This morning, we caught the Metro from Sol to Ventura Rodríguez then walked to the VPT office near Templo de Debod. We checked in and were given our boarding pass for the coach to Toledo. We walked over to the bus stop that had been pointed out to us to wait for the coach to arrive. We were very early this morning and there was only a family of four there before us. Beauty, we thought we should have our choice of seats on the coach today.
Just before 10.00am a guide arrived towing a gaggle of tourists behind him. Whoa, this trip just went from looking undersubscribed to oversubscribed! He motioned the eight of us already there across in front of his gang and then started loading the bus by calling out names from his clipboard. So, not a first here, first on the bus scenario then. He kept calling out names and families, couples and singles were clambering onto the bus. I said to Bernie, it makes no difference if we arrive early, we’re still gonna be last on the bus. Bernie was much more optimistic, and his optimism was not misplaced when our name was called while there were still seats to choose from. Phew!
We departed on time at 10.00am and arrived in Toledo an hour later. We stopped at the Tour Group Bus Stop outside the walls to pick up our local guide, the very enthusiastic, Ricardo. Our driver then drove us up to the Tourist Parador (viewpoint) that looks out over the hill in the curve of the Río Tajo that the city of Toledo sits upon. That was the main view that Bernie had hoped for so he was glad that our tour included a short stop where we could alight from the bus to take photos across the river to the city.
From the viewpoint we were taken to a Damascene workshop. This was the painful part of taking this tour rather than being able to make our own way by train as we had planned to do. We watched a master craftsman for about three minutes while he pressed gold wire into a damascene piece he was crafting while a guide explained the work to us. Then we were herded into the showroom designed to part tourists from their hard-earned cash. On the plus side we were able to use the toilets at the workshop. We resisted the temptation to buy a sword stamped with ‘Winter is Coming’.
We made our way back onto the bus and returned to the Tour Group Bus Stop that is not only outside the walls but at the bottom of the hill, a really BIG hill. Ricardo told us – Don’t worry there are escalators to take you up to the top. He told us the arrangement for the return trip to Madrid this afternoon and then gave us directions about splitting into English and Spanish speaking groups.
The Spanish speakers will be with me and the English speakers with be with Anthony who lives here but is from America. You cannot imagine how difficult a group of humans can make it to split into just two groups on the basis of the language they speak. Ricardo kept saying Spanish here, English over there and people milled around aimlessly like they might have forgotten what their first language is. Perhaps the ones who were confused did not have either Spanish or English as their first language and had to decide if they could best get by with their limited command of Spanish or English??
Finally, the groups were sorted, and Anthony led us to the escalators. Five flights of escalators! Like coming up from the bottom level at Parliament Station two and a half times. Today’s audio solution involved Anthony wearing a mic headset and having a speaker hanging on the front of his chest. That meant being close enough to hear what he was saying as the speaker was only amplifying his words over a relatively short distance. The first thing Anthony reminded us about (again!) was the meeting time and place for the return trip to Madrid and he pointed out several landmarks to guide us back to the top of the escalators later this afternoon.
Anthony gave us a short introduction to Toledo’s history then walked us up to and around the cathedral. Anthony told us of Toledo’s Roman and Visigoth roots and its reputation as the ‘city of three cultures’ in the Middle Ages when Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities peacefully coexisted. When one member of the group asked about visiting the El Greco Museum, he suggested that a visit to the cathedral would expose us to as much or more of his art than a visit to the museum. At the Tourist Information Centre in City Hall Square, he handed out maps of the city and recommended that we visit the cathedral and at least one of the Jewish Synagogues during our free time. After another reminder to be back at the bus at 4.20pm for a 4.30pm departure he let us loose to explore Toledo on our own.
Since we were beside the cathedral, we went to buy our tickets to visit another of Spain’s fine Gothic cathedrals. The Holy Church Cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her Ascension to the heavens. A Visigoth Cathedral existed on the site in the 6th century, and this was later used as a mosque. Those foundations were used to begin the current cathedral in 1227. The cathedral was constructed in a Gothic style with a French influence. It is 120-metres long and 60-metres wide and contains five naves supported by 88 pillars and 72 arches.
The side naves were not finished until the 14th century at which time a cloister was added on the north side. In the 15th century chapels to Saint Peter and Saint James were added completing most of the construction. In the 16th century decorative elements were added to the choir and grilles were built and all the stained-glass windows were closed.
From the cathedral we made our way to the Alcázar which these days houses an Army Museum. We didn’t really feel the need to visit the museum, but we were keen to photograph the exterior of the building … if we could just find a spot where we could fit it all in?? With another viewpoint below it we were able to take photos that show its signature towers.
At the highest point in Toledo there has been a fortress since Roman times. The current construction dates to the reigns of Alfonso VI and Alfonso X and it was the first example of a square fortress with towers on the corners. It was further modified under the Emperor Charles V. The building features facades in Renaissance style with towers and crenellated defenses. Since its last reconstruction in the 20th century after suffering significant damage during the Civil War it has housed the Historical Regional Library and the Army Museum.
After climbing to the highest point in Toledo I was a bit hangry. I thought we were going to the Jewish quarter first and then to the Alcázar, but I missed the memo where we changed the order. Bernie asked Syri to take us to the Synagogue of Santa María Blanco. We walked back past the cathedral picking up a jamon y queso (ham and cheese) bocadillo on the way. We overshot the synagogue ending up at the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes before turning around to retrace our steps to the 12th century synagogue.
The building is a Mudéjar construction built in 1180. The Mudéjar were Muslims who lived on the Iberian Peninsula, but it also refers to art and architecture in the Islamic style that is applied to buildings representing other faiths. The building has five naves separated by pillars supporting horseshoe arches with a coffered wooden ceiling, ornate, decorative altars and an altarpiece in the style of Spanish sculptor Alonso Berruguete. In the 15th century it was converted into a church but today it is simply a monument which is open to visitors.
Not wanting to miss the bus back to Madrid we turned our steps back towards Zocodover Square one of the first reference points Anthony pointed out this morning. Of course we found some ice cream on the way! There were so many heledarias in Toledo. We found another monument to Miguel Cervantes on the stairs below the square then continued wandering down to Plaza Miradero at the head of the escalators.
From the viewpoint we could just see Alcántara Bridge which was the one thing that we didn’t have a photo of that we wanted a photo of. The impressive bridge dates to the Roman era and was probably built originally under the instruction of the architect Gaius Julius Lacer between 95 and 105 AD. As with the Roman Bridge in Cordoba, it has been rebuilt in Muslim and Christian times. The bridge is 197 metres long and is supported by five pillars of different heights to accommodate the slope of the riverbank.
We had driven past it a couple of times this morning, but we hadn’t been sure how accessible it was on foot. With only half an hour until we needed to be at the bus, we could see that the bridge was on the same level as the Tour Group Bus Stop and … just around the corner. Right if we head down the escalator straight away, we can probably nip along to the viewpoint for the bridge and return to the meeting point before 4.20pm.
We rode back down the five levels of escalators, crossed the road and scurried along the Avenida Castillo la Mancha. I was happy to take a shot from the side of the river we were on. Bernie wanted to cross the river … so we quickly did both before meeting back at the fortified gate tower at the end of the bridge to walk quickly back to the bus stop. We managed it easily arriving at the designated meeting point by 4.11pm.
We had a different coach, a double decker coach, this afternoon and a new guide ticking our names off on the list on her clipboard. We had our names checked off and we headed to the upper section of the coach for our ride back to the city. Apart from the obligatory shopping stop this morning taking this tour to Toledo has worked out alright. Better than not travelling to Toledo at all while we are so close to see its sights. Of course, five hours in Toledo is only enough time to see a fraction of what it has to offer.
VPT run a tight ship. They asked everyone to be back by 4.20pm for a 4.30pm departure. Everyone must have adhered to that request because we were on our way at 4.22pm. Presumably with everyone’s name ticked off the list?? We were on board so that was all we were concerned about.
We had a smooth run back to the city arriving about 5.30pm. We reversed our journey of this morning to return to our local Metro station just down the street from our apartment. At dinner time we decided to return to Fatigas del Querer because we enjoyed our meal there earlier in our stay. Our waiter was from Bangladesh, so we chatted with him about the upcoming match between Australia and Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup. He doesn’t think Bangladesh can win, but I said if the Australian’s go into the game overconfident anything could happen.
Steps: 18,725 (11.84kms)