Holy Toledo!

From New York, Tanya and I flew to Spain, rented a car, and drove to Toledo to start our Spanish vacation. The next morning, our son Brooks flew in to meet us.

Toledo is the former capital of Spain. The city teems with Christian, Jewish, Moorish, Visigothic, and Roman history. The cathedral was amazing. Construction of the cathedral started in the year 1226 and was completed a mere 250 years later. My photos don’t due it justice. The place is huge. I could have spent all day in there taking photos. We also visited the Santa Cruz Museum, home to more than a dozen El Greco paintings (El Greco lived in Toledo in the late 1500s and early 1600s); the Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca, a synagogue built by Moorish workmen in 1200 (later converted to a church in 1492 after the Jews were forced to convert to Christianity); the San Juan de los Reyes Monasterio, a Franciscan monastery built in the Gothic style circa 1500; and Santa Tome, a wonderful little church that is home to one of El Greco’s most famous paintings, the The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (unfortunately, no photography allowed).

We stayed in an apartment a few meters from the Toledo cathedral.  Driving to the apartment was an adventure in itself. Most the roads are only wide enough for a single car. At some corners, the edges of buildings are carved out to allow room for side mirrors. The apartment was inside a building constructed in the 15th century. Unfortunately, our internet connection was not working, so I’m posting this from Sevilla.

Enjoy these photos from Toledo and I’ll post some from Sevilla in the next few days.