Thanksgiving Vacation 2011: Toledo and Madrid, Spain

Yes, you know what's coming next. My alarm went off at 6:45 AM so I could be ready to be at breakfast for our 15 minute alloted eating time and then off to the train station. What I didn't like is my throat felt very sore and I felt like I might have a cold. Not good. I'd hoped it was just from the cold, dry air from the conditioner. The elevator actually had a floor labeled "Breakfast", which was floor one. I got there five minutes early and had to wait with another man, not knowing that some people were already eating. They found a different entrance that wasn't blocked by a red, velvet rope. Once inside, I quickly grabbed some food and made a fresh cappuccino using the coffee machine. The food was much better than the breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Lisbon. After about five minutes my traveling companions showed up and our 15 minute food break lasted longer than expected (no, I'm not blaming you guys, just stating facts). When we left for the train, we thought we had plenty of time to catch our train. The Metros were all on time and we arrived at the train station about five minutes before our train to Toledo was to depart. We thought we didn't need to rush, and were lucky there were no delays getting there. Once we found our seats we settled in for the 30 minute ride to Toledo.

The train was a high speed express train, with no stops, only a few slow-down points. It was sunny when we left but the skis got darker as we headed south. I enjoyed looking out at the countryside, even if there wasn't much to see other than green hills. When we arrived at the train station in Toledo, we got a taxi to take us up the hill to the main sites, as suggested by Rick Steves, who's book we were using as a travel guide. We were apparently early as most of the sites didn't open until 10 AM and it was only 9:30. So we wandered around the steep and narrow streets looking for our first stop, the Cathedral of Toledo, listed as the largest Cathedral in Spain. Due to the narrow, curvy, streets and high buildings, it was difficult to see much beyond a few buildings, but we managed to find the Cathedral. Since we had time to spare, we wandered around the streets some more, finding a cute cat that was waiting for birds to eat the bread crumbs left by the owner, I assume. This cat was not afraid of people or cars and was happy to be petted.

Then as we walked some more, a nice man speaking Spanish told us of a shop that was open and encouraged us to visit it. Luckily my sister-in-law spook enough Spanish to understand him. Of course he worked there and that was his job - to get people to the shop. When we entered he took us to the factory where they make the products they sell, showing us how they use very thin strips of gold to decorate the trinkets, such as ear rings and necklaces. So then we spent a few minutes in the shop, not planning to buy anything as the prices were probably very high since they were not labeled on the merchandise. So we made our escape, only to run into the man, and one of his co-workers later. They were desperate for business, I guess. Back at the Cathedral the crowds had increased, including tour groups. At ten the ticket office opened and we bought our entrance tickets plus access to the tower, whatever that was.

Once inside the Cathedral we were not disappointed. It was heavily decorated with very expensive, ornate woodwork, paintings and sculptors. Once again, no photography was allowed, except everyone seemed to be taking pictures. Yes, I took a picture just before we left, but was discrete about it. Our trip up to the tower was scheduled for 10:30, so we wandered to the meeting point. We had to be led by a man who unlocked various doors as we made our way up some stairs, eventually leading to the tower, where the stairs were very steep and the passageways was narrow and twisting. Along the way there were spots to take pictures of the city. The highest we could go was up to the bell tower, where there were great views of the city, but the windows were blocked by metal guards. Everyone in this group took many pictures and after about 15 minutes we were led back down.

We spent some more time exploring the Cathedral, looking into each open room, one of which had a collection of very expensive and heavy looking robes. Another room had national treasures, including a very complex and shiny gold Processional Monstrance. I still don't know what that is, but it contains 5,600 pieces joined by 12,500 screws. This is where I took my forbidden picture. Well, we had enough of this site so we headed back out to find our next destination, but once we got there we decided it wasn't worth it to go in. So we explored a few shops, where I almost bought one of my souvenir magnets, or even a small painted cow or cat statue, but I didn't. By now the sun was finally starting to shine and we also thought it best to get some food. We found a nice place to eat outside, one with a wide variety of menu items. This was the first time I've seen a place that charges slightly more for the food if you eat outside, but sitting outside is great for people watching, so outside we sat. I ordered pizza, which was good but not great. We had our one and only group photo taken here by the waitress. After paying our bill, we looked at the clock and felt it was time to head back to the train station. We only allowed ourselves less then four hours here in Toledo, as we wanted to get back to Madrid before dark. It would have been nice to have another hour there, as there was some train ride that took you on a tour around and outside the city.

The train to Madrid arrived on time, and we quickly zipped back to Madrid. From the train station, the next museum we wanted to visit, the one that was closed the day before, was a short walk away. This museum, the Paseo Del Arte Prado, I believe,  had more modern artwork by artists such as Pablo Picasso. Specifically, we, or at least my sister-in-law, wanted to see his painting Guernica, a famous painting depicting WWII bombing of a city in Spain by the Germans. There was also a series of pictures taken during the painting, showing the progression of the artwork. I found that very interesting as well. We didn't want to spend too much time in this museum as there were other sites to see before dark. We next headed to the Royal Palace of Madrid. At first we thought it was closed because there were signs saying closed due to special event. But there was also a line forming at the entrance, so we got in line and tried to figure out what the line was for. Turns out the Palace was opening at 3:30, and also this day it was free to locals. We seemed to be the only non-locals in line, but there was no way they would deny our entrance.


Even better. We got in for free! The man asked us where we were from and my brother replied "America". Then he asked again and our response was "Europe". The man finally said "You are from England" and he smiled and let us in. I guess he liked us, because we did see other people paying for their tickets. Security was tight at the Palace. We had to have all our stuff put through a scanner just like an airport. We were lucky to get in so quick, however, we got stuck behind several large, slow moving tour groups. You have to follow a path that takes you through many overly decorated and large rooms. Once again, no photos allowed, and they were serious. Armed guards were watching you at times. Each room had a purpose and was uniquely decorated with furniture, paintings and carpet. There was a giant room who's purpose was a dressing room. Another room was for dining, with a table that could seat over 100 people. The next room had the silverware, made of real silver, and other serving ware. Once we got by the tour groups the rooms were less crowded.

We then explored a few more rooms in the Palace, one of which had violins made by Antonio Stradivari. Another room had very old and working clocks. This was a special exhibit at the Palace. The last room we saw contained lots of armor and armory. Since we had seen a similar exhibit in Vienna last year, we didn't spend too much time here. So we left the Palace and looked for a place to get some coffee. My throat was feeling much worse and some hot coffee sounded good. We stopped in at a chain restaurant called Pans. The drink did make me feel better, but I could tell my cold was getting worse. We left there and headed to another plaza, only to find a Christmas market being constructed. It looked as if it would be ready to open the next day, the day we left. So no Gluhwein for me this year, then again, that drink was in Vienna and Germany. We continued to wander the streets, eventually making our way back towards our hotel. Along the way we ended up at Sol plaza again, and now the Christmas tree was lit up. I snapped a few photos with the sunset in the background. Also, there were a lot more people out today than there were the day before, probably because it wasn't raining. This also meant that we needed to be slightly more concerned about pick-pockets.

Back at the hotel we took another pre-dinner break before heading back out. To our surprise, there was some big event going on near the theater, with news vans and lots of people. Interested, we crossed the street where there was a large screen. They were interviewer stars from Puss In Boots, but we couldn't tell if they were actually there or not. We saw them on the screen with the background looking like the walls that everyone was looking at, but we never actually saw any of the actors, even when we got closer. We later found out that they were there, including Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek. After this excitement we wandered the streets  looking for a place to eat, eventually deciding on a buffet. Once again we were early, but that just meant more food for use. The food was pretty good, but most of it shoudld have been warmer. We knew if our sister was there she would be avoiding this food as food poisoning  is always a risk if it isn't hot enough, but I'm happy to say we didn't get sick. The best food was the lasagna, which was also the hottest entree. Of course, the deserts were good, but also limited in choices. We left with full stomaches, and after more walking, we went back to the hotel to get ready for checking out the next day. I hopped I would wake up feeling better, because we had our eight hour bus ride and I didn't want to be coughing and what not all day long.