Toledo

Yea these are a little late, but I will eventually catch up.

Well, the next excursion was to Toledo, one of the oldest cities in Spain. I didn´t really know what to expect and honestly, I didn´t have time to think because the night before, we went tapa hopping. Of course, that is not what it is called but I had to come up with a name for one of Spain´s national pasttimes for my own use. What we did is we travelled around to a few different bars eating tapas and finally ending up at a famous chocolatería. Now, I am always going to remember this night because it is the first and last night that I will ever drink alcohol. I ordered a sangria because I am a huge fan of the nonalcholic version and I just wanted to taste the original. Of course, I thought it was pretty nasty and immediately after, I regretted ordering it. However, every single place had a brand new delicious tapa to offer which made up for my mistake. We eventually ended up in a chocolatería which needless to say, was awesome. This little venture really gave me an idea of what Spanish life is like.

The next day, we went to Toledo. I hadn´t done any research on Toledo, so I wasn´t prepared for what I was going to see. As we rounded a road to Toledo, we came to the most breathtaking view I had ever seen. From this view alone, you could nearly see the diverse history and spirit of Spain Luckily, they stopped so we could take pictures. Before I started shooting away, I just took in and admired the view, mesmerized. It was truly something that was one of a kind. After this appetizer, I could not wait to get down there to explore the city.

We eventually made it to the city and we were treated to a nice tour of the more important places in the city. One of the first things I noticed was that there were swords EVERYWHERE. I later came to find out that Toledo was and is renowned for it´s steel making, namely swords. I even heard from a fellow student that there was an actually swordsmith somewhere in the city who would personally forge a sword for you. Unfortunately, I didn´t not get to see him. However, everything else I saw made me forget about this circumstance. We got to see one of El Greco´s most famous paintings, which gave me my first taste of the beautiful art I would come to see all over Spain. The specific piece I mention is El entierro del Conde del Orgaz. The painting, of course, was amazing, but it also seemed to have a life of it´s own. You could almost see all the activity going on in the painting which made the experience all the more surreal.

Unbelievably, this wouldn´t be the most impressive part of the trip. This would be claimed by the Cathedral of Toledo. This cathedral was just amazing. The most impressive part of it for me was the garden in the middle. This garden, to me, embodied purity and innocence. With birds flying everywhere within and orange trees growing it is something I hope, will never be ruined by human hands.

Like all things, the tour had to come to an end. I was not in the least bit disappointed and it left me wanting to immediately go on the next trip. Each trip brings something new a beautiful to the table and the only bad part is waiting until the day of the trip. Segovia and Escorial are next on my list.