ADÍOS TÓLEDO....and a few hours in Madrid

Having become a regular at the corner store, I learned from Frederick and one of his brothers, who I’ve also come to know, that they would be closed for All Saints Day - to “party” as they explained....and so I went to say my goodbyes the day before. A gregarious pair, they were very happy to talk and seemed to appreciate the fact that we’d chosen to stay the whole week in Tolédo - commenting that most people rush through the city in just a few hours....too busy to even enter their little shop to grab a bottle of water! They do, however, have a lot of loyal local customers - and they certainly brightened our morning shopping!
With our time in this city quickly running out we spent one day “with the Romans” - spending part of our time in a park that had the remains of a Roman Circus (a large open-air venue for public events). With a gap of any information during the Visigoth times, it’s know that it was used as a place to make ceramics during the Islamic period (10th-11th century). Originally thought to be used only occasionally for making pottery, an excavation in 1982 found the remains of 5 kilns, with another 3 being found in 2011.
This park, at the bottom of the old city, handily reached by a flight downwards of 6 or 7 levels of escalators, is public, so therefore free....our thanks go to an intern from Puerto Rico, who was working at the tourist office, for suggesting it to us. Apart from the ruins it’s a pretty bare spot at this time of year, but does have a huge number of lavender bushes which give fragrance to the whole area.
Our other brush with the Romans was brief, when during an evening walk we stumbled across a small museum that contained the remains of Roman Baths. Although not much to see, it was once again free! We finally left this era and went to our favourite local corner café for a nightcap, where together with my brandy, the waiter provided a lovely blanket to keep me warm!
Our last day was spent re-visiting some of the best plazas and lookouts in the city - and we also saw the church of San Juan de los Reyes, which has both a lower cloister and an upper one, which was reserved only for royalty. The Catholic monarchs equipped the monastery with an excellent library, which was continually enriched over the years by the friars. In 1808 it was burned down by Napoleon’s army, but unfortunately the books that were salvaged did not survive past the 19th century - they were lost during dissolution of the monasteries.
The cloisters are full of carvings, with beautiful ceilings bearing the Royal Coats of Arms. They were built prior to 1505 when the Franciscans took possession of the monastery. On the upper floor is The Chapel of Mary Immaculate, also built in the early 16th century. The ground floor and entrance to San Juan de los Reyes has a few remaining wall murals.
Finally after saving what could, according to interest and tastes, be termed the highlight of the week - it was time to visit Tolédo’s most famous resident artist El Greco. The museum has recently been re-opened after a 5 year renovation...it’s just around the corner from San Juan de los Reyes...and it didn’t disappoint!
Born in Crete, El Greco moved to Tolédo in 1577 after spending a number of years in Italy. His museum is in a 14th century house that was bought by his number #1 fan - the Marquis de la Vega-Inclán, in the early 20th century. The Marquis bought this run-down house mistakenly believing that the painter had once lived there. He restored it, hoping to recreate the atmosphere of El Greco’s time.
The artist was quite controversial in his day and lived as a pauper, finding it difficult to get commissions, or get paid for them! It was only in the latter half of the 19th century that his works became popular, when they were rediscovered by a group of artists and intellectuals. Apart from his religious paintings, he also painted many portraits of Madrid’s nobility.
After a walk through the house, we entered a long gallery displaying some of his work, including an interesting one of the city of Tolédo painted between 1610-1614. Another piece that is attributed to his son, Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli is of El Greco’s family. The main exhibit is a set of 13 separate paintings of Jesus and the Apostles......they are, simply stunning! He painted several of these series, but only 3 of the sets survive...this one has the greatest value.
After the galley, we entered the small but charming garden that retains its 3 original tiers. With some of the roses still in bloom, plus the scent of lavender and the sound of water from a couple of fountains, it’s a good place to sit and reflect on the artwork we’d just been privileged to see.....hard to believe, but this museum is free to all visitors!
Just before leaving this area, Trevor made a new friend - Manuel - an artist and owner of a local ceramic shop. Immediately upon entering we could see that the work was totally different to any of the other ceramics in this area. Manuel and his brother are the last ones in Tolédo to be making individual pieces by hand....although it’s now left to the brother - Manuel feels his hands are no longer steady enough for this work. The pieces are lovely and this very well travelled artisan is a pleasure to chat with.....he seemed to take a shine to Trevor - which was mutual - as they shared a lot of similar opinions on life!
After a little last minute packing, we returned to the rooftop patio of Carlos V hotel to see our last sunset over Tolédo, where we also shared some lively conversation with 2 gregarious brothers and their wives from Boston who were seated at the next table. The sunset did not disappoint!
....and so the next morning we were on our way again, with a taxi to the Tolédo’s lovely (and calm) train station where we caught the train to Madrid and its chaotic Atocha train terminal....on this day - a National Holiday - it was manic!
From my research I was under the impression that it was a simple matter to take a quick local train to the airport....we’d booked an airport hotel for our flight to Rome the next day. The plan was that after arriving at the airport we’d take the hotel shuttle to the hotel - get checked in, then reverse the process in order to spend a few hours in the city of Madrid.....and it did work out that way....but not quite as easily as anticipated....all due to the chaos at the main train station of Atocha - and perhaps my poor research skills! After quite a few line-ups and questions at the ticket office and with various individuals, we discovered that A) to use local trains we had to buy a card and load money or a designated ticket onto it, and B) there was no direct train to the airport!
In the end we got the card and appropriate ticket loaded on, caught the train, and then changed to a 2nd train which took us to the airport....admittedly we did get off at the wrong stop, but quickly rectified that mistake! All then proceeded as planned....and we had our few hours in Madrid, which we throughly enjoyed.
We visited the Reina Sofia Museum of modern art....a place which was certainly lost on us....we just didn’t “get” the artwork on display!.....but we did enjoy the square surrounding it,p....with spirited street musicians performing, it was a great place to sit with a drink. A little later we also enjoyed 2 people who were playing oboes....a mention here that The Conservatory of Music is also located in this square.
At the Caixa Forum plaza we saw an extraordinary vertical garden which takes up the entire wall of a building. This impressive 78 ft tall green wall has 250 different species of plants that all survive without soil....something to aim for in my own garden?!
This area of Madrid is very popular judging by our time spent there....the later it got, the busier it became. We ended the evening with a meal, along with locals and visitors, at the Museo de Jamon - or the Ham Museum - a local landmark. A typical Spanish tapas bar, it’s now actually a chain of bars after becoming famous in a film in 1997.
It’s a great place, bustling with people, and a good way to get a feel for the lifestyle in Spain......standing at the bar, trying to get the attention of the waiter and, of course, trying different kinds of ham - both Serrano and, perhaps the higher quality Iberico. They also have other snacks, sandwiches and sweet treats - and there’s a shopping section where sealed packages of ham can be bought to take home.
For this short period of time, we became Madridrileños......we stood at the bar, raised our voices in order to get the attention of the barman, ate our salty ham on crusty baguettes and drank the local beer....all very cheap and an experience not to be missed!
Tomorrow we fly to Rome!