Toledo

 On our way to Toledo

We were up early enough to go to breakfast at the same restaurant as yesterday. 

Back at the hotel we finished packing,then started walking up to the train station ( 10 minutes away ).

We arrived about 10 minutes before our platform number was called for the first leg of our trip. Good timing on our part. 

This time we are on an IRYO train to Madrid with one stop in Cordoba. 

Immediately north of Cordoba we went through a beautiful mountainous area. According to Chat GPT it is called Sierra Morena and “is characterized by rolling hills, wooded valleys, cork and holm oak forests and small mountainous villages”.

The landscape changed as we got closer to Madrid, becoming flatter. 

The black area above the green trees is actually a massive solar farm.

We arrived three hours later, about 20 minutes late (noon) into Madrid Atocha station which was OK for us as there was less time to stand around waiting for our 1:45 train to Toledo. The train this morning wasn’t very full but the one to Toledo was packed. 

Arriving in Toledo ( about 30 minutes later) there was no way we were walking into the old town (too hilly).We grabbed a taxi and it was worth the $C20 it cost.

Our hotel is an old restored house (with sections dating about a thousand years old). The photo below is the entrance

After unloading our stuff we walked into the old town to see what there was, and to find a restaurant. We would be totally lost if not for Google Maps. Honestly it has been a godsend for us.

We found an interesting restaurant and ordered local delicacies such as a meal of a partridge and a plate of paella. It was very expensive by our standards but it was part of learning the local culture.

Yup,  that is the type of bird we ate.

We just walked around the streets trying to get our bearings which is really tough in this ancient medieval city. Below are some random street/building photos.

The following photo is the street immediately in front of the gate to this house. The taxi had to wind its way all around the old part of this hill top city just to get us here. Some of the streets are incredibly narrow and there are always people walking on them (like us) so drivers have to be aware and so do we as we have to be able to move aside every time a vehicle or motorbike comes along.

A view from our bedroom

A screen shot of where we are now.

The cathedral in Seville

 We started out this morning down the street at a restaurant for croissants and tea/coffee. 

We waited a while before leaving for the tram. We had put on pants today as it was going to be “only” 28 degrees. However, upon arrival at the tram station I decided to go back to the hotel and change into my cutoffs. This gave Caro some shopping time (souvenirs of course) and 20 minutes later we were on our way.

We got off near the cathedral and just started walking the streets. There are so many beautiful buildings here.

We had decided to go across the river to see another part of the city that is newer but still beautiful (the district is called Tirana).

We walked and walked, and walked some more, enjoying the scenery. We had tickets for the cathedral at 4:45 PM so we had plenty of time to fill with sight seeing.

The weather forecast for today was cloudy with a 25% chance of rain at 11 AM so we knew we were OK not taking our umbrella’s. Oops!! At 3 PM it poured for quite a while. We just stayed in stores or under covered areas like everybody else.

As we were having a beer (just to keep out of the weather) I realized our tickets for the cathedral were actually for tomorrow. SH@T!! Panic  time!!

We decided to play the Dumb Tourists and got in line for the 4:45 tour. Unfortunately the ticket fellow caught the mistake and wouldn’t let us in anyway, directing us around the cathedral to other side to the ticket office. 

Once there we stood in line with other people waiting to get the very limited amount of tickets that are  released every 30 minutes (at least that was my understanding). Caro explained our situation to one of the guards and she (Caro) said we would be willing to purchase new tickets because we wanted to see the cathedral and we were leaving the city in the morning, The guard took us aside to the ticket office boss and after an explanation from us and showing her our train tickets for tomorrow she spoke to some entry people and our tickets for tomorrow were approved for today!!!!  WHEW.

We climbed the bell tower and took a few photos.

The cathedral is MAGNIFICENT. Stunningly beautiful! The photos below do not do it justice.

The following two photos are the grave and monument of Christopher Columbus.

The cathedral was many stained glass windows

This photo is looking straight up at a dome roof

Here are some miscellaneous items I took photos of (there are MANY things here)

That painting is from 1547.

The building is so big with nooks and crannies all over, so I am quite sure we missed some parts.

About two hours later we were done and were eating a light supper at a nearby restaurant (Taverna) that was established in 1386

Some of the supper doesn’t look appetizing but it all tasted great

26,900 steps showing on my phone today,  the highest amount for this trip.

Alcazar in Seville

 We had pre-purchased tickets for the most important tourist site in Seville. The Alcazar is the oldest palace in Europe still functioning as a Royal palace.

We discovered the tram system yesterday and used it again this morning to save 30 minutes of walking (each way) The tram can’t be more than 6-8 minutes walk from the hotel.

We made it in good time to our 9:30 AM ticket entry into the Royal Palace Alcazar. And WOW!!!! Amazing place!

We started in an older section. 

The top photo above is actually the inside of a domed roof. Beautiful intricate workmanship.

Next a couple of photos of one of the courtyards

At this point in our 2.5 hour visit we headed out to the huge manicured gardens.

After a quick snack (first food of the day) we were back into the palaces (which have been built up and modified for over about 800 years).

Next photos are a wall and hallway covered in really old tiles (part of the Gothic Palace)

Next is a photo from the Salon of tapestries and this one is my favourite of quite a few huge tapestries hung on the walls.

“The” best area of the Alcazar without question is the Admiralty room. Here many important people met the king and queen.

The first photo is going into the room.

All the people in  the previous photo are looking up at this…

The roof is spectacular, and the following photo is a panoramic shot of the walls and part of the roof

One final shot of the walls and part of the roof.

A couple more random shots of the area

Once we finished the palaces we just started walking in the streets to see what we could see. One place we stopped at is a convent where they sell things. The photo below shows Caro talking to someone behind the lazy Susan. You can’t see them and they can’t see you. You buzz a speaker, they answer,; you order something and place your money on the lazy Susan and it turns around and your purchase is there to pick up (Caro did not actually buy anything).

I mentioned the other day about the oldest bar in Europe. Today we went in to it for refreshments and a bit of food. There is a stone on the floor right beside our table with the death date of 1184 for a Caliph.

Sort of an odd angle shot but it is flat on the floor and is walked over all day long by the bar staff.

A couple more random shots as walked around

We spent a couple of hours at the pool relaxing (only about 36 degrees today and cloudy this evening)

Supper was at a restaurant down the street. It was “OK” but that was all.

One thing I forgot to mention is since we got to Spain the e-sim I had downloaded from Airalo for Spain didn’t work and after trying and troubleshooting for a week I gave up and downloaded another which works great. We tried to get along with only using Caro’s phone (when outside wi-if areas) as her e-sim worked but there were times we could have used two phones for using QR codes for various types of information.

One other thing. There are bike lanes everywhere here (as you would expect) however what got my attention is the huge numbers of scooters using them alongside the bikes.