Toledo

So far Toledo is my favorite city.  It is first mentioned in written history 2000 years ago.  The narrow streets that curve and wind through the city reminds me a lot of Jerusalem.  There is even a Jewish quarter.  You can see the influence of each occupying culture.  The Romans and the Moors left their mark that remains today.  The view of the city from the surrounding hills even reminds me of Jerusalem.  

Our friends, Miguel and Marina Becerril, invited us to see the city with them.  They live in Alcala, that cute city with all the storks and the home of Cervantes.  He is the church employee that handles the residency cards of the missionaries, and also the one who took me gliding.  He picked us up and drove us to Toledo and had a nice day all planned out.

Toledo is another walled city.  No surprise there.  It was very impressive driving up to it.  

This was the day that my Canon finally bit the dust.  It had been giving me trouble for a while and my pictures just weren't turning out well (bad color, lots of blurry pictures, and slow to take.) Luckily, I had my phone with me, so all these pictures were taken with my iPhone.  I also haven't been able to figure out how to get my pictures in any kind of order.  This post has over 100 pictures, and is for my records.

I think this is from the cathedral.

This is the Alcazar (castle).

Don Quijote is loved everywhere.

Everywhere we go, there he is.

Sancho Panza 

The Alcazar

Miguel and Marina Becerril

Here he is again.

Narrow street leading to the cathedral.

The cathedral on the right.

The cathedral has several entrances, and this is just one of them.

This cathedral has more stained glass than any I've seen.

The choir seats are incredible.

A panorama shot of the choir.

The High Altar

This was so spectacular and my little camera just couldn't capture it.

The cathedral also has rooms displaying the great works of famous Spanish artists.  This hall has the works of El Greco, who painted the picture at the end of the hall specifically for this spot in the cathedral.

El Greco

These treasures are also in the cathedral.

A replica of an illuminated Bible.

The Cloisters

These frescos were discovered when doing some repairs on the cathedral after the civil war.

A view from the cloisters across the inner courtyard to the bell tower.  It is said that when this enormous bell rang for the first time it broke all the windows in the town and hasn't been rung since.

This old cart was inside the cloister and was made to carry heavy loads across cobblestone streets.

This bridge is for the Bishop to cross from the cathedral to his home across the street.

I think this was the home of El Greco.  We didn't have the time to investigate,
but will do so on our next trip there.  You can see the Arab influence.

One of the gates into the city.

View from the hill outside the city.

We had lunch with this view.

Another gate way into the city

Above the gateway, is a shrine to the Virgin Mary, but she is black.  I have no idea why.

It was such an amazing day and we can't wait to go back and see more.  It is just about an hours drive from Madrid, and quicker on the train.  This is also where the armor and sword factory is located and we will no doubt be adding to Greg's collection in Toledo when we go back.