Toledo, imperial city

After leaving El Bonillo (and it was not easy to leave Llani and Olallo's gorgeous house and fantastic cooking!) we headed out in Llani's car to Toledo, the current capital of Castilla-La Mancha and a city built layer upon layer over the past 2,000 years. When the Romans arrived on the Iberian peninsula (your people, Bill!) there were already people living on the hill that overlooks the Tajo river.

Toledo is a fascinating place, and one of the most visited sites in Spain. Ben noted that he hadn't heard any English speakers yet on our trip, but in Toledo we were pretty well surrounded by other "turistas." In the 5th century after the fall of Rome, this city (Toletum) became the capital of Visigothic Iberia. Under the Moors (a catch-all term for the many Muslim peoples to control the peninsula between 711 and 1492, history lovers) Toledo was a city of unusually peaceful coexistence between Catholics, Jews, and Muslims. When the monarchs Fernando and Isabel arrived here they loved the city so much that they decided to be buried here, and commissioned a church to be built to house their tombs (San Juan de Las Peñas, it's a spectacular Gothic church with a beautiful cloister). Only in Toledo (a common phrase of mine) can you find a "Synogogue of St. Mary." If you only go to Spain once in your life, Toledo is a must.

We found a hotel to stay in (actually, Andee and I stayed here about 14 years ago too) with a view from our balcony that would take your breath away. Then we ate at a nearby restaurant (patatas bravas and bocadillos) and headed for the cathedral. There we spent the next 2 hours, and Ben and Chaia learned more than anyone should have to know about church architecture and symbolism.

Toledo is the seat of the Archbishop of Spain, and as such has a magnificent cathedral, one of the four most beautiful in Spain in my opinion (let's see if we get to the other three this year...). Just a sampling of things to be seen here are eye-poppingly beautiful illuminated bibles, massive stained glass rose windows, the Transparente, Spain's greatest work of Baroque art, and a Sacristy (it's where the priests' robes, and other sacred treasures, are kept) full of paintings by Caravaggio, Van Dyck, Titian, Goya, and at least 15 or 16 by El Greco.

Oh, and did I mention the GIGANTIC painting of St. Christopher on the wall of the cathedral? He's the saint that, in 1969, was dropped from the list of saints because there was very little evidence that he really lived. His mother must have been furious.
Anyway, we spent two days in Toledo, visiting churches and museums (the Museo Sefardi, which houses the history of Jews in Spain, was great). Then, in the heat of the day (the thermometer read 38 degrees celsius- about 100 farenheit) we left Toledo and braved the 3 1/2 hour drive to Valencia, where my great friend Ximo lives. It was an uneventful drive, and should only be noted that there is a REALLY obvious loss of altitude from Toledo to Valencia, at sea level. When you leave the plains of La Mancha, you really do leave the plains. More later...