Day 7 (Toledo): November 9, 2016

Day 7 (Toledo - Madrid):

We woke up at 6:15 AM and had breakfast downstairs at the hotel.  We then grabbed a cab to the train station and took the train to Toledo.  When we got to Toledo our guide was waiting for us there.  Once he found out we were from Atlanta, he mentioned to us that he did many tours for Walton high school (small world).  We then took a cab and went to the top of a hill so you can get a very good vantage point of Toledo which sits on top of another hill mostly surrounded by a river. 

Allison and Scott on Hill overlooking Toledo

Toledo is brimming with Muslim (more commonly called Moors in Spanish history), Jewish and Christian influences that all add up to a very unique mosaic of a city. When we entered the gates of Toledo we first explored the old Jewish Quarter. 

Old Synagogues converted to a Church

We went to a couple of nice old synagogues and then saw a famous painting by El Greco called The Burial of the Count of Orgaz in The Church of Santo Tome. Toledo is known for making knives and special metal work.  There are many souvenir shops that sold both of these items.  Like all old Spanish cities they had a very beautiful church called Toledo Cathedral.

Scott and Allison in front of Toledo Cathedral

When our 3 hour tour ended, we found a little restaurant that made special baked potatoes. I had one with chorizo and cheese along with a beer.  After lunch we went across the street to have a Danish and coffee.  Since we still had some time on our own, we decided to go back and explore more of the old Synagogue by using the entrance ticket we acquired earlier.

  When we finished there, we went into an old Monastery called the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes and walked around for a while.

Hallways in the Monastery

When we finished up we grabbed a cab back to the train station. 

Allison at the Toledo Train Station

We then took the 35 minute train ride to Madrid, grabbed a cab and went back to our hotel.  We didn’t spend long in the hotel because we had a reservation for a Flaminco Dance at Corral de la Moreria.  We didn’t really eat dinner but we went across the street from the hotel and Al got a hamburger with fries.  We then took another cab to the Flaminco Dance place and sat down and had a Sangria while we watched the show.  It was definitely very impressive to see them move their feet so quickly and the show was entertaining.   After the show, we grabbed a cab and went back to the hotel.  Since I saw a Casino down the street from our hotel, Al went back to the room and I went over to the Casino to get a poker chip.  When I got there, I found out I needed a Passport to enter, so I had to go back to the room, get my passport and walk back to the Casino.  I finally made it in and got my 2.5 Euro chip for the collection.  I was tired so I decided to head back to the room and went to sleep around 11 PM.