Spain Part V: Toledo & Madrid

The end of our trip took us to Toledo and finally Madrid.  Toledo is so different from all of the other Spanish cities that we visited on our trip. It's a walled in medieval city perched high above the rest of the area, and is very characteristic of many Italian cities. The stone buildings, narrow streets, car free roads, and quaint shops, made Toledo pleasurable to stroll around as we took in the charm of this attractive town. The cathedral dominates the skyline and the plaza is full of outdoor cafes perfectly suited for people watching.

The cathedral

While here, we visited the El Greco museum, which is set in an old restored house and showcases pieces of art by the painter as well as paintings by some of his followers. The house gave us insight into what an old Spanish style property would have looked like, and the descriptions of El Greco and his paintings gave us insight into him and his techniques as a painter.

We also visited the Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca. It was built in the 13th century, was converted to a Christian church in the 15th century, and is now owned by the Catholic church. Except for some Moorish style arches and columns the inside is pretty empty and there are virtually no signs that it used to be a synagogue.

Outside the entrance before it opened

Sad to say goodbye to Toledo, we packed up the car and started the short drive to Madrid. Madrid is the capital of Spain, its largest city, and the third largest city in Europe. The interesting thing about Madrid is that there's not one specific thing that people flock here to see or one specific thing that it's famous for, like other large cities in Europe or around the world. That's not to say there aren't things to see or do here... Madrid is well known for its art museums, nightlife, parks, and plethora of first-class restaurants and tapas bars, which we took full advantage of!

Plaza Mayor

We first went to Madrid's most famous art museum, the Prado Museum, which has one of the largest art collections in the world featuring artists such as Velasquez, Goya, Rembrandt, El Greco, Picasso, and many others. There were so many rooms and art pieces on display that it was a little overwhelming... but in a good way. The museum is elegantly designed and the pieces we viewed were very interesting, and even controversial at times. We spent a long time admiring all of the art here. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside.

A church right outside the Prado.

We also went to the Reina Sofia Museum, which is a modern art museum. Our main goal here was to see Picasso's painting "Guernica", and to see other well known (and not so well known) paintings by the artist and other artists like Dali. The museum was... interesting. Like the Guggenheim in Bilbao, some of the modern art pieces left us questioning the sanity of some of the buyers and admirers of the pieces. The plain red and blue paintings just do not make sense to us!

Hmm...

The outside of the museum

A cool Dali painting

In between our time at the two museums we walked through Retiro Park, which provided us with shaded areas to sit and enjoy the scenery. The park was full of joggers, bikers, families picnicking,  and couples reading on blankets. It was very similar to Central Park in New York.

Before aperitifs and dinner, we walked to the Royal Palace of Madrid. The lit up building was beautiful against the dark sky and we wished we had time to go inside. Instead, we decided to sit outside and share a bottle of wine for our last night in Spain. Dinner was fantastic and was one of our best meals throughout the whole trip.

The next day we packed up the car for the last time and headed to the airport. I guess all good things must come to end, but do they really have to? In our ten days in Spain we didn't have one bad or even average meal. The food was excellent and with the amount of variety and flavors I think it just might be a new favorite cuisine of ours. We saw nine unique and incredible cities filled with history, art, and charm, and drove around a van that was way too big for most of them. The best part about the trip though was that we got to spend it with two very important people in our lives whom we don't see very often, Jon's parents. Thanks for a fantastic trip Lori and Joe!

Spain Part IV: Cordoba & Seville

After our time in Grenada we drove two hours to Cordoba. The main attraction here is the Mezquita, which is an enormous former mosque founded in 785. In 1236 the mosque was turned into a Catholic church after Cordoba was captured by King Ferdinand III. It is one of the only places in the world where one can worship Mass in a mosque. This is the centerpiece of Cordoba and no trip here is complete without visiting it.

A massive structure!

The Cathedral part of the Mosque

The architecture of the building is stunning. Columns are made from onyx, jasper, marble, and granite. They used double arches, which allowed for higher ceilings, and alternated between the colors red and white. We stood in awe as we gazed at the beautiful building... it was unlike anything we had seen before.

Outside the wall to the old city

After our time in the Mezquita we went through a web of winding streets, including the Jewish quarter and 14th century synagogue. Jews were among the most prominent citizens during the time of Islamic Cordoba and they left their mark on this city. Today the Jewish quarter is a series of whitewashed buildings adorned with colorful flower boxes, with Hebrew inscriptions written into the streets.

Inside the old synagogue

Statue of Maimonides: Rub the gold foot for good luck!

We found a fantastic restaurant for dinner and had some time to get a few drinks beforehand at a fun rooftop bar. The food in Cordoba, like the rest of the cities that we went to in Spain, was delicious.

A very skillfully made gin and tonic.

Drinks before dinner.

Nice view!

Getting our car out of Cordoba proved to be a difficult experience with some of the streets being a little too narrow for our van. After a stressful getaway we continued the drive to Seville. Seville seems to incorporate everything that one might be looking for in a Spanish city: history, culture, romance, and beauty. It has many monuments, a grand Gothic cathedral, art, and a ton of festivals catering to all interests.

One of the top things on our list to see here was a Flamenco show. Flamenco is a genre of Spanish music that includes singing, dancing, guitar playing, and palmas (handclaps). Seeing the women dancing in their traditional flamenco dresses, hearing the beautiful singing of the men on stage, and listening to the magnificent guitar playing, made this one of the top experiences we have had in Europe! We were mesmerized by this traditional show and the two hours seemed to pass rather quickly.

Before the show

The men

Everybody!

The next day we went to the Alcazar, a royal palace built in 913 that was home to many kings and caliphs, though it was originally built as a Moorish fort. Throughout the decades it has been expanded and rebuilt many times.

After our visit to the Alcazar our time in Seville had come to an end. We packed up the van and made our last long drive of the trip. Next up Toledo and Madrid!