Toledo

Whooo day trip to Toledo!! Only an 1hr bus ride from Madrid, and for about 9 euros round-trip, it sounded well-worth it.

Pretty much any Madrid guide book will tell you that it's a good trip to take. And it pretty much was. At the very least it was cheap - food for the day was less than 10 Euro, went to a cathedral and a museum with free entrance, and walked the just walked the streets. Yes, more cathedrals and tiny cobblestone streets, but less pics this time cuz my batteries died :( But even though all these cities that I've been to may seem very similar, they all indeed have their own unique qualities. For instance, I had no idea Toledo was so very hill-y. It's a small city, we felt like we walked pretty much from one end to another, and it doesn't seem that far considering the very pretty sights and sunny but cool day. But once the incline hits, I was wanting at least a walking cane or some sort of support. Either that or this is just another indication that I am so very out of shape and not outdoors-y at all...This is why I'm in Madrid and not some place like Australia.

Another unique quality to Toledo is that rather than having a more Arabic influence it seems very medieval and European. There are castles and cathedrals from way back when, in addition of course to a few synagogues and a mosque.

There are also many many many MANY swords!!! Part of the reason I believe is that there is a military academy there, possibly one of the first in the area or just one that is quite significant. In either case on any given street, in most souvenir shops, there would lots of swords, helmets, some armor, some sorts of depictions of Don Quixote (we were in Castilla-La Mancha region after all) and a variety of sword-like objects....One of my apartment-mates got a lighter in the shape of a sword, which is pretty cool.

After wondering around the city for about 5 hours, up and down the hills and amongst the crowds (again probably due to Semana Santa) we were ready to go. We made one last stop to get some helado (ice cream) and listen to the lady singing for monedas to tourists. Some of her hits included Hero by Mariah Carey, Ave Maria, and My Heart Will Go On - always a favorite.

Coming back to the apartment never felt so comforting. We were all pretty exhausted from all the walking, as fun as it was. After hitting up a little shop near our estacion called Dulce King (with that name, how can you not?), I'm more than ready to stay in Madrid for a while, at least for the rest of the weekend.