To rectify this, I am starting my first trip post about a day trip I took to Toledo. Dan-dah-dah-dah!!~
Toledo is here in relation to Madrid:
Got there in an hour or so by bus, this is what Toledo looks like, or at least supposed to look like:
This is what Toledo looked like for us:
I really wanted to enjoy Toledo, but it was SO FREAKING cold that day! I am not going to lie, it was miserable. No place we visited that day were very well insulated or heated, seeing that the main type of place we went to were cathedrals, synagogues, and mosques, and places as such that were hundreds and hundreds of years old. It was even difficult paying attention to your tour guide as he was explaining to us what we were looking at, and why it was important because it was so cold. What's more, it started to rain during lunch time. AND on top of that, we all brought sandwiches from home (poor college students, duh!) and because we just couldn't whip out a sandwich in a restaurant while drinking coffee, we ended up eating, standing outside, in the rain, under a small awning. So sad. This trip definitely did not do Toledo justice.
Toledo is a very unique city, where three cultures--Christian, Jewish, and Muslim--coexisted, and still, in many ways, coexist today. And throughout history, the three distinct cultures really weaved themselves into each other. Apparently, there are only a handful of cities such as Toledo, and some examples of similar history would be Istanbul and Jerusalem.
Such an old city with so much history, it's only natural they have laws that mandate any new construction done within the city to follow certain building codes to make sure that the new buildings maintains the city's charm.
Toledo is also famous for their gold work, and I really wanted to buy something, but I was afraid I was falling for a tourist trap, so I refrained. But now I kind of wish I had gone ahead and bought something from Toledo.
I almost want to go back to Toledo when the whether is nicer since the trip can easily be done in a day, and do the city justice. Plus, take more pictures. I was stupid and didn't charge my camera the night before, and of course after the first five pictures, my camera started blinking and telling me that I was low on battery. Poo.
Toledo is a very unique city, where three cultures--Christian, Jewish, and Muslim--coexisted, and still, in many ways, coexist today. And throughout history, the three distinct cultures really weaved themselves into each other. Apparently, there are only a handful of cities such as Toledo, and some examples of similar history would be Istanbul and Jerusalem.
Such an old city with so much history, it's only natural they have laws that mandate any new construction done within the city to follow certain building codes to make sure that the new buildings maintains the city's charm.
Toledo is also famous for their gold work, and I really wanted to buy something, but I was afraid I was falling for a tourist trap, so I refrained. But now I kind of wish I had gone ahead and bought something from Toledo.
(Didn't personally take this picture)
I almost want to go back to Toledo when the whether is nicer since the trip can easily be done in a day, and do the city justice. Plus, take more pictures. I was stupid and didn't charge my camera the night before, and of course after the first five pictures, my camera started blinking and telling me that I was low on battery. Poo.
(Inside of a huge church. This is the "highlight"
of the church in some ways. People would walk
around the church, making their way
to the end of the church, and then see this. It is
made so that light comes through and serves
basically as a spot light onto this...)
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