I just heard that some people from my program went to Toledo today, which reminded me to write this blog post! I went to Toledo a week ago, which really seems like yesterday..it's crazy how fast time flies here. Shiri, Mallory, Olwen, and I decided to book the trip really last minute just for fun. We took the metro to the Atocha stop, which has the train station and then took the train into Toledo. It was super fast - not even a 45 minute ride.

I'll admit that we did a lot of touristy things, but looking back, I think that's the way to go for a day trip to Toledo. We went on the hop on hop off bus, which took us into the center where everything is. It stopped at a beautiful view of the city that we wouldn't have been able to get to by walking. We got some great pics that I'll post in the Toledo album.

The hop on hop off deal also gave us wristbands for a guided tour of very important sites in Toledo. After we got ripped off on marzipan (delicious but way too expensive..now I know to not always go with the server's recommendations because they will probably suggest the most expensive thing) we met up with our tour guide. We went with the tour en español! He was easy to understand and I learned a lot from him. My favorite spots were the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, Church of Santo Tomé, and La Sinagoga de Santa Maria.

Toledo is known as "La Ciudad de los Tres Culturas" which translates to the city of the three cultures. There was a time in Spanish History called Convivencia (Coexistence) when Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in peace and harmony. It's more than that though. For example, the synagogue did not look like an ordinary synagogue. The tour guide explained that it was built by Muslim workers. With the Islam-inspired artwork, it actually felt more like a mosque. On the cobblestone, you could spot tiny colorful tiles every so often with symbols such as "chai" and the menorah. It was really cool to see such familiar symbols and also see a record of influences on the religion that can only be found in Toledo. I found comfort in these reminders and unique influences.

The Church of Santo Tomé is home to El Greco's painting The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, which I learned about in class last year. El Greco was a famous artist from the Renaissance. He was from Toledo!

I won't bore you with all the history!! (Haha nerd moment) I took a Spanish Cultures class last year, so it was just really exciting for me to see with my own eyes what I read and learned from class. Also, the architecture was beautiful. I admired the layers of Toledo as we walked downhill back to the train station. Each building complements the next. I was almost as though we were in a living museum.

Last remark: we went to a fabulous place for lunch called Alqahira. It was an Egyptian restaurant and we got delicious plates to share (Falafel, Shawarma.. you know, the good stuff.)

10/10 would recommend

Also, I thought I just lost this draft but it was a false alarm!!!! So I'm just gonna post it now so that doesn't happen again ENJOYYYY~~~