Toledo you are gorgeous
Toledo
was declared a UNESCO World heritage site in 1986 for its extensive cultural
heritage and historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish
faiths. There are just shy of 100,000
people who live in this gorgeous old city and a huge number of visitors each
year. Everything I had heard about
Toledo made it sound absolutely beautiful but a little sleepy. I assumed we could tour it in a day and have
experienced everything.
Old winding streets
I
was so wrong! It was a much bigger city
then I imagined it would be, with a great nightlife, tons of vegetarian friendly
tapas bars, and a fairly young crowd milling about on a Friday evening. I was a little disappointed when we
discovered what a happening place this was because we were so hungry when we
arrived that we immediately went for Chinese food that was next to our hotel,
it was delicious of course, but had I have known what amazing food was just
inside the city I would have waited.
It looks deceivingly easy to get to!
Perfect medieval bridge
The
city sits on top of a huge rocky bluff and is surrounded on all sides by the
Tagus river, which is the longest in the Iberian Peninsula. Our hotel (Princesa Galiana) was just outside
the city center so to get into it we had to cross this perfect old medieval bridge
and climb like 1000 stairs (I'm probably exaggerating). As it turns out there is an escalator to take
you to the top if you just walk around a little further than we did. I prefer the stairs anyhow but for the sake
of the parents we took it down when we were done exploring. I do think it is a nice touch for people who
would have issue climbing up the stairs but I think it is a more authentic
experience if you don’t use the lazy stairs.
Busy Friday evening crowds
Ancient Streets
This
city has everything one would want from an ancient medieval town, castle walls,
narrow winding streets that sometimes lead nowhere, a brilliant cathedral and
palace. The courtyard of the cathedral
was my favourite part. I loved just
sitting staring in awe of this gorgeous monument as the swallows circled
overhead. As night fell the swallows
turned to bats and I could not have felt more calm and at peace in this
charming Spanish town.
The Cathedral
In
the morning we drove up to a lookout point that was recommended by the
wonderful hotel clerk and were greeted with such a perfect view of the city
from above. I could imagine what it
would have felt like approaching this city hundreds of years ago, crossing the
dry dessert like surrounding area and coming upon such a sight. It was breathtaking. Again as I have said before South of Madrid
is the Spain I imagined.
My love and I at the lookout point
Ross
and I both agree that we could have spent much more time exploring the city and
will make an effort to return before our time here runs out, which is happening
quickly!
After
our night in Toledo it was on to Cordoba.
Ross and I felt really strongly about making sure this was a city we
visited during our time here in Spain.
It was about a 4 hour drive from Toledo but was wonderful. The countryside was beautiful, rolling
hillsides, mountains and these gorgeous pink, purple and white flowers lined
the sides of the highway for the better part of the drive.
The
city was crazy when we arrived as it was May and May in Cordoba means
festivals! Basically the entire month
there is something happening so we picked an excellent time to visit. We were there near the end of the month which
is when they celebrate the Spring fair (Feria de Nuestra Senora de la Salud –
Our Lady of Health). The venue is this
huge amazing fair ground of the North side of the River Guadalquivir. We learned from our lovely hotel hostess that
this is a very important fair which dates back to 1284! It was once a livestock market on Pentecost
Sunday.
The bridge to the fairgrounds
It
was such an interesting experience! Ross
and I wandered the fairgrounds our first night and just felt completely
overwhelmed in the best possible way with the music, dancing, food and carnival
rides. The feria is famous for its
casetas (over a hundred set up this year) which are huge tents set up for
people to come and order food, drinks and in some it is just a huge bar/dance
floor area. Ross and I may have
indulged a little in some drinks and dancing.
Apparently these were not always open to the public and you had to be a
pena member or be invited to enter them. I'm glad that has changed because it was great fun!
Photo borrowed from the internet because somehow we didnt manage to get one good shot of the wonderful dresses! This photo is from the festival!
Also
because it was festival time most of the ladies in town were wearing
traditional flamenco dresses the whole time we were there which was just
awesome! They all looked so gorgeous and
of course it fulfilled the Spanish stereotype for me which was also nice. It was interesting to us that most of the
women really got into the spirit and dressed up but very few men did. I think it would have been cooler if everyone
got involved.
Wandering the streets and enjoying the flowers
Streets of Cordoba
As
for the city itself it was perfect! I
loved wandering the narrow streets with their gorgeous balconies full of
flowers and cacti. It seriously didn’t
matter what street you went down it was well taken care of, perfect terraces
and made you feel happy from the wonderful scents and sights. Some of the streets were so narrow that cars
could not fit down them. We watched a
couple people get stuck and have to back out of them! It was pretty entertaining.
We had to help these people back out
One
of our main reasons for wanting to visit Cordoba was the Mosque. This mosque, now cathedral, is known as the
Great Mosque of Cordoba (Mezquita de Cordoba).
This building is regarded as supremely accomplished Moorish
architecture. The mosque was originally
a Christian church that was taken over by Muslims in 781. For many years it was a shared space between
Muslims and Christians but eventually the Muslims took full control and
demolished the remaining Christian structures.
In 1236 the Catholics conquered Cordoba and the mosque was turned into a
Catholic cathedral. For a great many
years Muslims have requested to be able to worship at the mosque but are denied
by the catholic church.
Poetry on the walls while walking down the street (Ok I dont know what it actually says but I imagine its poetry as that is far more romantic)
Awesome restaurant we visited twice
Visiting
the rest of the city was also a wonderful treat! Tons of beautiful courtyards and tapas bars
which have a wonderful vegetarian selection!
Come on the rest of Spain get your act together! Not everyone wants all meat all the time. We
ate a lot and drank a lot and just really felt like we were on vacation. It was chill, relaxed and although a very
touristy town it didn’t feel less authentic.
One of many great spots for lunch, dinner and or drinks
While
there another great spot we visited was the Vienna Palace Gardens. It was 13 courtyards all filled with flowers,
trees, and fruits. I could spend my life wandering through these gardens
reading poetry, drinking tea and eating tiny sandwiches and strawberries. It was a romantic and completely relaxing
environment. If you are ever in Cordoba
you must see this place!
I am in my happy place...
My love
Enter the secret gardens...
The
last thing I want to mention about our experience was how amazing the hotel we
stayed at was. La Posada del
Molino. It was a small place and very
traditional. Our innkeeper explained
that they do not give the rooms numbers but names so our room was Los
Feroles. I thought that was such an
interesting and unique touch. It was a
beautiful place right on the river so we had an amazing view of all the
festivities and were only steps away from the center of town! The owners were incredibly kind, very
informative and passionate about their city.
It made us excited to explore. I
highly recommend you look into staying there if you are ever in the area.
( http://www.laposadadelmolino.es/en/index.php )
Ross and I with his parents
Cordoba
was a highlight of our time here so far and I believe will remain one of my
favourite places. I know most people
when planning a trip to Spain think of Barcelona, Madrid or Ibiza but I
honestly think there is so much more to be seen and to experience if you branch
out and go to lesser known cities.
Barcelona is amazing and I would go back anytime but I really value the
experiences I have had travelling through smaller towns and learning about the
country I am living in. It is so much
more than Sangria on the beach.
