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Somehow we missed the Almudena in Madrid. It is stunning! Thanks for the photos!
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Maribel - that's interesting about the chicken. I hadn't paid much attention. No, we missed the roasting oven and doomed piglets. So, the oven has never been turned off? That's wild.
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Nov 4 –
We took a taxi to Puerta de Atocha (€13), where it took us a few minutes to get our bearings and to figure out that Planta Baja referred to the ground floor. Once sorted, we boarded the 9:20 am train, which deposited us in Toledo about 30 minutes later (just over €22 each). https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...96fb3d9f86.jpg Puerta de Atocha The Toledo railway station is a work of art, and looks a bit like a Moorish palace, and I very much enjoyed the tiles, stained glass and architecture. I’ve since read that it was designed in the Neo-Mudéjar style, a type of “Moorish Revival architecture”. It took three years to build; construction began in 1917. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...23b487551e.jpg Toledo Railway Station https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4042f4410b.jpg Toledo Railway Station https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a6f7caa704.jpg Toledo Railway Station https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...94d2b62825.jpg Toledo Railway Station https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...24cafd7764.jpg Toledo Railway Station https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dcfaebb0ab.jpg Toledo Railway Station https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0079dd6ba1.jpg Toledo Railway Station All I knew about Toledo is that it’s home to one of Spain’s finest cathedrals built on top of a Moorish mosque, that it’s known for its marzipan, that it has a cheese museum, and that Maitai Tom had a wonderful gin and tonic here a few years back. Toledo was high on Donna’s wish list back in 2020, so I’d compiled a long list of just about everything to see and do there, and I’d worked out the bus logistics. We walked to the nearest bus stop and caught a bus (5, 5D, 51, 61 and 62 all work, €1.40 each) which took us up the hill to Toledo’s main square, Plaza de Zocodover. We popped into El Foro De Toledo for café con leche and a very good chocolate pastry, enjoyed while mulling over the map Donna had purchased at the train station (€9.80). https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3a02d69d25.jpg El Foro De Toledo Having come up with a plan, we walked to the Toledo Cathedral, aka Santa Iglesia Catedral Primada de Toledo, one of the country’s first Gothic style cathedrals, and one of the largest and richest cathedrals in the world (€10 each). Yep, church #9. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...75c3fdc5ed.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5170239cf5.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b64ab2f933.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...62f9ba417b.jpg Toledo Cathedral I’d hoped to go up into the bell tower - not because it houses one of the largest bells in the world – which I didn’t know at the time – but just because I like towers. But, I’d read somewhere that it’s only open to guided tours (?), and I stupidly didn’t investigate further while there, as it seems that information was incorrect. Church burnout notwithstanding, I enjoyed it, especially the stained glass. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1285db6191.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...518995279b.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...883b60778b.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0b1c1d6993.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f6abb7bbea.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c9681e6a33.jpg Toledo Cathedral https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...931d94c1f9.jpg Toledo Cathedral Afterwards we wandered a bit looking for the church of San Tome so that Donna could see El Greco’s most famous painting, “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz” which is considered one of the great art masterpieces in Spain, but she seemed frustrated with the hills of Toledo and decided not to pursue it. I’d had enough churches anyway; I wanted to visit the cheese museum – not for the museum mind you, but for their Manchego, where €6 each got us a tasting of five slices of different aged Manchego and a glass of wine. We also poked through the museum, which didn’t amount to much. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...afc027ea8b.jpg Cheese museum https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...56a761d4b2.jpg Cheese! We then sought out Santo Tome, the traditional marzipan bakery. I’m not a fan of marzipan, but found the shop interesting; Donna bought some to take home. Donna wanted to take the Zocotren, a train-like vehicle that ferries one around the most important landmarks in Toledo on a 50 minute tour. We asked at the kiosk in Plaza de Zocodover, but the next departure was booked, and the one after that would return too late for our 4:13 train. In retrospect, we should have booked this in advance. We then parted ways, Donna to read her book and people watch from a bench in Plaza de Zocodover, me to hit the streets, find some gelato and see as much of Toledo as possible before our return train. I covered a lot of ground, finding the Alcazar, a mirador with nice views of the Tagus River, a park, and several other spots I didn’t have names for. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8282715fca.jpg Plaza de Zocodover https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...46dab617e2.jpg Toledo https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...46b0cc931b.jpg Wandering Toledo https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7620f93d63.jpg Wandering Toledo https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...18c7df1ecf.jpg Toledo https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...aff7f0a4c3.jpg Wandering Toledo https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f2d30cc0c8.jpg Wandering Toledo Toledo was interesting, albeit very busy with tourists, and much bigger than I expected. We barely scratched the surface, and I didn’t feel we had time to thoroughly explore it. I’d have much preferred to spend a night there, have a meal and find that Maitai Tom G&T. A day trip was just too rushed for my tastes, especially as we had to return on a specific train; had there been more flexibility with the return train, I think I’d have enjoyed it more. We eventually caught a very busy bus back to the train station (€1.40 each), and returned to Madrid, having to queue up for security again. Today’s weather was beautiful and much cooler than it had been; I was glad to have my fleece jacket. Back in Madrid, we wandered around Puerta de Atocha for a bit, checking out the tropical gardens that line the concourse. We also located the baby head sculptures, the work of the Spanish artist Antonio López García. The bronze heads, which stand 10 feet tall and weigh over two tons each, represent Día (day) and Noche (night) and are said be based on the face of the artist’s eight month old granddaughter Carmen. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa9987648c.jpg Puerta de Atocha https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...12a5dd4af9.jpg Puerta de Atocha https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...735ae02b63.jpg Baby head, outside Puerta de Atocha We located the departures area and the taxi queue; then it was back through the Ring of Death which was bumper-to-bumper with traffic, and into the tunnel with the underground traffic circle where once again we were nearly sideswiped, causing our driver and the driver in the taxi next to us to open their windows and have a confab about (we assumed) how rude the errant driver had been. Dinner was the leftover paella from our first night, which tasted just as good as it had the first time, all the more so as we enjoyed it while watching a spectacular sunset from our apartment window. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...88f6ed7afb.jpg Sunset https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6b098e8b40.jpg Sunset To be continued… |
I did the tower in Toledo back in 2018. I think it had a timed ticket (that I purchased on the day), but it was definitely a "guided" tour, in the sense that they had someone that accompanied your little group, more like a prison guard than a guide because they imparted no information. I think you did well to skip it as the views from the top of the tower are all obscured by grating, making photography impossible.
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Good to know twk, thanks for that.
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I enjoyed your descriptions and photos of toledo. While I do believe seeing a place for a day is better than not seeing it at all, I always advise people to spend at least one night in Toledo which is what we did. We did have time for the tourist train which is a lot of fun and the views of Toledo from the viewpoint outside the city center are stunning. The evening was glorious when the day trippers left and the city is illuminated.
it’s funny you mention MaiTaiTom and gin tonics! I started drinking gin tonics while in Spain after reading Tom’s trip report! Regarding day trips versus overnights, I always recommend spending a night or two in Cordoba as well, instead of visiting it for a day. One appreciates a place more when staying even for just one night. |
Nov 5 –
It was a delicious 7c (44F) when I set out to explore the park across from our apartment (Parque del Oeste I believe), which I accessed via several flights of stairs. It was early, and the park was quiet, save for a few dog walkers and early morning photographers capturing the views of the palace and cathedral in the distance. I wandered for a bit, coming across the Jardines del Templo de Debod, which I’ve since learned was donated to Spain by the government of Egypt. The views from up here are excellent; a great place to watch the sunset (and I regretted not having done that very thing the previous night). https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f3af90d9f6.jpg Views from Parque del Oeste https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3da1e87c8b.jpg Views from Parque del Oeste https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7a4a0de7e1.jpg Views from Parque del Oeste Then it was back to the apartment to collect Donna and to seek out a late breakfast at a local cafe just a few blocks from our apartment(La Cueva de Barragán), the café con leche was good, my ham and cheese croissant not-so-much, doughy and topped with jam, hmmmm. Donna had a tortilla, but wasn’t crazy about it either (just under €10). We then walked towards Plaza España and worked our way down the very busy Gran Via, Madrid’s most famous street, just because it was there and so were we, and we had time to kill before our 12:45 booking at the Royal Palace. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9bd06510ec.jpg Plaza España https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...924fb42e0b.jpg Plaza España https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5586264837.jpg Hotel Rui, Plaza España https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c08869a395.jpg Gran Via https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d42c9becd4.jpg Gran Via https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5109ef14c1.jpg Wandering https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d81fa08489.jpg Wandering The day was beautiful, the skies a vibrant blue, and while there were gazillions of people out, it didn’t feel terribly crowded thanks to the wide boulevards. Once at the palace, we got in the queue for those who’d booked online tickets, which was miniscule compared to the incredibly long, non-moving queue for those without. I’ve since read that on a busy day, it can take 1-2 hours in line to get tickets. I had to wonder if most of the people in line ever got in. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8a16eb315f.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0f4b06bd39.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...744dfa5bd9.jpg Queue for Royal Palace https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2aa2f8b868.jpg Almudena Cathedral We arrived 15 minutes before our timed entry, and were turned back, so we just hung out near the entrance until they let us in. Visitors must clear security and put personal belongings through an x-ray machine. We’d paid €4 to download the audio guide and had been given a code to use, but it was huge and didn’t load, so once inside we lined up to upgrade to the I-Pad guide, which was an additional €1 each. We spent the next couple of hours wandering through the palace and the grounds while following the audio guide. Photographs are not allowed for the majority of the visit, which was a good thing as it kept people moving. There were a few bottleneck areas within the palace with more people than space, mostly due to large groups of guided tours. The palace was interesting, although much of the history was lost on me. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8798e77c49.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...279bbc8faa.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4772588e09.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cab3b3f73c.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...663ff99ced.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9b24f1e606.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8d20ac2dc1.jpg Royal Palace https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b092492531.jpg Royal Palace I’d been craving Indian food, and knew there were a few options in Madrid, so we followed my GPS to the closest, Agra Palace. Donna was unfamiliar with Indian food and isn’t a fan of spicy anything, so I suggested she try something tame like tandoori chicken. She settled on a small plate of tandoori chicken and lamb, but didn't care for it. I went off piste, asking for a curry with paneer instead of meat, which the proprietor agreed they could do, but limited me to masala, which wouldn't have been my first choice. It was okay, but lacked heat and was pretty bland (€34, with rice, garlic naan and drinks, nothing to get excited about). Afterwards, we wandered, trying to relocate Plaza España and the Hotel Rui, which with 27 floors and 550 rooms is hard to miss. We could see it in the distance and walked towards it, but soon were surrounded by the high walls of buildings as we walked through what appeared to be Madrid’s Chinatown. I’ve since read that a quarter of Madrid’s 40,759 Chinese residents live and have businesses in Usera, and although I don’t know for sure, I suspect that’s where we were. Having found Hotel Rui, we asked at the front desk about access to their rooftop bar and were told to walk around the building to another entrance, where we’d need to pay €10 each for access (guests staying at Hotel Riu Plaza España can visit the sky bar, gastrobar and rooftop bar for free, while there is a fee for outside visitors: €5 from 11.00 to 17.00 and €10 from 17.00 to midnight). Note: In March 2020, Donna and I had booked rooms at Hotel Rui, planning to meet in Madrid before we took the train to Barcelona. Donna spent two nights there, and we had plans to have a drink on the rooftop bar the night that I arrived in Madrid from the US, but thanks to United Airlines that never happened. Unfortunately, every other tourist in Madrid had the same idea. The queue for the elevator was massive, and more and more people arrived as we did. We took one look and hightailed it out of there. So, it was back to Plaza España, which was beautiful under clear blue skies; many people were out and there were some giant Panda Bears and some sort of street performance underway. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ac4e98c347.jpg Wandering https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...14228e4822.jpg Wandering https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5610fe542a.jpg Wandering https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa43ac2d57.jpg Wandering https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b4795c8f6d.jpg Wandering https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6885b609e3.jpg Wandering https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0db155dd56.jpg Wandering It was our last night in Madrid, I’d be leaving tomorrow for Zurich and Donna would be leaving a day later for the US; G&T’s were in order. We stopped at a little bar about a block from the apartment and partook of alfresco drinks, our waiter bringing out the entire bottle of Bombay and pouring at the table. We’d asked for extra limes and no surprise, he brought us a plate full of lemons. Our trip ending the way it had begun (€32). I’d enjoyed what little I’d seen of Madrid. I really liked the architecture, and the city seemed very clean and organized...pretty much the opposite of Barcelona. Winding down... |
Karen, as much as I dislike one night stays, I have to agree.
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Originally Posted by Melnq8
(Post 17418016)
Karen, as much as I dislike one night stays, I have to agree.
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Nov 6 –
We left the apartment around 9:30 to get something to eat, ending up at Cafe de la Riviere, just a few blocks from the apartment. I'd noticed it yesterday when I walked around the park and neighborhood; it’d been very busy, which is always a good sign. We found a table and settled in for cafe con leche, a lovely chocolate croissant for me, a chocolate croissant and a piece of quiche for Donna, which she said was wonderful (€11.25). We also picked up two croissants for Donna and another for me to take away, (€4.95) which I’d consume that evening in my Zurich hotel, although it had been squashed to oblivion riding in my backpack all day. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...66b02fb0fd.jpg Cafe de la Riviere The helpful young woman in reception had booked a taxi for me, and it turned up right on time at 11:45 (flat rate to airport €30). I'd been told the journey would take about 30 minutes, but the driver was a bit possessed; speeding, tailgating and weaving in and out of traffic; I was freaked out a little bit, but survived, arriving at Terminal 2 in 15 minutes. Check in and security were a breeze; there was no one ahead of me. I was surprised that I could buy duty free traveling within the Schengen zone; I didn't pass up the opportunity to buy a few boxes of After 8 Mints on sale for €5.50. I barely recognized the airport; it had been near abandoned in March 2020, with most of the airport partitioned off due to COVID. What a difference 2.5 years makes. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f9c7d95494.jpg March 14, 2020 https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e7ca5cbbab.jpg November 6, 2022 I spent a few hours in the VIP lounge Puerta de Alcala (?) near gate 69, which appeared to be a lounge for all airlines. And they had limes! But no gin. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1fb3b4f1c8.jpg My flight was on Helvetic, a Swiss regional airline that felt very much like my flight to Barcelona on Swiss International, right down to the mini chocolate bars. It was full, blissfully smooth, the plane very new, and we arrived 25 minutes ahead of schedule to a lovely 6c (43F). Once at the Zurich airport I went into the shopping area to find something for dinner; it was Sunday and I figured the few options near my hotel would be closed, so it was now or never. That Indian meal Bill had a few weeks ago in the food court sounded good, but I figured I couldn’t deal with a tray of food, a suitcase and a backpack, so I did the next best thing and went to the Migros grocery store and picked up a sandwich, water and some last minute sweets to take home. I must have been a sight, rolling my suitcase through the store, balancing a handheld cart on top and trying not to bump into people with my backpack… but I wasn’t alone, many others were doing the same thing; the store was flat out busy and the queues very long. Then I headed outside, bought a bus ticket on the SBB app (2.70 chf), and tried to locate my bus stand. It was dark and I thought I might have come at it from a different direction than the day I was there with Bill, so I asked a bus driver who was sitting in his bus if he could direct me to Stand E. Damned if he didn’t lock his bus at Stand Q, walk me to Stand E, study the 731 bus timetable, and tell me that I needed to get off at the fourth stop. God I love the Swiss! I got off at the Stadthaus bus stop and followed the walking directions that Bill had sent me after he’d made the same trek a few weeks prior. I found my digs for the night, Welcome Inn, surprised at how big my room was (88 chf booked weeks in advance on Hotels.com), they’d even left me a bottle of water. I repacked my bags and crashed. Nov 7 - Up at 4:30 am, I retraced my steps to the bus stop in the dark and caught the 6:22 am 731 bus back to Zurich airport (2.70 chf). Once at the airport I sought out Terminal 2, where I checked in for my United flight, two young men ahead of me checking in a massive pile of ski gear. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cc5e28f9d5.jpg Note: Mid-trip in Switzerland United had contacted me, advising that Lufthansa had cancelled my flight from Frankfurt to Denver. They’d rescheduled me; I’d now be flying Zurich-Chicago-Denver-COS. Security was a breeze; I had lots of time to spend in the wonderful Swiss Lounge. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...20b76a0a79.jpg Swiss Lounge https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1f83a594c1.jpg Swiss Lounge https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2b9d6938a7.jpg Swiss Lounge https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...87eb7d1753.jpg Swiss Lounge https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5ac7ca81c4.jpg Swiss Lounge My flight to Chicago seemed to drag on forever, but it was pretty smooth, and as comfortable as a flight in cattle class can be (767). After a few hours in the Red Carpet Club in Chicago (happy to see that real glasses and stemware are back, having replaced all that awful COVID plastic) it was off to Denver on a very squishy and full 777. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9fb9162d32.jpg Red Carpet Club, Chicago Upon arrival in Denver, we had to wait seemingly forever for a plane to vacate our gate. Despite the United app showing the wrong gate number, I had plenty of time for my connection to COS where Bill was waiting to take me home. ------------------------- |
I’m almost jealous just at the sight of airport queues, lol.
Thanks for the TR, very interesting. |
Thanks for reading Adelaidean. And you know what that means...time to work on the Swiss report!
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Pleased you made it home without all the trauma of last time, Mel and thanks for the TR - lovely details and personal insights as ever.
Looking forward to Switzerland! |
Thanks for a great TR!
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I really enjoyed your report. I am glad that you two were able to complete your trip.
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toledo was famous for its sword steel, to be a gentleman in Spain you had to have a Toledo sword. Since gentlemen didn't pay tax and were not allowed to work, buying such a sword was a real expense especially as the sword making was very slow.
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Thanks for the great conclusion to your TR!
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