Toledo: Intriguing Mosaic City on Red Dry Land

I met a Korean girl at a coin laundry near my hotel in Madrid.  She encountered a problem with her laundry machine.  I helped her a little bit until a coin laundry owner entered the laundry room by chance.  After she settled the problem, she and I had a chat until my laundry was finished.  She asked me if she could travel together in Madrid.  I told her that I had a busy schedule today and had to ask my friend first about her offer, although I did not think that my friend minded.  Instead, I asked her whether she wanted to join a trip to Toledo, the UNESCO World Heritage city, next day.  She and I decided to meet at the same coin laundry in the next morning.  I told my friend at the hotel what happened when I was doing the laundry.  My friend was happy to have a new friend at our trip.  Each of us came from a different country.  However, a new group of friends was formed to travel to Toledo, which showed an intriguing mixture of cultures. 

We had lunch at one of the squares where a few open-air cafes co-existed.  Those cafes seemed to have the same food, service, and ambience, because I saw the similar menus and signs.  Maybe, they were franchised.  Anyway, the cafe that we entered had an English menu with a visual aid of each dish.  It was easy to know what dishes were like, but it was difficult to catch a waiter who could take an order.  It was a slow service.  Some other tourists were apparently angry.  I do not recall what we exactly ordered, but I think we had paella, tripe stew, and something else.  They were just not memorable.  On the contrary, I just remember they were not good.  I did not want to take their photos.  I had better paella at Madrid's tapas restaurant and even at a Spanish Food restaurant in Japan.  It seemed to be a tourist trap.   

In addition, I was not fond of Toledo's famous almond dessert, Mazapan.  Mazapan is not a white icing on cakes, "marzipan".   Mazapan that I tasted may not be authentic, because it was from a small souvenir store, not from a bakery.  I hate to say the following, because my friend kindly shared Mazapan with us, but it was sticky and too sweet.  One bite was enough for me.  Seemingly, my friends felt the same way.

Among the sights that I visited, I recommend the following:

• Cathedral (Catedral) - A must see in Toledo.  Outside of the Cathedral was impressive, but do not miss the inside of the Cathedral, which was very beautiful and peaceful.  I enjoyed silently touring the Cathedral, because of its collections of paintings, sculptures, and treasures.  I was disappointed that Alcazar was closed.  However, the Cathedral definitely helped me to forget about the disappointment.  The admission cost 7 Euro at that time.

• Monastery of Saint John of the Kings (Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes) - Do not miss this somehow neglected monastery.  Unlike the Cathedral, I saw only a few tourists here.  However, it was breathtaking to see such an intricate and artistic interior when I explored the monastery.  Without knowing its history related with Ferdinand II, Isabella I, and Napoleon, I enjoyed just being surrounded by such a beautiful collaboration of different architectures.  On the ground level, I saw the magnificent Gothic style while I saw the exotic Mudejar style on the second floor.  This must be Toledo's good example of harmonizing two different cultures.  The admission required only 2.30 Euro, which was very reasonable.   

• Santa Cruz Museum (Museo de Santa Cruz) - This museum is situated in a former hospital, which exhibits archeological pieces and works by artists including El Greco.  (By the way, I learned that El Greco was not Spanish but Greek after the trip.  I misunderstood because of his name, which was just his nickname, and his life closely tied with Madrid and Toledo.)  Nevertheless, I liked the patio area better than the exhibition.  The museum's courtyard and staircase were so beautiful and relaxing.  The admission was free!

I did not stay a night in Toledo.  I think that one day is enough to see Toledo.  However, it may be nice to have an overnight stay in Toledo because I have seen many beautiful night photos taken in Toledo.

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To Toledo:

Toledo is well connected from Madrid by bus or train.  My Korean friend checked with her youth hostel owner prior to the trip and said that he recommended a bus.  I do not recall his reasoning.  However, I knew that a bus reached there 15 minutes earlier than a train.  So, we took a metro to reach a bus station at Plaza Eliptica.  We bought tickets there, but a bus was almost full.  The bus offered a comfortable seat with air conditioning and curtain so that we could avoid the heat and strong sunshine.  The bus ride allowed me to see unusual scenes of a red dry land and some olive trees, which gave me a sense of traveling overseas.  It took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach Toledo.  This round trip cost 8.42 Euro at that time.  However, there is now a high-speed AVE train from Atocha train station.  Each way takes only about 30 minutes and costs about 10 Euro.  This may be the best option for now.    

Within Toledo:

Major tourist attractions were within walking distance on the top of the hill.  However, the bus station in Toledo was situated at the bottom of the hill.  Despite the challenge, we walked to all the desired sights.  Well, I was a drill sergeant who made my friends walk.  We saw a steam-train-like bus on the hill.  I convinced them that walking should allow us to see scenery and take photos whenever we wanted.  A 20-30 minute walk from the bus station was picturesque but hilly.  In addition, we walked on winding streets of the hilltop town.  When we finished our sightseeing, my friends insisted on taking a public bus (either bus 5 or 6) to go down the hill.  It was an easy and quick ride back to the bus station.  In addition, a bus ticket cost only 0.95 Euro.  I doubt that I would love to sacrifice a joy of photography while taking a round trip by bus.  It may have been good to take a bus to go uphill and to walk back to the bus station.  However, I might have been too tired to walk downhill after the sightseeing.  Ahh...  I recommend walking either way, if you love the photography.