TOLEDO

Holy Toledo! No seriously, Toledo Spain is AMAZING! Conquered by the Christians in 1085, it served as the capital of Spain for some time, no Madrid has not always been the capital, actually Spain has had many capitals.(they are a little unstable)Toledo is rich in history and has been occupied by Visigoths, Moors, Christians, probably some Berbers as well. It is home to one of the largest cathedrals in the world. After 200+ years it was completed in 1493 one year after the Reconquista. We weren't allowed to take pics in the cathedral so I only have view of the outside. I guess you could say it was just another cathedral, empty, ornate, and grandiose. It did have some cool unique aspects, first, when prominent cardinals died they paid to be buried in the cathedral and then a red hat hangs above their tomb, until it decays, and then it means their bodied have decayed. Throughout the cathedral I would look up and see this wilted, dusty red hat, kind of weird! Another controversial piece of info,in the 1700's they tore a hole in the ceiling of the cathedral to allow more light on the transparient, which is a shrine to Mary, of coarse, and they decorated it like a window to heaven. I thought it was really cool, but some Catholics were offended at the defecation of the church.
We also visited a Jewish Synagogue right after the Cathedral. I thought it was interesting to compare the two places of worship, very different. The synagogue is one of three remaining medieval in all of Spain. Because the Jews were so persecuted in Spain it is a miracle it has survived this long.
Toledo is famous for swords(because the river surrounding it is the perfect temperature to cool steel), fancy pottery, and MAZAPAN! I ate six little mazapanes in Toledo! First was from the little nun's at Santa Rita's. You go up to a little revolving door and ring a bell, a little nun comes to the door and you tell what you want, and then put your money down, she rotates it out with your sweets! It was amazing! Plus mazapan is amazing and it is everywhere! That is what the picture is of, she got kind of mad at me for taking the picture! woops!We spent most of the time just wandering into building and through streets, we got lost a couple times, it was great. I also got to see the Burial of Count Orgaz, a painting by El Greco, one of the most famous. It was painted exactly in the spot of Count's tomb, but 200 years later. El Greco paints himself in the painting, and he is the only one not involved, and he stares creepily out at the viewer. The Toledo trip was so great. I loved to experience the small, antigua feeling. Here is a movie, not too great but I made it in Toledo looking out over the city wall!