We go out country: Madrid Day 3 (23 Aug 2013)

One of the reasons we did the Paseo del Arte three-museum ticket was because we wanted to spend one day out of Madrid. That may sound silly to some of you – there’s so much to see in Madrid – but one of the things we enjoy most about travelling is exploring hinterlands and small towns.

But first, we promise not to write too many posts as long as yesterday’s … though you’re lucky it wasn’t longer!

So, back to Day 3. Our destination was Toledo which less than half an hour away by train and which Len had visited some 40 years ago. Once again the public transport worked efficiently and we arrived in Toledo in the late morning.

Why Toledo? Because it:

• is the capital of Castilla-La Mancha;
• represents the successful amalgam of conflicting cultures, particularly of the Romans, Visigoths, Jews, Muslims, Christians; and
• is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1986).

It is also famous for steel (and bladed weapons), marzipan, and El Greco who spent much of his time here.

We started with the City Bus Tour which took us from the station into town, providing good vantage points of the city and an overview of its history starting with the Bronze Age but focusing particularly on its Roman and Medieval past.

There’s a lot to see in Toledo but the main sight (or is it site!) is the Gothic Toledo Cathedral. What an amazing place. We decided to do the audio tour here. It is a working cathedral that was established in the thirteenth century and is one of Spain’s three high Gothic cathedrals.  It can apparently hold the full population of Toledo – though, large as it is, we find that a little hard to comprehend. The vaulted Gothic ceilings, the sumptuous art (including chapels containing paintings by El Greco), and the combination of Arabic and Christian features make it a fascinating place to visit.

After spending an hour or so in the Cathedral we were ready for some refreshments, so we headed into the backstreets, away from the more touristy places near the Cathedral, and found a little cafe in a square which had only one other outside table occupied, by locals, and a couple of cute stray kittens. We ate a simple meal of salad and a local chicken dish for Sue, and a rice dish followed by the local pork dish, which looked like a Toledan version of a cassoulet, for Len – and, of course, local Verdelho for Sue and a beer for Len.

Thus refreshed we headed off for more town exploring. We decided to head into the Jewish Quarter. Now, if anyone thinks Canberra is tricky to get around with all its circles, they should try Toledo. What a challenge! We did find the quarter eventually and visited the Sinagoga de Santa Maria La Blanca, which was the principal synagogue in Toledo from the late 12th century, but became a church in 1405. Much smaller than the Cathedral – you could pretty well see it all from the back entrance – it is nonetheless beautiful. Simple, but with gorgeously carved capitals on the columns.

We spent quite a bit of time walking about the alleyways – narrow cobblestones and brick paved paths which pedestrians share with cars. The Jewish quarter is identified by tiny tiles containing traditional Jewish symbols inlaid in the paving. Our last sight in Toledo was one of its historic bridges – we do love a good bridge – Saint Martin’s Bridge (Puente de San Martín) which dates back to 14th century. There is an older bridge – the Roman-era Alcántara Bridge (Puente de Alcántara) which dates to 104 AD, was rebuilt in 866 AD and has been repaired several times since. These bridges span the Tagus River (Río Tajo) which flows thought to Lisbon and thence the Atlantic Ocean.

A theatrical evening …

We returned to Madrid in the late afternoon, and did the Spanish thing. That is, we repaired to our room for a couple of hours before heading out for some refreshments around 8.30pm. We found ourselves back at Les Naves del Espagnol where, this time we sat outside, and enjoyed people watching. There was theatre occurring in the square and after a drink and some simple food – a Tosta Pulpa (open Octopus and Potato sandwich) for Len and an Ensalada Verde for Sue – we went over to watch a performance that was just starting. It was modern theatre and, while few words were spoken, it was hard for us to get the gist as we weren’t sure of the cultural references. Some ideas we had were gay marriage, reference to the abattoir setting, religious persecution, but we could be way offtrack. The whole performance – which involved two men dressed in white having their clothes cut, being “painted” in pink, purple and black, being tied with wool and decorated with other objects such as a animal skulls and an amulet – was accompanied by a solo, mournful, violin played by the only woman in the act.

Three-words:

Len: Township, Dry, Old
Sue: Stupendous, Hot, Inspiring

and the slides…

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and the videos…

View of Toledo from Bus Tour stop

 

Scene from performance at Las Naves del Espagnol