I started today off really early. I set my alarm for 5:15 a.m. I had a 7:54 a.m. train ticket to Toledo and I figured if I left at 6:30 I could make it.

The night before I had purchased some donuts at the supermarket around the corner. The hotels breakfast only started up at 6:30 a.m. I wasn’t sure if that would be enough time to eat and catch the train in time. So I had those donuts for breakfast.

I took the Madrid Metro to the Madrid railway station. This was the same station that was bombed by terrorists a few years ago. I noticed signs pointing to the memorial for the station. Probably because of this bombing I noticed that both in Barcelona and this time in Madrid all suitcases were being screened by an x-ray machine.

I sat and watched the board waiting for my train to be assigned a gate. There were a few trains in front of it which had already been assigned gates. I was secretly hoping that it would be assigned to a gate which I knew the Spanish number for. Since I didn’t take Spanish in high school always drawing from my knowledge of Spanish based on Sesame Street rhymes. Then it happened my train was assigned to gate 12. And I didn’t know the Spanish word for 12. There was a screening area right in front of the bored which I tried to use but first I asked the lady checking tickets if this screening area was for gate 12. She said no and that would have to go downstairs. I quickly went downstairs knowing that I had just a few minutes to locate my train and board. After asking around I was able to find my gate and have my luggage screened.

On the train ride over there I really just got arrested my eyes but never actually went to sleep. I have this nagging feeling that if I go to sleep on a train that my luggage will be stolen. I know that this is not always the case but I’m paranoid in a way. Also reviewed Rick Steves book on Toledo. Since my train was going to arrive at around 8:30 a.m. I look for attractions which would be open during that particular time. Unfortunately it looks like the whole town stayed close until 10 a.m. with a few exceptions.  There was an El Greco Museum and synagogue which opened at 9:30 a.m. I decided it was in my best interest to check out those first in order to optimize my time there.

The train arrived and I got out and ask an older man working at the desk if he had a map of the city. He gruffly said no and that the tourist office would be open later on. I decided to head out based on my knowledge Google Street View which I checked out before I left for Spain.

It was about a 15-minute walk to the city. It always seems a bit more foreboding when your trying to get there. And in the back your mind you’re trying to keep up with how long it took you to get to the center of town so that you can keep track of how long it will take you to get back to the train station in order to catch your train back home. I did the same thing when I was in Bratislava. The only difference is my train in Bratislava was about two hours late and departing to Budapest.

Toledo is located at the top of the hill. It’s Fortress and Cathedral dominate the skyline. I tried to keep track of landmarks and streets on my way in so that I can easily remember how to get back out. As I entered the city as find a hotel with a front desk clerk. I went in and asked him for a map of the city which he gave to me. This proved to be the greatest asset in Toledo for me to try and find my way around. I later found that Google Maps somehow could not show the street address at the time that I was checking. Toledo can be a bit foreboding initially as the streets are very narrow and up and down Hills. If you’re not paying attention to landmarks you could easily get lost. But the good thing is that it’s a small City and eventually you’ll get back to where you need to be albeit a few hours later. I walked around and thought I found the El Greco museum. It wasn’t open yet and it was difficult to determine when it would be open. I went next door to ask the bartender when it would be open. He answered me in a rough time to indicate that he did not speak English.

After wandering around a bit further I found the real El Greco Museum which was closed at that particular time. I could hear people inside of the building so I knew it would be open soon. I decided to see if the synagogue which was supposed to open at 9:30 was already open. I found what I thought was the museum but it appeared to be closed. Since I wasn’t sure if that was the museum or not I wandered up the street a bit more looking for a building that might be a blessing to God. After being fruitless I decided to head back to the El Greco Museum to see if it was open. The good thing is that it was open. I bought the 5 Euro combo ticket to see the El Greco Museum and synagogue.

I had been fascinated by El Greco for a while. I can’t remember if it was in elementary school when a parent would come by classical paintings to show to us. Or maybe it was during my art appreciation class in college. Either way El Greco’s paintings are very unique. They almost look like the background is the end of the world since it seems so gray and the people are so slender with big eyes.

During the tour I found out that El Greco  was actually Greek. this is the name by which El Greco comes from. He lived and studied in Venice, Rome, and Toledo. Hence many churches in Toledo have portraits painted by El Greco.

This particular Museum had several El Greco paintings along with some other paintings by similar artists. One room that struck me was the portraits of the Apostles. Some had the x-shaped cross which that particular apostle was crucified on.

I also found out that El Greco was not famous when he was actually painting. Instead he was rediscovered in the 19th century. It’s sad to know that El Greco even after working very hard never achieved the fame within his lifetime

I finished up the El Greco Museum and look for the synagogue. I showed the lady that I had already bought a ticket at the El Greco Museum and she let me in. The first room that I I came to was the large equivalent of a Christian sanctuary. However it was for Jewish worship. As I was going through the museum a lady stopped me and showed me how to listen to the descriptions on the Museum’s Wi-Fi via my smartphone. This proved invaluable as all the descriptions to the Museum displays were in Spanish.

I found out that women where in the balcony during Jewish worship service. They were separated from the men. It would be interesting to know if this is the same case as today.

The glass displays contained several Jewish items including the menorahs. Unfortunately they descriptions were in Spanish and they WiFi do description did not go into very much detail in these rooms. the audio guide then directed made to go outside 2 a courtyard with grave markers of past Jewish inhabitants. It was very sobering to see the Hebrew writing on the raised Stones.

The museum also contained some history of the Jewish culture and a wedding outfit.

Next I tried to find another church which I wanted to visit. I stumbled upon what I thought was a church and paid 2.50 Euro to enter. A huge tour group was in front of me. And then I saw what they were looking at. It was the painting of The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco. I had seen it in books many times before and here it was right in front of me. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos of the painting. Even so it was a bit hard to get to as there was so many people crowded into the room.

Now a note about The Burial of Count Orgaz. There’s that one guy in the center of the painting that has always struck me. He has his eyes looking up to heaven and it seems as though he’s incredibly tired of the burial itself. It’s that one detail that always makes me find a little humor in the painting.

I decided to try and find lunch. There was a McDonald’s and Burger King somewhere in the city and I was trying to find it. However the draw of a small Pizzeria got my attention. One thing that you’ll never find in Europe is a sausage pizza. It’s unheard of. Instead you find pepperoni or ham or bacon. I saw what I thought might be sausage being put into the oven but eventually I convinced myself that was probably not what I would not like on my pizza. In fact it is likely tuna fish.

I decided now was probably a good time to try and go to the cathedral. I wandered around until I found what I thought was the entry for the cathedral. However it was a caged off section. It was as if this portion of the cathedral was separate and apart from the tourist section of the cathedral. I later found out this was the prayer section of the cathedral and therefore only those wishing to participate in prayer were expected to go in.

I then found the entrance to the church. in order to get a ticket you actually have to go next door to a shop across the street. I inquired about a tower tour. Unfortunately the next one wasn’t until 4 p.m. and it was already almost 1 p.m. but the lady at the ticket desk talked me into it.

I got my audio guide and was required to give a form of ID as collateral in order to return my guide. I told the lady at the audio guide desk that I didn’t have an ID. She suggested my hotel Key could be used. Since my hotel Key was of the magnetic card variety which could easily be replaced I did not have a problem giving her my key for the audio guide.

The audio guide was very thorough. There are 18 Stations of the audio guide and it took at least 90 minutes to get through it. It’s at this point that I have to continue to ask myself if medieval churches of this size and ambience was what God wanted. Or should they have spent their time and money feeding the poor? I’ll never really understand that type of mentality. I know that the church should be a Shining Light to those in a dark world. But is it necessary to build such elaborate churches?

This cathedral in Toledo is one of the most elaborate churches I have seen. In the back there are portraits of the Toledo Bishops including past and present Bishops. It kind of goes along the stereotype that Catholics lift Saints and other human figures above God and Jesus. It was just aggravating for me to see a present bishop’s portrait in a medieval church period preachers and pastors are supposed to be humble and yet this is the complete opposite of being humble.

I could have stayed in the cathedral for at least another hour but felt that I needed to go if I was to ever see any more love Toledo.

I wandered around a bit more and bought a souvenir. It was a ceramic tile of the skyline of Toledo. This should look good in my bathroom. I hope it does not break on the way home.

I wandered around and found the Iglesia de los Jesuits Church. There wasn’t anything particularly special about this church accept that you could climb to the top and see a great view of the skyline.

I had about 45 minutes before my tower tour so I decided to try to wander back to find the Cathedral again. It was quite easy to find. I guess when you’ve wandered the Streets back and forth at least a few times you get to understand the layout of the city. While waiting for the tour to begin I did get some ice cream from a local vendor.

When they emphasize to her expected some commentary to go along with it. Surprisingly there was none. It might have been because the group was speaking various languages. If our tour guide had given a commentary he would have had to give it in multiple languages. Instead he just unlocked the doors counted number of people on the tour and told us when we would need to come down. We went through various areas including the cloister. We climbed a few steps and saw the huge Bells. Honestly I think the bills were so big that I doubt they’d actually ring them and instead probably use some type of electronic signal and system to imitate the Bells. The real problem of the tower tour is that there was wire fencing around the viewing area making pictures impossible to take. Had I known this was the case I probably would not have gone on the tour. Going up that high is only good enough to take photos and when you cannot take a non-obstructed photo, the it simply isn’t worth it.

After the tower tour walked around a bit and discovered the main Square where the McDonald’s and Burger King are located. I also found out this was the square where the ATMs are located. I have been going all day without having very much cash on hand. And sometimes souvenir stands only take cash.

At about an hour before my train was to the part I decided it was a good time to go back to the train station. I’ve actually found my way there and sat around waiting for my train to be assigned to gate. Suddenly several people started lining up and I figured why not follow the crowd?

After my ticket with stand our bags were x-rayed. Even at this small train station x-raying bags has been implemented.

I dozed a bit on the way home thinking of getting Papa John’s Pizza. After I got back to my hotel room looked up Papa John’s Pizza on my phone. It was just the subway ride away. After a few wrong turns I eventually made it to Papa John’s Pizza. The smallest Pizza they had was a medium therefore I got it. And right now I’m paying for it because I’m feeling very full but not sick.

Tomorrow I’ll tour the city of Madrid hoping to go to the Royal Palace. It’ll be good not to be on some type of schedule therefore I’m thinking about sleeping in a little bit.