Trip journal UK and Spain (September 21 – October 12, 2011)

Part 4: Toledo & Madrid October 3

October 3 (Mon): We took the 09:20 high speed train (from PTA. Atocha) to Toledo (70 km south of Madrid) and arrived at the World Heritage Site* on 09:53. From the station we took a shutter bus to the town center. Toledo is sitting on a large hill and is encircled on three sides by the Tagus River. The city still retains its medieval road plan with lots of twisting streets and irregular terrain. Like most others we first toured the Gothic Cathedral (dating from the 13th century) which is considered to be the pinnacle of the Gothic style in Spain. It was modeled after Bourges Cathedral, although its five naves plan is the consequence of the constructors' intention to cover all of the sacred space of the former city mosque with the cathedral, and of the former sahn with the cloister. It also combines some characteristics of the Mudéjar style, mainly in the cloister, and with the presence of multifoiled arches in the triforium. The spectacular incorporation of light and the structural achievements of the ambulatory vaults are some of its more remarkable aspects. It is built with white stone from Olihuelas, close to Toledo. Then we visited the Iglesia de Santo Tome (14th century Mudejar style) where houses the famous painting ‘Burial of Count Orgaz’ by El Greco. We couldn’t try the La Lumbre for its tapas as it was closed for renovation nor the Museo de El Greco (closed on Monday). We took the 16:18 train back to Madrid. From the PTA. Atocha (we'd coffee break first) we went to Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Spain’s national museum for 20th century art) in the neighborhood. The museum is mainly dedicated to Spanish art. Highlights of the museum include excellent collections of Spain's two greatest 20th century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Certainly the most famous masterpiece in the museum is Picasso's painting Guernica. Again admission would be free should we wait for an hour. After dinner @ Taberna Los Lucio in the vicinity of Plaza Mayor we returned to our hotel with a brief stop at the Mercado de San Miquel.

* By UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures, as well as the place where harsh religious persecutions were held against the Jews.

Equipment used: Olympus Pen E-P3 – Olympus M. Zuiko Digital 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II (35mm equiv. 28-82mm), Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200mm F4.0-5.5 (35mm equiv. 90-400mm) and Nikon 52mm Circular Polarising filter.