This day was our third day of the trip, Monday, March 10th. After getting somewhat accustomed to what our next week was going to feel like in the beautiful city of Madrid, we hopped on a bus at around 9:30 in the morning and took about an hour ride to Toledo, a place that seemed like it was taken straight out of a storybook. On the drive in, it was very interesting to see the change of scenery from the big city of Madrid to a more rural area of Spain. The first time we stepped out of the bus, we were on this road just outside Toledo, giving us an excellent view. The architecture was astonishing and the view looked like something that you see in movies. The weather on this day was very kind to us, and the partly cloudy skies allowed us to experience all that Toledo had to offer.
Stop 1: The Monastery of San Juan de Los Reyes
After arriving at Toledo and meeting up with our amazing tour guide for the day, our first stop was the Monastery of San Juan de Los Reyes. Every inch of this intricate piece of architecture is covered with details. From the outside, stone carvings, symbols, and statues adorn the entrance of the Monastery. One of the most interesting features to me was the heads of many of the statues because they were a different color than the rest of the body. Our tour guide told us that this was because when Napoleon and his troops controlled Toledo in the early 1800s, they destroyed the statues. Once they left Toledo, the statues were restored, however, a different material was used, causing the color difference.
The inside of the Monastery was even more striking than the outside. The walls are littered from floor to ceiling with different carvings and inscriptions. One of my favorite parts from inside was the artwork that stood behind the altar in the main chapel. There is also a small garden that sits in the center of the Monastery, adding to the peaceful ambiance of the building.
The City of Toledo and Stop 2: The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo
After leaving the Monastery of San Juan de Los Reyes, we took about a fifteen-minute walk throughout the city towards our next destination. As we walked the narrow streets of Toledo, our tour guide made sure to point out a lot of different restaurants and shops that we could check out later in the day. The main thing that she told us about was a pastry called marzipan. Marzipan is made from ground almonds and sugar and is one of Toledo’s most famous pastries. The dessert is traditionally made into a crescent shape, but there are lots of other different forms of marzipan too. We got the chance to try some marizpan, and I really enjoyed the sweetness of the pastry.
Next, we arrived at our second stop of the guided tour which was the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo. This structure was the most astonishing work of architecture that I have ever seen. The towers of the Cathedral stood so tall that you could see them overtop of all of the other buildings in the area as we were walking in. The structure was so massive that I found myself in awe, finding new details everywhere that I looked. My favorite detail from the outside, though it was hard to choose one, was the depiction of the Last Supper near the top of the Cathedral.
The inside of the Cathedral was even more impressive than the outside. As we roamed through the main chapel, the massive golden altarpiece was the first thing that caught my eye, glowing under the light that poured through the colorful stained-glass windows. The walls were covered in detailed carvings and paintings, and even when I thought that I couldn’t be impressed even more, I was proven wrong. Even the ceiling was covered in so many beautiful carvings and works of art that it made me want to keep looking up to take it all in. Our tour guide explained to us how natural light was extremely important at the time that the Cathedral was built. With the lack of electrical lighting, the positioning of many windows, such as the large stained-glass windows surrounding the main chapel, and other places that allowed light to enter the Cathedral were very important. To conclude our tour of the Cathedral of Saint Mary, we took a walk through the Sacristy of the Cathedral, an art gallery showcasing many works of art by different artists. The ceiling was painted by Luca Giordano, and it was by far the best part of the room due to its large scale and intricate details.
Back in Madrid to End The Day
After having a couple of hours of free time to explore the city of Toledo a bit more, we made our way back to Madrid to finish the day off. A couple of the guys and I wound up at a restaurant called Vinitus that was only about a ten-minute walk from the hotel that we were staying at. We got a variety of tapas that we shared between the four of us, and my favorite was the jamón.
This day in Toledo was one of the best experiences that I had during my time in Spain. From exploring the stunning cathedrals to wandering through the old stone streets, every part of the city had a story to tell. The mix of cultures, the stunning architecture, and the incredible views made it one of my favorite places that we went to throughout the whole trip. The culture and history was so rich in Toledo that a day almost didn’t feel like enough time to explore everything that it had to offer, but through our guided tour and the free time that we had after, I feel as if the time in Toledo enriched my experience abroad and is a day that I will never forget.