Holy Toldeo #HogsAbroad in Spain #WanderlustWednesday

Holy Toledo, that’s all I have to say.

My first solo travel trip is in the books! As much as I love the meticulous planning Haley does for our family trips, the idea of a weekend of leisure exploring excited me. Sure, I did my research and watched my Rick Steves so I had an idea of what I’d like to do and see but I had no prepaid or preplanned tickets or an itinerary to follow.

Getting to Toledo from Madrid is incredibly easy. I just hopped on the Metro, changed lines once, and arrived at the bus station. Buses for Toledo leave every 30 minutes and have a designated bay and plenty of signage. It’s honestly kind of hard to miss. The only thing to be careful of is getting on a direct or indirect bus. The direct route only takes about 45 minutes while the other makes 10 stops and takes double the time. I didn’t even finish my podcast, that’s how quick the trip was!

Arriving in Toledo wasn’t impressive at first but then I looked up. It’s truly a city on top a hill. Luckily, my hostel provided walking instructions from the bus station at the end of my confirmation email so I knew how to get up said hill. After another 10-minute walk I was pretty much at the city center. Toledo also provides escalators to the city center if you don’t feel like walking. Quite a modern luxury for such an old city!

After checking in, I decided to just walk around and get lost in the streets. To my surprise (and a little disappointment) the city wasn’t as confusing as Rick Steves made it seem. (Or maybe I’ve just been to enough medieval cities I kind of understand how they work?) After I felt a little acquainted with Toledo I decided to take advantage of the beautiful sunny weather and take a hike up to Mirador del Valle, a notable look out point view stunning views of the city. It took me about 30 minutes and the equivalent of 50 flights of stairs to get to the top but it was worth every step. The road to the look out point was winding so I truly got to take in every angle of the city. Every hundred meters or so I found myself stopping to take a picture, each one more stunning than the previous. I sat on the stone wall and just stared at the city. It was here that I felt my first instance of slightly uneasy solo traveling. I wanted a picture of myself with the city in the back but I had no one to take it. When traveling with friends and family, you can bother them endlessly for the right angle, lighting, etc, but when you’re alone you’re taking a gamble on the random stranger you ask. I am completely comfortable asking someone in either English or Spanish but the only others at the lookout were tour bus after tour bus of Asians. The harsh language barrier intimidated me. Eventually I mustered up the confidence to ask in gestures and ended up with a great picture that I ended up posting on my regular Instagram account (@darci_walton).

As I left Mirador del Valle the Gothic tower wouldn’t leave my gaze and I figured it was time to head to the cathedral. Holy Toledo I loved this place. I arrived around 4 and the guy at the ticket counter said it closed at 6:30. I was there until 6:30. Visiting cathedrals is potentially one of my favorite activities in Europe and this one did not disappoint. Since it was a Friday afternoon/early evening, the church was not that crowded and I felt as if I had the whole place to myself. Every corner I rounded had a new surprise. The high altar was gilded to perfection, almost toeing the line of gaudy (in the best way possible) and the CEILING. The gold and white brick and rib pattern just complimented everything so well. And then on the backside of the altar in the apse BAM! A massive Baroque work shines, literally. The artist CUT a HOLE in the dome above to illuminate his work and make the gold sparkle and shimmer. Let me tell you, mission achieved. One of the best parts of the area is the red hats hanging from the ceiling. Cardinals from Toledo have the privilege of choosing where they are buried within the cathedral and then their hats are hung from the ceiling directly above where their tombs are. There were a few hats at this spot and I was mesmerized. I knew of this tradition but to see the varying degree of disintegrating hats was incredible. No preservation work is done on the hats; they hang until they rot away. It was as if history was staring at me in the face. Different styles of hats hinted at being from different points of history and the differing levels of dust was just so cool. I wish more churches had a tradition like this. I wandered around with my head up playing iSpy with the hats.

Oh you thought I was done with the cathedral? Nope! Off of the apse I visited the Chapter House and Sacristy. I’ve been in many a chapter house in my day but this one was like any other. Brilliant frescos lined the wall along with a painted portrait of very single Archbishop of Toledo in chronological order. It was so incredible to see the progression of painting styles and clergy fashion. (They’re lowkey running out of room so I wondering what is going to happen??).

The Sacristy. I cannot. In cathedrals past, sacristies are usually pretty casual, as they are just rooms to hold the priest’s robes but Toledo really went off. The rooms were C O V E R E D in Grecos and Goyas and Bellinis and Caravaggios galore. El Expolio is probably my favorite Greco piece of all time and I had the privilege to stare at it for as long as my heart desired. And then right next to it was Goya’s El Prendimiento de Cristo (Arrest of Christ)?? I died and went to heaven in that cathedral. After 20 minutes or so I tore myself away from the art because I still had the summer Chapter House, cloister, and crypt to see.

The summer house and cloister were average (especially after the magnificence I just witnessed) but y’all the crypt. It had the ENTIRE skeleton of Saint Ursula. I’ve seen plenty of relics in my days but never an entire skeleton, intact nonetheless. A 5th century martyr moved to Toledo in the 17th century in that good of a condition? Wild.

With my tour of the cathedral (sadly) complete I headed to dinner. Second instance of uneasy solo travel: solo eating in a restaurant. Not a fan. After dinner I pretty much called it a night. 23,000 steps, 9.5 miles, and 75 flights of stairs later I was in desperate need of sleep.

The next morning, I embarked on a walking tour of the city. It was nice to be led and be given context to all the places I saw on my wandering the day before. My guide was awesome and had so many funny stories of the city. My favorite was the legend of this tiny roadside chapel that claims a seamstress injured herself so badly with a needle and she offered said needle on the altar to ask for quick healing. She not only received the healing but also met the love of her life walking home. So if you leave a needle at the altar you’ll get a boyfriend. The guide said it actually worked for her friend! Sadly, I had no spare needle on me to offer, so I shall remain single.

The tour ended in the Jewish Quarter which was absolutely perfect because that was the one area of the city I hadn’t wandered down to the day before. I am absolutely in love with the Jewish Quarter. It is stunning! No wonder El Greco chose to live in that part of the town. There was so much to see and do down there as well. First stop was the chapel that houses The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco. This painting y’all. It’s more guarded than the Sistine Chapel. No photos allowed. (But of course I snuck one) then off too Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes. Now THIS is a cloister. I could’ve stayed in there forever. Breath-taking. I wish I could’ve gotten a better picture of myself in here but alas, strangers aren’t always the best photographers. But it’s okay I got some fantastic ones of the cloister itself and that’s what really matters.

From there I took a break from religious buildings and visited the El Greco Museum. Normally I would’ve run straight there from the bus but free entry Saturdays was worth the wait! A larger collection of Greco work resides in the Prado here in Madrid but to see where he lived and worked was worth it. The museum also provided a little bit of history of the impact of his style on his students and the future of art. Plus, the Apostolate series hangs here. St. John the Evangelist holding a chalice with a dragon inside anyone?

Okay back to the regularly scheduled religious buildings.

The Synagogue. Santa Maria la Blanca. STUNNING. The stark white with the brilliant gold with the arches. I’m swoon. This building truly embodied the multi-religiousness of this city in the most beautiful way. Honestly, I would get married in there if I could. The capitals were amazing, the arches were to die for, the ceiling was amazing. 10s across the board.

After the synagogue I left the Jewish Quarter and headed back up towards city center, taking a pit stop at San Ildefonso because my tour guide said there was a bell tower to climb and I’m a sucker for a good bell tower. There were only 120ish steps but the views were beautiful nonetheless.

My last stop was the Mosque of the Christ of the Light. Yes, you read that name right. It was a mosque. Then it was conquered by the Christians. So just smush the names together, right? The building itself was quite small and definitely went under Christian renovations with frescos and a giant crucifix hanging in the center. What’s more interesting is the story. Apparently when the king was riding into town on the old Roman road his horse stopped and kneeled at the door of the mosque and would not be moved. The king eventually went in and found a cross and a candle burning behind the wall. Mind you, it had been 400 years since Christians had control of Toledo. The best part of this story is that it exists in Madrid as well with a different church. Love it.

At this point of the day, I was exhausted once again but I made sure to stopped by Santo Tomé for some (more) marzipan. My host mom, roommate, and I have a shared love for the sweet so I had to bring a box home. (Update: we’ve eaten it all. I’ve been home for 12 hours). I finished my trip walking around at night seeing the sights lit up under a sky full of stars. What a weekend!

Even though Toledo would be my first solo trip, I wasn’t nervous at all and never felt nervous all weekend. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel so much now I am comfortable doing it. Asking strangers to take a picture and eating alone are two things I can get used to. Toledo, you were brilliant. Thank you for a fabulous weekend.

--
Senior Darci Walton is spending the spring 2019 term in Spain with through our U of A Exchange program at Universidad Nebrija, Madrid.

Read more from Darci at https://worldwidewalton.home.blog/

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Interested in becoming a HogsAbroad Social Media Ambassador like Darci? Contact Katie at ksabo@uark.edu.