Holy...

Today we ventured outside of Madrid into the nearby city of Toledo. Logistics were a little sketchy for us to start. There is a high speed train from Madrid to Toledo, and we got there 45 minutes ahead of time, only to find out that there were no seats left, and we had to wait an extra 90 minutes to get the train. When I bought the tickets, the clerk wrote down our desired return time, but didn't book us return tickets. When we checked in at Toledo, we discovered the return trains were all full. Fortunately, there was a bus which never got too full, so we were OK. Next time - we get train reservations in advance.

Once we got to Toledo we had a great day. Toledo is one of the most historic cities in Spain, having been the capitol until a few hundred years ago when it was moved to Madrid. The city is all narrow, windy streets, and it is surrounded by fortress walls where the river doesn't protect it. The town reeks of history.

For me, the coolest part was the Cathedral. Started in 1250 or so, it took 250 years to complete, and it was the most magnificent, ornate building I have ever seen. The amount of detail in the marble carvings, the wood doors, the stained glass, the paintings and more was incredible. It was like being in some sacred place in a Harry Potter book. They also showcased the "tesoro" - an ornate vessel that holds sacrament for a festival once a year, which had 35 pounds of gold, and diamonds, rubies and emeralds throughout. It was quite something.

For the kids, they quickly discovered that Toledo is known for their weapon making - specifically, swords, daggers and ornate guns.  Surprisingly, Laurel was fascinated by the swords, and unsurprisingly, Bryce was into the guns, so we would up going into various collectible shops and examining their weaponry.  Sue found a beautiful necklace with an only-in-Toledo gold and silver inlay technique.

It would have been great to explore more of Toledo, but we had a great day there nonetheless.