touring toledo, savoring spain

our night train from lisbon was pleasant enough, given that we were in reclining chairs. (the compartments are all separated by men and women, we found out. some trains have couples' compartments but of course not this one.) i slept fitfully and JR didn't sleep much at all but luckily he can make do with amazingly little sleep so once we arrived in madrid we cleaned ourselves up in the bathroom and were on our way from chamartin to atocha. from there we were off to find a train to toledo. this proved harder than expected since the 9am train was already booked. we went to a kiosk to try to buy tickets for 10am train. my credit card, that had worked so reliably throughout the trip, failed me. the machine demanded a pin which, though it does have a chip, my silly american card does not have. so we got in a huge line with the rest of the schmucks who needed train tickets. we were waiting in line for 20 minutes and when our number was called - you guessed it - the 10am train was full. (which annoyed me mostly because the majority of the people in line probably could have just used their european chip-and-pin cards in the stupid kiosks.) anyway we got tickets for the 11am train and set up shop in the train station to wait.

it all turned out pretty well in the end. we made it to toledo in 30 minutes but it seemed like even less. even the train station there is beautiful. in its email to us the hotel made it sound as though it was a short walk from the station so we figured we'd go for it. what the description failed to make clear is that this amounted to a 30 minute walk entirely up hill. we wound up and up the hill the city is poised upon, passing through one of the city gates as we went. we were exhausted and very sweaty when we finally got to the hotel. still, we were anxious to get started on our day in toledo since we had already been delayed.

stone and bricks of toledo

our first stop was an old mosque - cristo de la luz. like just about every building in toledo, it seems, it's made of tan brick. it's quite small, but with brick decoration and vaulted coffers inside. like every religious building in spain it was repurposed and later used as a church (hence the name cristo). also like seemingly every other building the capitals were borrowed from earlier roman and visigothic structures. we made it in and out just before it closed for the afternoon.

carcamusas (fun to say too)

most everything else we wanted to see was in the southern part of the city. JR did well at navigating, as usual, and before long we felt as thought we knew our way around the city. our next stop was the museu de taller de mouro, otherwise known as the moor's workshop. to my disappointment it was closed for renovation, but again i can't begrudge them that. it's a shame, though, since it sounded pretty unique. it was about siesta time for most tourist places so we gave up in search of lunch instead. we walked around the central part of town searching for something somewhat affordable. toledo is definitely more touristy than the other spanish cities we'd been in. or maybe it was just that it was all concentrated in a smaller area. then again, it's so close to madrid you can imagine tourists would want to make a day trip of it. most of them don't stay overnight though which is their mistake, in my opinion. anyway, we were eager to find some lunch that wasn't overpriced. we happened upon a cafe inside the old university which was fantastic. we got a three-course meal - paella with mussels, shrimp and chicken, carcamusas (a toledan specialty, pork in tasty sauce), and flan for desert. all that and a drink for 5,20€. unbelievable. we were feeling pretty shrewd after that hearty and frugal meal.

synagogue stucco

our next stop was the iglesia de santo tomé, which was built to house the famous el greco. we couldn't take pictures, of course, but it was humbling to see the massive painting amazing enough for a church to be built around it. from there we went down to the jewish quarter. just like in córdoba, the jewish area was marked with little medallions embedded in the cobblestone streets. we first visited the sinagoga del transito - much bigger than the mosque we had visited earlier. the main room is huge, about three stories tall and the upper half covered with stucco decoration, much like mudejar mosques but with hebrew instead of arabic. there was a small collection of artifacts that traced the history of the jewish people in spain.

the cathedral and alcazar behind

we set out after that in search of swords. they're famous in toledo, and JR was set on getting one as a souvenir. we passed a number of shops and interesting antique stores but we were low on cash. incredibly, in this tourist town there's apparently only one ATM in the entire city. we made our way back across town and on our way back we stopped into iglesia san il defonso. the church itself wasn't remarkable but we knew the view from the top of the tower was worth the climb so we did it. the view was as described, although it was a little nerve-wracking walking out on the metal walkways so high up.

arcade

at this point we figured we'd earned a little stop in a teahouse. again, even though we got a late start to our day, with the late sunsets and opening hours we were doing pretty well. we made our way down to teteria dar el chai, almost at the edge of the city, and stopped in for a little chai and rest. the decor was the usual mix of moroccan lanterns and leather pouffs, wooden tables inlaid with mother-of-pearl and cushions lining the walls. we were the only ones there so it was a quiet place to stop. from here we were pretty close to another synaguge, this one called maria blanca. this one was quite different from the last synagogue, a little simpler, with rows of whitewashed columns and arcades, punctuated with stucco decoration and more repurposed capitals. this one, too, was later used as a church. it's interesting how different synagogues can be. i guess there are no architectural requirements for a synaoguge, unlike an altar in a church or a mihrab in a mosque. remind me to learn more about synagogue architecture.

courtyards are such a nice element

after that we had just enough time to visit the el greco museum. we even got in free as museum employees (perks!). it's unclear where exactly he lived in the city but the guess was that this location was pretty close. the first part was a recreation of el greco's house - or, at least, what a typical house in the late 16th century would have looked like. the paintings at first were those of his protegés and son. then we got to the el greco galleries, and they were pretty amazing. when you consider el greco's art in light of other artists at the time, what he was doing was truly unique. his brushwork still hasn't been recreated to date, i would say. it's so expressive and fluid. they did a nice job of offering foils to el greco's work in the form of his contemporaries' images of similar subjects. really well done.

toledan sundown

as we walked up toward the center of town the shops were starting to close. we hurried to find a sword shop with reasonable offerings. fortunately we found one and JR picked out a modest sword with a unique handle. lots of them are modeled on swords of famous historical figures (or fictional ones, like lord of the rings characters). as the nice sword salesman wrapped up the goods he reminded us about the light show later that evening. in the same area i stumbled upon a little shop where i found an old tile taken from the wall of a spanish home. after our shopping we thought maybe we'd stop by the rooftop of the hotel since the sun was just about to go down. the view was worth the climb to the top floor, as you can see.

the moors in toledo

we set back out in search of a little bar where we could get a drink and maybe some tapas. after a bit of a walk we found a spot where we got both. i had a delicious tinto de verano - a sangria-like drink that rivaled the ginja for my favorite drink. we got some simple tapas for each round. once the sun was down we made our way to posada el cristo de la luz, a little hookah/teahouse that we had seen near the mosque at the beginning of our day. the place was pretty deserted, which is a shame because despite being out of the way it was so pleasant. we sat in a table under a palmetto tree, facing the old city walls. we shared hummus and baba ghanoush plus some lovely apple shisha. the syrian man, ghalib, who ran the place was so nice and seemed delighted when i spoke my pitiful arabic with him. we left only because we were hoping to see the light show we had heard about earlier. we just happened to be in town for this festival, so we were happy to take advantage. (see, this is what those people who only stay for the day are missing.) we struggled to find it at first but eventually we found an area full of people in a little area that we hadn't seen before. it was full of bars and humming with activity. the light show, projected on the facade of a building, gave a visual history of the city set to music. it was - no surprise - largely about the various religions that existed there. with a bit of el greco mixed in. except for the little eave there we had a pretty great view. we stayed out later than we should have, given the hour we had to wake up to catch our train, but it was well worth it.

basically as soon as we fell asleep our alarm went off. or at least that's how it seemed. we figured the walk back to the train station would be easier, since it was downhill and all. it was still quite a distance and it took us the better part of 30 minutes. we made it to the station with eight minutes to spare before our train though. i was set on rushing through, trying to get through the x-ray machine quickly so we could get situated. JR was a little more prescient than i was though and was already thinking about what was about to go down. soo.. turns out you can't bring a sword on a train. apparently the souvenir that just about everyone brings back from toledo must be packed in a box. (because of course if you were a sword-wielding maniac you would certainly be deterred by a box around your weapon.) we argued in our broken spanish that we didn't know and how could we get a box and we already had a ticket for the train. to no avail. we went inside where we were told we could get new tickets or something. the (much nicer) attendant was confused as to why we wanted to change our tickets when we hadn't actually missed the train yet. then we explained about the sword. "oh you have a sword? no, you can't take the train." we were directed instead to the bus station which was, luckily, walkable but, frustratingly, back in the direction we had come from. it turned out alright in the end as the bus was cheaper and just as fast. what hurt was the extra sleep we could have had.
oh and if you're wondering why swords are allowed on buses it's because the bags are stored down below.

anyway, once in madrid we took the metro to our stop and followed the directions to our airbnb. the place was compact and cozy and the gentleman who owned the place kindly showed us around and offered us some stale croissants. we knew we only had one whirlwind day in the city so we were itching to get started. we set out on foot, as is our wont, and set off toward the prado museum. much to my chagrin we got no discounted admission this time, since we were not from EU museums. although their employees would be free in any of our museums! (i realize this probably seems petty but we're on a budget and every little euro counts.) i reluctantly paid the hefty admission price - worth it, of course, i was just grousing. i have no photos because of course none are allowed. in a lot of ways the prado hadn't changed much since i'd been there almost 10 years earlier. still no photos allowed (almost unheard of in museums in 2015, fyi), velvet ropes around paintings, and cranky security guards. i even heard one shush people who were just talking! and not on their cell phones, but discussing the artwork together. hello, that's exactly what you want people to do in your museum! (museum rant over) the collection itself really is astounding though. in both size and quality. it's almost an embarrassment of riches - i mean there's no one who can fully appreciate room after room after room of velazquezes. we saw everything we wanted to see, including hieronymous bosch, el greco and a whole lot of goyas. it was incredible but also incredibly overwhelming.

at this point we were already pretty exhausted (i've said it before, museum-walking is the most tiring kind of walking.) and ready for lunch. one of the most impressive museum collections in the world, as you might have guessed, is surrounded by a fair amount of tourist traps. lots of restaurants promising paella and sangria or prix fixe menus for 13,50€. we figured we could do better so we walked on until we found a tapas place. even when we got inside we were given prix fixe menus (that included spaghetti... uh, no) but we diligently asked about the tapas and were given new menus. we had a smattering of dishes - salmorejo (not as good as in andalucia, predictably), cured meats (good but greasy), fried cheese with some sort of jam (tasty), and a dish with potatoes, fried egg and cured ham that was incredibly delicious. it's the perfect brunch dish. i savored as much tinto de verano as i could (last day mode!) while trying to write all my remaining postcards. we were both happy for the chance to be off our feet.

crystal, glass. whatever

the next stop was the palacio cristal based on - you guessed it - the original crystal palace in london. this one was much smaller and, as we discovered, a pretty long walk from where we were. it was cool to see the palace but probably not as cool as we were expecting. it sometimes houses art exhibitions but while we were there it was just empty and HOT. we walked back through the massive parque de el retiro, passing a little cafe and a small man-made pond where families were out on little rowboats enjoying the sunny weather. spaniards seem to really enjoying boating in very small bodies of water.

we walked and walked until we made it to atocha train station. despite having been inside it already on two separate occasions i don't think we'd ever seen the outside of it. just beyond it was the reina sofia museum. (got a discount this time!) it looked different than i had remembered which i later confirmed was because they had subsequently added a huge new addition with a new entrance. it reminded me of the pompidou for some reason, maybe because of the massive library and modernist facade. we made our way up to the collection which was also bigger than i remembered. the guernica was still as arresting and awe-inspiring as i remember, as were the newsreels that accompanied it. it's incredible to think about troops marching through the massive city we were in. beyond it, a lot of the collection seemed to center around the spanish civil war. there were some interesting pieces but also a lot of obscure ones. it seemed like the galleries just kept going and finally we had to give up.

golden light on the arches, the temple behind

we were flagging and desperate just to sit down so we walked up the street in search of a cafe. after a few blocks we found a deserted pastry shop where we got some cafe bombons. not the best, but mostly we needed to sit down anyway. after a few minutes we rallied and made it to the nearby metro station. the first time we'd taken it since we got into town. we were exhausted but also wanted to make it to the temple of debod before it closed. we made it with about half an hour to spare. the egyptian temple is one of four in the world that have been removed from their original sites. between this one and the met's we've now seen half. the interior itself is quite small and the hallways are narrow (they limit how many people can go in) but the hieroglyphs are nicely preserved and even the shallow reliefs are still pretty easy to make out. from the same park we had a nice view as the sun was going down.

we figured we'd walk back toward the center of town (which is also basically where our airbnb was). on the way we passed gardens as the sun was going down and walked past the imposing national theater. in a little while we came to the plaza mayor, which is basically just a big square buzzing with tourists and activity. there was scaffolding on some of the apartments but you could still see the more ornamented facade. we were glad to have seen it but wanted to keep moving. we made it back to our place and all but collapsed on the bed for a much-needed rest. incidentally, this was the day we had walked the most - clocking in at 34,600 steps which is about 15 miles. we averaged about 12 or so miles each day so after a week of that it's no wonder we were so tired!

so long to spain

after an hour or so we set out in search of dinner and maybe a grocery store to get some goodies to take home. we were hoping for some sheep's cheese (like what we'd had in seville) and salchichon (which is basically salami but so good). we found only little convenience stores so we had to make do with a random cheese and a very cheap sausage. still, it was better than nothing. for our last meal we decided i wanted to try to find salchichon and JR wanted a nice tortilla española. and you know what? about a block from our place we found a little artsy cafe (atelier cafe de la llana) that served both. those two, plus a few more dishes accompanied by tinto de verano made for a perfect last evening in spain. the tortilla had just the right ratio of egg to potato (which is easy to screw up) and the meat and cheese topped it off. we knew we were going to miss the tapas, the cheap and delicious wine, and lingering over our leisurely meals.

catching up in córdoba

my latest trip was one i'd been planning and anticipating for nearly six months. my boyfriend and i traveled to spain, somewhere he'd been wanting to go and that i'm always glad to go back to. fortunately for us, it's also one of the most affordable countries in europe to visit, and the struggling euro helped us even more. the time of year ended up being just right, too. in september we missed the high season for european tourists, which peaks in august, and still had absolutely beautiful, warm sunny weather.

our flight to madrid was largely uneventful (except for the free wine, score!) but when we arrived we realized getting to the train station across town might take longer than anticipated and we could be cutting it close for our first train. we walked through what i'm sure is the longest hallway in any airport ever and waited for what i'm also totally sure was the slowest elevator of all time. it passed by us, empty, on several occasions. very strange. after our first encounter getting directions in spanish (i think i mostly followed everything?) and getting our train tickets from the machine in german (i couldn't figure out how to change it) we were on the train to the train station. we made it to atocha with just enough time to get a ham sandwich and fanta for the journey. so far, so good.

we passed by la giralda right at dusk

fino straight from the barrel

we had a layover (is it a layover on a train?) in a small town in la mancha so we got out to explore the streets and have our first beer and complimentary tapa - cruzcampo, the cheap beer of choice. other than a statue of don quixote there wasn't much there and it was siesta time so very sleepy. we arrived in córdoba in early afternoon, just in time to meet our friends. the benefit of living in england is that you can take long weekends in europe basically whenever you like. must be nice, right? we decided to walk to our hotel (we searched hostels and airbnbs but in the end with four of us, inexpensive hotels ended up being the cheapest bet. odd, no?) - we started in the outskirts of town, walked through the more commercial areas and along the main shopping street and into the old quarter. our hotel was on a little winding street - as it should be. we quickly explored the terrace as the sun was going down and then made our way out in search of tapas and aperitifs. the latter came first, as we found a taberna i had come across in my reading. they served fortified wine (fino) out of giant barrels that looked like they had been there for centuries, along with sherry and other wines. we stood along the old bar munching on olives and catching up. jan - the vegetarian/animal lover - even overlooked all the black and white bullfighting photos covering the walls.

eventually we made our way up the street and found an inviting tapas bar. we were able to get many of the dishes we'd been looking forward to - including salmorejo (sin jamon, for jan), which is a lovely creamy cold tomato soup, ensaladilla rusa, sort of like potato salad, and some cured hams for us meat-eaters. we talked about all sorts of things and just had a lovely evening catching up.
the rest of the evening we spent searching, in vain, for some nice spanish guitar music. we walked to the other side of town and found nothing but a sort of eurotrash bar with pricey (but not bad) cocktails. on the way home we passed by some roman ruins with lots of kittens so it wasn't all bad.

the next day we were up fairly early, figuring we had a lot to fit into our full one day in córdoba. the archaeological museum was closest so we headed there first. for such a small city it was a surprisingly modern museum! built over some of the roman ruins, they've built walkways that go over them and created projections that explain what certain parts were originally. that coupled with great artifacts and good explanations made it well worth the 1,50€ entry. us museum folk were impressed.

gothic elements with traditional moorish ornament

from there we headed to the jewish quarter - la judería - which you know is the best because it has old, winding streets. there were a number of synagogues, mosques, and patios (córdoba's specialty) that we wanted to visit. they're all fairly compact though and luckily were all within a pretty small area. the synagogue was simple but had some great stucco decoration. i continue to be fascinated by those stylistic similarities you see throughout buildings of different religions or regions. i think my favorite was a little mudéjar chapel, capilla mudéjar de san bartolomé, a tiny little chapel that's covered with beautiful decoration, from blue and gold paint to arabic elaborately carved in stucco to gorgeous geometric tiles. my kind of place. mudéjar literally comes from the word 'to remain' so it refers to the moors who were permitted to remain in spain and later the architecture that incorporated more christian and gothic elements. fascinating, right? i know.

old courtyard

we explored a few more patios on the same street. one was made to be something of a small museum of life in the city. lots of beautiful antiques from the region and lovely plants along the walls. it seemed a little fake somehow but there were still some lovely elements. plus they had some great postcards so i can't complain. another larger patio had been redone as an artisans' atelier, with studios lining the courtyard and a shop below. it was a little bit like the we visited han in bursa, but smaller.

we poked around but it was past noon and it was just about lunch time. lewis decided he'd like a coffee first though so we stopped in a little cafe where we made a very important discovery. it's called a café bombon, and it's basically a shot of espresso and a lot of condensed milk. it's incredibly sweet and the perfect mix of caffeine and sugar to give you an instant energy rush.

picturesque restaurant in the jewish quarter

after that we found a perfect little tapas place across the street, casa el malacara, with tables set up just outside one of the main gates in the old city walls. it reminded me of jerusalem somehow. we had fabulous tapas - even more variety than the day before, including albondigas (delicious meatballs), patatas alioli (potatoes in very garlicky sauce), chicken curry, spinach with chickpeas, pickled mussels and bread. tapas are usually in the 1,50-3,00€ range and even though each couple usually split about four of them it always seemed to be plenty of food. the perfect amount without feeling too full or having any go to waste. the spanish are doing something right.

gorgeous gardens at the alcazar. this isn't nearly all of them.

from here we made our way quickly to the alcazar, which was only open for another hour or so before siesta time. we made it in just enough time to get a wonderful view of the city and explore the expansive - and beautiful - gardens. from the top of the tower we could see the roman bridge, the top of the mosque/cathedral, and the rest of the alcazar. although we didn't have time to see much of the palace's interior we felt confident we hit the highlights.

figuring we were doing pretty well seeing the sights we thought we would heard toward a moorish tea house i had read about simply called salon de té. on the way we stopped by the mezquita for a view of the grand umayyad doorways on the various sides. they are impressively large. we continued on to the tea house which was beautifully appointed. we found a little cushioned corner to relax and enjoy our beverages. after some mint and fruit teas we ventured out for a little shopping along the nearby streets. along the way we stumbled upon a courtyard that promised a guitar performance in the evening. we took note for later on.

arches for days

next up was the long-awaited mezquita - or cathedral depending on how you look at it. it's pretty humbling to walk inside. not in the same way most cathedrals are humbling, for expansive vertical spaces, but horizontally, with colonnades that resemble a forest of arches. i had been before and it was incredible then. sadly my camera died at that very moment so i have few physical mementos of that part of my first trip. it's pretty amazing to be inside a building that's one of the oldest and most important examples of islamic architecture. and you can clearly see the progression of the mosque's expansion over the years with the placement of the original mihrab.. and then the takeover of the cathedral. it's so incongruous to see the understated beauty of the islamic ornament next to the overly ornate gilded everything of the later spanish cathedral. or maybe i'm just biased.

after we thoroughly explored the mosque we figured we had earned some churros con chocolate. because, given the possibility you always have churros, right? we wandered all the way back to the more commercial part of town in search of a traditional place i'd read about that seemed fabulous. of course it was closed when we finally arrived so we settled for a place along the big square. not the giant churros i remember but they were still pretty good links of fried dough.

waiting for sunset

from there it was back towards the mosque and to the roman bridge just behind it. honestly most of the bridge is no longer roman (probably in our best interest since we crossed it) but it was great to get a view of the mosque and the city behind. we tried to wait until the sun was fully down and we got a peek at the sunset but to no avail. we were worried about missing our guitar show so we headed back across the river and back to the restaurant we had seen before, el patio cordobès (another pretty direct name).

flamenco in the patio

the dinner (in other words the requirement for us getting a free flamenco show) wasn't bad but the main event was the music. it started off with just some guitar and foot tapping, then singing and clapping. eventually an older man joined in, with a raspy voice but obviously very passionate. the younger and older man took turns singing, the young one later coming in to dance. that was some very fancy footwork. they performed for what must have been at least an hour and a half and who knows how often they do this. it was clear they were very passionate. so, we didn't see any frilly dresses but we still got a great flamenco show, and without shilling out the 28€+ they charge at other places around town.

we were hoping to cap off our night with a bit of hookah, which we'd seen evidence of at the tea house earlier. we made it back there but sadly it was closed. guess we'd stayed too long at the flamenco show. instead we settled for buying a bottle of wine and drinking it on the roof of our hostel - complete with a very slight view of the giralda (bell tower). and so we rounded out the last of our hours in córdoba. i hadn't expected to, but i liked it even more than i remembered. it ended up being our favorite city on the trip - small enough to fully explore, with hidden treasures. a perfect reintroduction to spain.