Toledo, Spain
Just south of Madrid and west of Cleveland is the beautiful town of Toledo. The city is rich with history and culture as exemplified by its nickname, The City of Three Cultures, which it earned due to the influence Christians, Muslims and Japanese Tourists have had on the city. Like most European cities, Toledo was built on a hill top. In ancient times, the location provided protection from invading armies, while in the modern world it boosts the economy by forcing out of shape Americans to pay for bus rides from the train station at the bottom of the hill to the city center.
Toledo's train station. The station, designed to reflect the historic architecture of the city, opened in the early 1900s to great fanfare.
The river that surrounds three side of the city is the Tagas, the same river that flows through Lisbon to the Atlantic. Since Lisbon was mentioned, I wanted to say something witty about the earthquake of 1755 here, but nothing is popping into my head at the moment. One of the downsides of writing while sober.
One of the most beautiful sites in Toledo is the barista at Il Cappuccino, who looks like the love child of Jessica Alba and Jennifer Aniston and makes an excellent latte. If she is not working then the next most visually stimulating site is the Cathedral Primada Santa Maria de Toledo.
Construction on the cathedral began in the early 1200s but it was not completed until the mid 1500s. The lengthy construction time was due to the all Catholic labor pool used to build the structure, where the workers, like most Catholics, only showed up to the church on Christmas and Easter.
Detailed carvings of religious elves line some of the interior walls of the cathedral. According to the lesser known Book of Fred, left out of current bible translations due to ancient copyright laws, these mischievous little creatures come alive at night and urinate in the holy water then watch from above as unsuspecting heathens dip their fingers in the water and sprinkle it on their clothing.
The cathedral has many treasured works of art from famous Spanish artists, such as the one below by the artist Goya. Know more from his excellent selection of canned beans and packaged spices found in your grocer's Hispanic food isle, paintings like the one below prove that not only could he turn a blank canvas into something beautiful, but he could whip up a mean pot of chili as well.
While the views from the city walls were almost worth the climb up the hill, one can't help but appreciate the leg muscle pain you can avoid by spending a half hour on google earth.
One of the more interesting things in Toledo are the Roman ruins you can see there. And even more interesting than that is the fact you can see them in the Spanish version of the clothing store Forever 21. That's right, the bottom level of the store has glass floors which are built over ancient Roman baths allowing shoppers to see the ruins below while at the same time giving perverted archeologists the chance to look up the skirts of the shoppers above. A real treat for all parties involved.
Some of the absolutely fab accessories you can purchase in the store which can be used used to give your outfit that chic look it deserves. Remember, if you want your outfit to harmonize, you must accessorize!
The house above and the plaque below inform sightseers that this is where Saint Teresa, a nun back in the 16th century, wrote a book about her life, Cincuenta Tonos de Blanco y Negro. A real page turner, I am sure.
Like most medieval towns, the streets were laid out in a maze like pattern and were very narrow. While mildly claustrophobic, the thin roads make for a fun little game of counting the number of cars missing side view mirrors while walking through the town.
