 |
| Festive Cathedral square |
Today I took a day trip by bus to Toledo. The town's narrow, twisty streets and tall buildings proved what the guidebook had to say: "Toledo has Spain's most confusing medieval street plan." Good grief, you aren't kidding.
In any case, there was plenty to see in Spain's former capital seated on a hill overlooking the Tajo river.
 |
| A wall hemming Toledo |
What a beautiful, exhausting walk up from the valley to the old city
along the medieval walls. After meandering (and getting lost in) the city's streets for a while, I toured the cathedral, one of Europe's best. El Greco paintings in the sacristy, the
Transparente, the high altar and choir, and the various side chapels all made this a fantastic visit. However, many areas were closed or under construction, so there was a lot I didn't get to see.
I went to the Santa Cruz museum, as many do, to see their stunning collection of 15 paintings by El Greco, Toledo's famous son. Probably the only museum during my whole trip that was free. I love how they let you get close enough to the paintings to see the brushstrokes of a 400 year old master.
 |
| Overlooking the Tajo River |
I stopped at an overlook of the Tajo river, where the hills were sprinkled with poplars and mansions with tiled roofs, and a 14th century bridge spanned the river. I lay in the sun on the warm stone wall for about an hour before dropping by the San Juan de los Reyes Monastery. Very quiet and reverent, with a fine cloister. After more walking to see the ancient city walls, and after having a good dinner I took the bus back to Madrid.
 |
| An entryway into the old city. |
 |
| A festive street near the Toledo Cathedral. |
 |
| Approaching the cathedral. |
 |
| A view through the choir toward the altar inside the cathedral. Both were closed. |
 |
| The Transparente in the cathedral. A hole in the ceiling bathes the sculpture in light. For reference, Mary, seated in front holding Christ, is as tall as me. |
 |
| Closer view of the Transparente. |
 |
| San Juan de los Reyes Monastery. Significant for many reasons, this monastery has a façade adorned with chains brought by the Christians who were shackled with them by the Moors. |
 |
| Cloister of the monastery |
 |
| Orange trees framed by one of the cloister's elegant openings. |
 |
| A pair of doors leading into the monastery from the cloister. |
 |
| Overlooking the Tajo River. |
 |
| Part of the wall surrounding Toledo. |
 |
| More of the wall |
No comments:
Post a Comment