Blogger, Grace Bramer
Today was our first day trip out of Madrid. We began the day with hotel breakfast (very filling) and then a walk to the train station, Puerta de Atocha.
The train we were planning to take was full by the time we had gotten to the station, so we had to pivot and ended up taking a city bus to another station and took a bigger bus to Toledo. That was one of the many ways that plans can change at a moment’s notice and we figured out how to adapt ourselves and still made it to Toledo!
One of my favorite things to do is look out of a window. The Spanish countryside was quite green and I thought it was interesting how quickly out of Madrid the landscape became rural. There were some crops that I didn’t recognize but after consulting my beloved Google.com, I learned they were olive trees. There were fields and fields of them and I was glad to know what they were. I saw some from the plane a few days ago too.
The part of the city that we visited was situated near the top of the hill. Luckily there were escalators that brought us much of the way up to the city. In the past, the high vantage point would have been useful for security.
Our first stop of the day was the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz, built in 999, but was repurposed into a Catholic Chapel in 1186. Next to the building was a dramatic overlook of the city (this was a theme), so, of course, there was a photo opportunity.
Next was lunch!! It was around 2pm by this point, and I for one was pretty hungry. I went with Gabby, Sophie, Ana, and Ari to a shawarma place and it was delicious and very filling, both things that are important when you are walking around a city all day.
The public water fountains were a complete lifesaver. It was quite warm, especially with all of the walking we did (According to my phone I reached 23,000 steps). Wen Ting started a trend in the group of wetting a scarf, so when it is wrapped around you the cool water acts almost like an air conditioner. Shout out Wen Ting for real.
After lunch we went to the Iglesia del Salvador where Gabby gave the first presentation of the course!! Gabby’s presentation discussed the changes of the building from mosque to church and mosque to church and pointed out some of the architecture that supported the history. The whole class also went up into the bell tower.
By this time, in the narrow streets of Toledo, the group became accustomed to cars making their way down streets filled with pedestrians (I could never, I think I would be too stressed as a driver). The call of “car!” from the back of the group, and the subsequent pressing of our backs to the walls with inches became quite a theme.
On our way to the next stop, we came across an overlook of the Tagus river. The picture does little justice to the actual view, it was quite literally breathtaking.
Then, we walked to the Iglesia de Santo Tomé where we saw the original painting, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco.
Don’t fret, dear reader, there was much more El Greco in store for us at the Museo de El Greco. Carson gave a presentation here!! We learned that El Greco moved to Toledo 1577 and spent the rest of his life working and living here. The museum itself is located not far from where the artist himself resided and the building is a recreation of his home and workspace.
The Jewish Quarter of Toledo is home to many of the cities historic and restored synagogues. In 1492, Jewish people were expelled from Spain under the orders of Ferdinand and Isabella. Many synagogues were then transformed in to Catholic churches. This was the case for both of the restored synagogues we visited today.
The first was the Synagogue of El Tránsito, originally built in 1357. We saw many elements of the Mudéjar style of decoration like horseshoe arches, wooden roofing, glazed ceramic tiles, and ornamental stucco work.
The second Synagogue was the Santa María La Blanca Synagogue very close to the last building. Dr. Pitamber taught us about pillar and arch vocabulary (for example, a row of arches is called an arcade), because the most striking element of this building are the many white arches.
The busy day gave little time for free time, so after the museum we started the walk back to the train station. Along the way, we saw another incredible view from a bridge. There was a duck that was trying to swim up current and Dr. Pitamber sang him an inspirational song. I would like to think that he made it where he was going.
When the train got back to Madrid I took a long walk through the city. I ended the day by doing some preparation for my upcoming presentation in the hotel room.