Toledo

We drove down to Toledo which is a Visigothic walled-city south-west of Madrid. Toldeo is what Kyoto is to Japan, the old capital about 400 years ago. For the LOTR fans out there if you want to visit Minas Tirith, it's not in New Zealand, it's right here in Toldeo. The labyrinth of little streets on a hill also reminded me of the claustrophobic streets of Cuzco in Peru. If a car is coming your way, you better find a doorway or go back the way you came or else you're going to get run over.

Lunch took place at Restaurante Palacio where I got my first taste of paella, deer and partridge (it really does taste yummier than it looks. The Toledeans need to work on their presentation skills). The partridge was tasty but had very little meat and was quite bony. After lunch we walked about and I bought one of the local specialties - marzipan (mazapan). The other thing that Toledo is famous for its amour. If I could lug back with me a suit of the stuff I would. I mean where else would you find a suit of armor to purchase?

The view from the Catedral was grande and along the walls leading up to the alter it pays homage to various saints. I headed straight for the roof of the catedral where you can get a great view of the city and the Florentine-styled rooftop shot. I played Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (from A Room with a View) in my head as I huffed and puffed my way up the flights of stairs. Once I got up there, the view was so clear that you could see the olive trees way out in the distance on the hillsides. I was also closer to thousands of birds flapping around in the sky. Very pretty but it created the black smudges in my photos.

Too bad we couldn't stay long enough until sunset because the town looks even nicer at night. There's nothing more I can say about it and will let the photos speak for themselves. In hindsight, I should have bought more mazapan.

Photo of the Day
An alley way in Toledo