Vinicius and I discover Toledo

I was so excited to have a friend in the same ciy again. We made plans to meet at the train station and go to Toledo. I walked down to the train, enjoying the lovely buildings on my way. Arriving at Atocha Renfe I found an oasis....and then tiny turtles! So cool! I found Vinicius and we headed to get the train. A short 30 minutes later we stopped in Toledo, which had come highly recommended to both of us. We decided to walk into the centre....which was on top of a hill! Oh man. We stopped at a bus stop and inquired about taking a city bus.  Vinicius translated that the two old ladies told us to walk since it wasn't far. They probably thought we were being so lazy! I searched for the escalator which we actually had to go down to get...haha but I was so excited to not have to climb stairs! :-)

We reached Plaza Zocodover first where a tourist train would take you around the perimeter of the city. We kept walking towards the Jewish quarter and the oldest synagogue in Europe. Synagogue of Santa Maria La Blanca was built in the 11 century. I don't know the history but there were crosses on the inside and outside so I have a suspicion that it was converted to a church. All through the Jewish quarter were random tiny tiles of Hebrew Symbols, Minorrahs, and the Star of David. We saw a beautiful view of the rocky cliffs of Toledo, the Monastary of San Juan de Los Reyes, and Cambron Gate. As we got lost in the tiny streets of this ancient city something all of a sudden flew in front of us! I gasped and a small boy yelled something in Spanish as he collided with the wall beside us. He continued to run towards home holding lunch in his hand. Vinicius translated that he had yelled "I almost ate the wall". Haha, I laughed so hard at that, such a kid thing to say. We found the Cathedral and enjoyed its grandeur before continuing through the streets and back to the Plaza Zocodover. By this time we were starving nd had been wandering around for 3+ hours. We had seen a sign earlier advertising paella and a drink for 6€ so even though we looked at other places, nothing was cheap enough. We eventually walked down to the restaurant, which was at the bottom of the centre of the city,  and ordered. Though we realized why it was so cheap, it was disgusting microwaved food. In fact I think that was the only kitchen appliance they owned. Yuk! We caught the train back to Madrid and walked to Parque de El Retiro which has the crystal palace and one of the only statues of the devil. On the way we passed a runner wearing see through pants (though I don't think they were meant to be), poor girl! It was such a beautiful park and we spent a lot of time there before walking back towards my hostel. We were both freezing so stopped for some hot chocolate. We decided to go to Cento de Arte Reina Sofia which is free between 7-9. Although I am not into contemporary art, there were some beautiful pieces. The whole museum has a theme of the Spanish civil war. We saw Pablo Picasso's Guernica among others. This piece is so dark and I had no idea of it's meaning until Vinicius explained it. We stood looking at it for awhile trying to figure out the shapes in the middle. We also saw some of Salvidor Dali's work. After about 90 minutes we were both ready to leave. We grabbed some dinner and then said goodbye. He goes home Saturday. It was so nice to have a travel buddy for a day!

Back to my hostel I got side tracked by. Armani again, this time with tales of being Armanian and the trouble with Canadians....haha. we let everyone keep their culture in our country which he says will cause big problems one day!

Today, my last day in Madrid I wandered some of the streets and saw some more beautiful buildings. Madrid is such a clean city, though to be honest has no real wow! I did enjoy my stay though. Now, I am sitting on the floor in the airport letting my tablet charge and waiting for my plane to Berlin! My bag weighed 20 kg on the dot! Phew.....I don't know what I have in there but seriously, I can't get rid of any more clothes! I'm wearing through my jeans as it is!