Mommy and Lindsay Trip: Toledo and Madrid

I had been to Madrid three times this year, but each time had left wanting more. In the Spring, Erik and I used every moment scouting out neighborhoods; when I took the kids there in October we spent the whole time walking around with Stone throwing up or lying limp in my arms; and when we went to pick up Thomas and Christie we only had one evening, which was (well) spent at the Jason Mraz concert. So I had still never gotten a sense of the history or seen the inside of the Royal Palace. Also, when we went to nearby Toledo with the Skousens I promised myself I would return to see all the Art and History we didn't get to. We had one free weekend left, so I asked which of the kids would like to go on a weekend trip, and it worked out perfectly that Lindsay was thrilled to go and the rest of the kids (and Erik) begged to stay home. 

The view out the train window

Lindsay loves doing special effects with photographs - she took this and tweaked it on the train.

We arrived in Toledo around 1:00 pm and walked around the city while we waited to rendezvous with our tour guide. I was so happy to be able to see this landscape again. Toledo is on a high hill surrounded by a river, across from rocky, tree-covered mountains.

We met Ines, our tour guide, and began our walk with a tour of Toledo's ancient Synagogue (converted to a church, of course). Most passersby whom I've asked to snap a photo don't hold my phone still, so some of my favorite shots turn out blurry. Oh well!

I love the look of this Medieval town!! Toledo is known for its steel (they still manufacture swords and suits of armor for tourists), fine gold craftsmanship, and marzipan, dating back to Arab days in the 800's.

Look! It's Target!! Actually it's the office of the old church where El Greco's famous "The Burial of Count Orgaz" still hangs. I remember studying that painting in college.

Here is the centuries-old craft of Damasquin. It comes from the word "Damascus," as in the city in Syria, from which it came during Moorish times. Christie, that keychain you bought for Hazel is a Toledo specialty with ancient Islamic roots! We didn't know.

Swords, guns, coats of arms, knights... Lindsay insisted I do a pirate "Arrrrrg" face.

Stone would have loved Toledo! But I comfort myself thinking "but then he would have forgotten it. He's only four. He'll come back some day!" I hope all the kids make it back to Spain some day. 

Outside the 12th Century Toledo Cathedral, my favorite cathedral I've ever seen.

Inside the Cathedral is this huge, ornate receptacle which holds the communion wafer and wine, which represents (or rather, for Catholics is literally) the body of Christ. I was fascinated to learn that this was made from the very first gold that was brought back to Spain from the Americas. The very first gold off the very first ship! I wonder what form the gold had been before, where the Native Americans had mined it and how they melted it and what they created and used it for... and the sad circumstances of its transferral into Spanish hands. 

The Cathedral is filled with works of El Greco

And this is the robe of a Priest named Cisneros. He was the Priest to whom Queen Isabel confessed in the 1400's, and he happened to meet an Italian man named Christopher Columbus one day, who was having trouble getting funding for a voyage to the Indies. Cisneros offered to introduce him to the Queen, and from there, history was made.

This is so not typical of a Spanish Mary and Baby Jesus.  Spanish Marys are always pale and somber, dark-haired, usually sad, and often crying. This one is darker-skinned, blonde-haired, and so playful! I love the twinkly-eyed looks on their faces, the baby's affectionate hand on her chin, and the mother's steadying hand on his torso. This is a Mom and Baby I can relate to. Apparently the sculptor is unknown, but assumed to be French.

This is one of the choir seats. Each one was carved uniquely, with a separate scene on the seat back, the arms, and the seat. This view is under the seat, where the Artist sculpted vices and sins, so that when the singers sat down they planted their rear ends on them, showing their domination of the vices! I'm thinking I'll do a sculpture of chocolate on the bottom of my choir seat at home.

The high altar of the cathedral - so unique with its white bricks and gold leafed mortar - I wish I could have captured in photos the sculptures behind the gate.

Next, a guide-led walking tour around the city. She pointed on the 10th-century mosque (still standing!), some stones on a walkway worn black with time (still there since the Romans!), a few convents selling sweets, and this pastry shop where they made a Cathedral out of marzipan!!

The gate to the city

That cave in the lower left is the original Roman sewage system.

Lindsay took this one - she couldn't stop laughing that it's name was "A bad Hotel"

Lentil soup and falafel for dinner

Our hotel had been an 18th Century bread bakery

We arrived back at the hotel at 8:00, and decided to stay in and watch a movie. We snuggled in our beds... and by 9:00 I was sound asleep. Lindsay told me she only stayed up a little longer and then turned off the lights and went to sleep. :) The next morning we took our time getting ready... a little too leisurely, because we ended up having to run to a taxi, race to break a large bill to pay him, and literally stepped onto our train with one minute to spare. It pulled out of the station as we sat down. Lindsay did a great job staying positive - I lost several minutes off my life. I so dislike feeling rushed!! Note to self for next time: cutting it close is not worth it!! But thankfully we arrived in Madrid and met Ines (same guide as the day before) at the Reina Sofia Art Museum and headed to the Palace.

The Palace was one of the highlights of the Spain trip for me. I realized that though I had seen many beautiful buildings in Europe, I had never seen the inside residences of an actual palace. Lindsay and I were twin 11-year-old girls in there, ooohing and aaahhing about the silk wallpaper, the inlaid marble floors, the gold and crystal chandeliers, the thrones, the porcelain-walled bathrooms... and a highlight for me was an entire Stradivarius string quartet: two violins, a viola and a cello, carved together with a matching decorative border and meant to be played together. There were no pictures allowed inside the palace but it was magnificent!! Afterward we went to the Royal Armory (again no pictures allowed!) and saw royal armor from the 1500's. I hadn't realized how many different styles there were - I do wish the whole family could have been there with us. Although it was so special - every single moment - to be with my Lindsay. We held hands almost the whole time, finished each other's sentences, thought of the same puns and jokes, and she knew as many historical and mythological references as I did. 

Lindsay with our tour guide, Ines. Another thing I loved about this tour with Lindsay was watching/hearing Lindsay's Spanish. It was a joy to hear Ines going on and on about complicated historical stories in Spanish, and hear Lindsay ask insightful questions that showed she understood everything perfectly. She needs to speak more - her understanding and reading and writing is awesome and her accent is perfect, but it takes lots and lots of practice before the grammar feels comfortable coming out of your mouth. When I was learning Spanish in Chile, my "trainer" would let me listen to her a couple of times but then would steer me over to a complete stranger and say "this is your guy. Start a conversation. Go." And just stand there and smile while I floundered. This is really the only way to learn to speak - babies go through the phase of saying everything wrong and "cute," and it's humbling to go through that when you're not a baby. Lindsay would grow a lot if she were forced to speak more.  But anyway, I loved going around understanding and speaking Spanish with my Lindsay. I'm so happy we've done Spanish Immersion!! I've really appreciated what a fantastic education our kids received at Castro School. 

A door to the oldest building in Madrid

The street names of the oldest streets are still painted on tiles with pictures demonstrating the meaning - this dates back to times when the majority of the population was illiterate. This one is "Elbow Street" because of the sharp perpendicular turn.

This restaurant is in the Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest continually-operating restaurant in the world! They still use the original oven from the 1700's, and their speciality (as you can see on the shelves) is suckling pig. Suckling, as in, 21 days old. :(

Down to the wine cellar in an ancient cave under the restaurant

How I will wish to teleport here once we're back home!!

This restaurant "table" is a glass-covered 16th-Century well!! You look waaaaaaaay down through the glass and there's still water at the bottom.

The Plaza Mayor of Madrid, which is now full of German-style Christmas markets.

This is where bull fights used to happen, as well as the Madrid seat of the Inquisition.

Madrileños don't dance the Flamenco - Flamenco is a tradition of Southern Spain. In Madrid it is a slower, couples dance, where the woman leads the man!

After the tour we took the Metro to a Thai Restaurant recommended by the Martens from when they were in Madrid a couple of weeks ago. We LOVED it!!!! The Panang curry knocked our socks off. We double ordered and took food home to Erik.

Then, also from the Martens' recommendation, the Egyptian Temple of Debod. Apparently Spain donated money to help Egypt save some of their temples from water damage when the Nile wasn't dammed properly, and in gratitude, Egypt dismantled a temple and sent it to Madrid to be reassembled in a city park!

It was tiny but amazing

Lindsay loves Mythology from every country, and her knowledge was more extensive (and fresher in her memory!) than mine.

No visit to Madrid is complete without churros and chocolate - this time we tried "Valor" chocolate and found it the most rich and decadent yet.

Lindsay liked white chocolate.

After rolling ourselves out the door of the churro restaurant, we decided to walk to the Train Station. The streets of Madrid were packed with families - I had never seen so many children in my whole time in Spain!! This was the famed evening paseo, when families go out for an evening stroll after siesta. It's especially big at Christmas- time, when the lights are lit and music is playing. Lindsay and I felt like salmon swimming upstream in a massive tide of people - but we both commented that we felt really comfortable in Madrid for some reason. A very clean, very friendly place full of families. We walked and talked and laughed all the way to the station, picked up our backpacks from our locker, and hopped on the train home. 

This is the kids' last week of school - we are squeezing in a trip to Barcelona next weekend, and then Monday through Wednesday of next week we will be packing up and getting ready to close our Spanish Adventure. We can't believe it's almost over...