Day 9 - Toledo

Philip and I took the train from Madrid to Toledo today.  For the first time I got to see a true historical European city.  Toledo is geographically just a big hill surrounded by rivers.  So, it is naturally fortified and some of the original city walls still exist!  It was nice to finally see a true ancient city.  What was truly amazing was the ancient architecture.  In Toledo, there's a huge Moorish influence and it can be seen in almost every building there. 

We went to their museum of "army before armies" which had items taking back to the 1300s.  Some of the artifacts we saw were items collected by their expeditions to the Americas, Japan and Africa.  These items are over 300 years old!  The ones that struck me the most were the Samurai outfits that looked like they were in perfect condition.  It made me realize how the Spanish fleet was once the ruler of the seas and how they acquired (and settled) much of the New World.  It was a fascinating visit.  Alas, no pictures were allowed except in the courtyard of the armory.

The church were Greco's painting is in the foyer.

We went to an ancient church where the famous Greco painting is on the wall (although the rest of the church has clearly been renovated in modern style) and an ancient synagogue.  However, for us to get into the main cathedral we would have had to of waited in line forever.  So, we chose not to do it.  Besides, all of the churches now charge you to enter and the price they charge far exceeds what you get to see.

After two days of walking, we headed back to the train for the 30 minute ride back to Madrid, looking forward to an early night as we both had school in the morning.  Philip wasn't feeling well most of the day so he called it an early night while I tried to study the first chapter of my first day in class tomorrow.