Goinī South
Just got back from Toledo and Aranjuez today. Itīs interesting to see all of the different cultures that have been through there in the last 2500 years or so. Romans, Visigoths, Arabs...everybody seems to have made a home on the Iberian peninsula at one time or another.
The architecture of Toledo is particularly striking in its many different influences. Looking at the city from the Youth Hostel, you can see the heavy Roman influence that much of Spain appears to have. Getting closer to the city, you begin to see the Arabic influence present in archways, minarets and various small buildings scattered throughout the main area around El Alcazar.
This building has had itīs share of amazing historical moments, the most recent being when Franco was forced march to Toledo to interrupt the Government siege on the building. The siege lasted about 90 days and though the National army threw everything they had at it, the fortifications stood. Franco finally arrived on the scene with his troops (that were originally bound for Madrid) and sent the Government army packing. The Generalissimo was so impressed that the troops withstood the attack from within the Alcazar for so long, he promoted the defending officer to a high rank.
Later, there was the Cathedral de Toledo, which was magnificent! I picked up an audio guide (it looked like a really long phone receiver) and walked inside, prepared for a stoic tour of an old church, but I was blown-over when I walked in. I just stood in the entranceway, looking up at the towering ceilings and enormous stained glass windows while schoolchildren on a day trip streamed around me. The church was just massive, with 28 seperate areas which required about 2.5 hours to complete. Not being a Catholic, some of the vocabulary flew over my head, but it was a worthy experience.
The rest of my time in Toledo was taken up walking around the town, taking pictures of the various buildings, parks, city walls and surrounding land. I must have walked about 10 miles in the course of my time there and my feet were killing me. I decided it was time for a break, so I headed for the train station that would take me to Aranjuez.
I mis-read the schedule and was almost an hour early for the train, so I decided to wait on the platform and read about the various areas I have been planning to visit. Before I knew it, I was head-back, book-in-my-lap, probably-snoring asleep. An old Spanish woman woke me with a shake and pointed at the train saying something I didnīt understand. I looked at my watch and it was 5 minutes before the train was scheduled to leave. Thank goodness for little old Spanish ladies.
Aranjuez is a very small town which basically has a Palace, the gardens surrounding said Palace and not much more. I was too late to hit the Palace (it closed at 5:30), so I decided to walk through the garden, take some picutres and write some postcards, which I did for about an hour.
Now, Iīm back in Madrid after having taken the regional train (instead of the Express) which took almost an hour. I bummed around Sol for a while and ended up at this crazy Internet Cafe that is painted in pink with rows and rows of computers with flat-screen monitors. The sound system is blaring a dance mix of The Never Ending Story which adds to the ambience of the place. Not to mention this blog....
The architecture of Toledo is particularly striking in its many different influences. Looking at the city from the Youth Hostel, you can see the heavy Roman influence that much of Spain appears to have. Getting closer to the city, you begin to see the Arabic influence present in archways, minarets and various small buildings scattered throughout the main area around El Alcazar.
This building has had itīs share of amazing historical moments, the most recent being when Franco was forced march to Toledo to interrupt the Government siege on the building. The siege lasted about 90 days and though the National army threw everything they had at it, the fortifications stood. Franco finally arrived on the scene with his troops (that were originally bound for Madrid) and sent the Government army packing. The Generalissimo was so impressed that the troops withstood the attack from within the Alcazar for so long, he promoted the defending officer to a high rank.
Later, there was the Cathedral de Toledo, which was magnificent! I picked up an audio guide (it looked like a really long phone receiver) and walked inside, prepared for a stoic tour of an old church, but I was blown-over when I walked in. I just stood in the entranceway, looking up at the towering ceilings and enormous stained glass windows while schoolchildren on a day trip streamed around me. The church was just massive, with 28 seperate areas which required about 2.5 hours to complete. Not being a Catholic, some of the vocabulary flew over my head, but it was a worthy experience.
The rest of my time in Toledo was taken up walking around the town, taking pictures of the various buildings, parks, city walls and surrounding land. I must have walked about 10 miles in the course of my time there and my feet were killing me. I decided it was time for a break, so I headed for the train station that would take me to Aranjuez.
I mis-read the schedule and was almost an hour early for the train, so I decided to wait on the platform and read about the various areas I have been planning to visit. Before I knew it, I was head-back, book-in-my-lap, probably-snoring asleep. An old Spanish woman woke me with a shake and pointed at the train saying something I didnīt understand. I looked at my watch and it was 5 minutes before the train was scheduled to leave. Thank goodness for little old Spanish ladies.
Aranjuez is a very small town which basically has a Palace, the gardens surrounding said Palace and not much more. I was too late to hit the Palace (it closed at 5:30), so I decided to walk through the garden, take some picutres and write some postcards, which I did for about an hour.
Now, Iīm back in Madrid after having taken the regional train (instead of the Express) which took almost an hour. I bummed around Sol for a while and ended up at this crazy Internet Cafe that is painted in pink with rows and rows of computers with flat-screen monitors. The sound system is blaring a dance mix of The Never Ending Story which adds to the ambience of the place. Not to mention this blog....
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