily took the pic of me demonstrating how narrow the streets were. Toledo is also very hilly and often there are steps in the streets. This was a difficult concept for Emily and so Molly and I used our very helpful non-verbal cues to keep her safe. We are so thoughtful.
The municipal library is located in the old castle of Toledo. Sneaking up to its cafe was one of my best ideas ever. The view was fantastic! Unfortunately there was no access that we could see to anything cool and castle-y from the library so we moved on after snapping some pretty sweet landscapes. Toledo was once the capital of Castille-Leon, the royal seat of Spain.
Taken from the library window. The cathedral is in the foreground and you can see the old mosque in the background.
