We arrived in Madrid early Thursday morning and, after meeting our guide, Peter, at the hotel, walked through a lively historic neighborhood to the Thyssen Museum where we saw several piece of great art and had a fine lunch. Later, we met our tour group (only 19 total) for a welcome dinner in a nearby restaurant. Friday morning, we did a quick driving tour of Madrid, stopping at the ancient palace, before spending a couple of hours at the fabulous Prada Museum with our local expert, Jose, who explained a great deal about Spanish artists. In the afternoon, Jose and Peter lead an excursion to the ancient city of Toledo which has been inhabited for well over 1,000 years (the whole town is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight) by a variety of peoples of different cultures and religions.