Toledo - Madrid Day Twenty-Six

Day Twenty-Six

Date:     24 April  2013

Place:    Toledo - Madrid

Weather:   Sunny, cooler night in Madrid

Accommodation:  Hotel Exe, El Colosso               

It was a happy morning in Toledo as we set out to explore two famous monuments – the cathedral and the Santa Cruz museum.  As with all of Spain nothing opens until 10am so we had breakfast at a café with another interesting choice by my travellers:  tortilla (which is supposed to be an omelette) however it turned up in bread!  Should have said tortilla francaise!  Oh well, live and learn.  My choice of a coffee and doughnut was so much easier!

David had another case of NABC so Desley, Cameron and I joined the queue for the cathedral behind a Japanese tour group.  You have to be early to beat tour groups!!

As it was 11 euros to enter the cathedral we altered our plan to go in and out quickly.  We decided to book out of the hotel by noon as planned however we would store our bags at the hotel so that we could take in a more leisurely look at the cathedral and the Santa Cruz museum as well.

I have to say that we have had our fair share of audio guides on this tour and I think all of us are suitably qualified to be able to critique this service.  Well, today’s was great for several reasons.   They were hands-free as they had a lanyard, earphones, an easy to read map and they also gave directions where to walk to next.  There have been many occasions that we have wandered around looking for the next number.  So many times we have had to hold the equipment to our ear which makes it difficult to make notes and take photos.

The site of the cathedral has been an area of religious significance since the 6^th century AD. As the cathedral took 200 years to build (1226 – 1493) it features a range of styles including French Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods.  The 88 columns are huge and are 44 metres high!

There are several stand-out features of this cathedral:  the altar of gilded wood featuring scenes from the New Testament;  the treasury;  the Transparente directly behind the altar and the tower.  We climbed the stairs in a small group with a guide to the belfry which gave wonderful views over Toledo.  We stood among huge bells but unfortunately the view didn’t make for good photographs as huge bars have been placed over the windows.

 

The nave features painted themes of the New Testament surrounded by gilded wood.

Ding dong!

The huge marble Transparente at the back of the nave....Baroque at its most obscene!  One red cardinal's hats hangs in front of it signifying his burial place.  It is a tradition of the cathedral and they stay there until they rot.

In the Chapter House all of Spain's archbishops have been painted since earliest times.  As the church was not built until the 13th century the faces prior to that were left to the imagination of the painter.

 



The Custodia is housed in the Treasury - it's huge with gold, silver and jewels and weighs over 200kgs.

 

Back at the hotel we booked out, stored our luggage and went to see the Santa Cruz Museum which was free!  We moved around escorted school groups to see two of El Greco’s outstanding pieces – The Assumption and Crucifixion.  They are large pieces and include scenes of Toledo in the bottom background of which the painter is famous for.

Standing outside the Santa Cruz Museum....a wonderful sunny day.

 

A bite of lunch of salads and chicken at a Praza Zocodover and we were then on our way to Madrid once we had packed the car at the nearby carpark.

Madrid was only an hour away and it seemed little time at all and we were on the outskirts of the capital.  After Karen (our GPS) made some confusing directions as there are so many roads to negotiate we eventually found our home for the next three nights in a central location.  She also doesn’t like tunnels and I think we all held our breath until we found the right road again after going into it twice!

David and Cameron took the car for refuelling and returned the car to the rental company which was fortunately not too far from the hotel.  It was at least easier to find than the hotel was!

We had a quieter afternoon in our rooms before meeting for dinner.  The area near Plaza Mayor was recommended by our hotel receptionist as a great area for tapas so we made our way over there and in this area found the delightful market hall which has many small eateries serving all sorts of tapas and drinks.  It was very busy and we dined at a café with the market in view.  We had a wonderful meal and Desley and I enjoyed a sangria each…..we both agreed however the sangria in Granada overlooking the sunset of the Alhambra has been the best.

Sunset at the Praza Mayor where waiters touted for our custom.

 If only we could have found a seat in the markets as there were so many treats.

 

The sangria was a great choice.

 

It was an easy walk home and the weather had turned very cool.