The Imperial City #HogsAbroad

It’s May 22, 2016, 10:02 AM Spanish time. I’m sitting in the lobby of the Beatriz hotel (more of a resort, way nicer than what we needed to sleep in and dinner was 20 euro lol) and our bus is an hour late so I figured I may as well tell all of you about our time in Toledo yesterday.

I rode into Toledo with zero expectations. When it comes to Spain, people who are not familiar with the country will typically recognize the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, that’s about it. Prior to our arrival of the city, all I knew was that El Greko, the famous Greek artist, did all of his work in Toledo because he couldn’t get recognized anywhere else. I was immediately impressed.

A little about the city:
It is an ancient city that was the capitol of the Spanish empire, and the capitol of Spain up until the 1500’s. It is surrounded by a river and built on a hill which provided maximum protection for the city. It is known as the “Imperial City” because of the coexistence of the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religions. We visited la Sinagoga de Maria Blanca, a museum that was a Jewish synagogue converted into a Christian church. When we walked in, I was immediately surprised by the lack of an alter, I didn’t think about the fact that all of the places of worship were all Christian/Catholic. I was also impressed by the simplicity of the museum, there were no stained glass windows or pews or anything besides the gold decor at the top.

El monestario San Juan de los Reyes- this was built under the power of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

Sinagoga de Santa Maria Blanca- the hybrid!

My favorite part of the visit was the St. Mary’s Cathedral of Toledo. It is the 4th largest cathedral in the world and took SIX HUNDRED YEARS TO BUILD. I literally had to gasp for air inside because it was so beautiful and I know the photos I’m going to insert will not do it justice. The choir space seats over 150 people, there are over a dozen chapels and it is the center for the Corpus Christi festival which is the third largest festival in the world behind Mardi Gras and some other one I can’t find anywhere online. It is the highlight of gothic style architecture in Spain.

The old style feel (cobblestone streets and gothic architecture) in this city was by far my favorite thing. It was very different from anything I had every seen before since you know nothing in the U.S. was really there before the 1700’s, it was super neat to see what life was like before then.


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The ancient part of the city only has about 14,000 residents and it is very small (part of the reason why the capitol was moved) so we were able to see the highlights in one day. Needless to say, my non-existent expectations were hugely exceeded. For anyone doing a tour of Spain in the future, I 150% recommend making a stop in the Imperial City, just be prepared for the calf workout of your life.

As I was preparing to leave for Spain, many many people warned me about the culture shock that I would feel upon arriving. I personally wasn’t concerned about it, I had been to Spain before, lived with a European roommate for four months and theres the whole bicultural thing too. It may happen after a few days in Valencia, I’ll be sure to keep you updated. Heres a few cultural differences I have noticed though:

1. People don’t shave their armpits here, I know there’s a few of you that were curious.
2. Water is not free, anywhere. I already knew this but one neat thing I noticed is that when you order water in a restaurant, the waiter will bring you a bottle and a glass for you to pour the water into, because I guess it’s not classy to drink it straight from the bottle???? Our director believes that “Americans have a weird obsession with water” which I was surprised by. I thought all developed countries went by the 8 glasses a day thing??? Guess not. Basically if you ever come here, be prepared to have to go out of your way to find you some H2O.
3. People are much more affectionate here. You greet strangers and friends with a kiss on each cheek (not an actual wet one, you just touch cheeks and make the smooching noise) and hugs are not uncommon too. Not too shocking to me, I think it’s kind of neat.
4. Electricity is very expensive, so air conditioning is uncommon and dryers are not a thing.
5. Customer service. Also not a thing. I already knew this, I actually don’t think it’s common anywhere outside the U.S. But when you go on your own European journey, be prepared to have to flag down your waiter every time you’re ready to pay or else you may sit for hours (I’m planning on sitting one day and seeing how long it will actually take, stay tuned)
6. Bidets in hotels. Those are real (wasn’t brave enough to try them lolol)

We’re off to Valencia now, which is my final destination and will be my home for the next month!! While these excursions have been fantastic, I am so so soooo ready to be on my own schedule and not live out of a suitcase. I’ll be sure to update all of you when I’m settled in and have a decent feel of what Spanish life is really like.

Until then, stay blessed my dear friends!!
Xoxo,
Kassandra
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Read more from Kassandra at https://salazarinspain.wordpress.com/
Take a look at http://studiesabroad.com/programs/country/spain/city/valencia/duration/17 for more information about the ISA Valencia, Spain: Hispanic Studies Honors Program.