Central Spain reminded us a lot of California, oak forests and rolling hills. Many olive orchards (or groves); the Spaniards are quite proud of their olive oil and will tell you it is the best in the world.
We also saw several towns, 4 with these....
and if you look carefully, this one is for sale!
We made it in time for the 4pm session here, only making two wrong turns getting there.
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| Madrid Temple |
The next day we had a brisk morning walking tour of Toledo. We barely scratched the surface of all there is to see in the beautiful city.
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| Catherdal of of Saint Mary of Toledo - started in 1226 and finished in 1493 |
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| Puente de San Martin over the Tagus river |
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| The Congregational Synagogue of Toledo |
Once inside I asked myself, is this a synagogue or a mosque? It looks Muslim-ish because the Jews hired the Moors to build their synagogue in the 12th century. It is considered a symbol of the cooperation that existed among the three cultures that populated the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.
It is disputably considered the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing.
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| Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes |
This monastery was build by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to commemorate the birth of their son Prince John, and their victory over Portugal in 1476.
After lunch, we took a 3 hour driving tour of Madrid.
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| The Royal Palace |
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| The Prado |
Wish we could have spent an entire day in there!
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| Puertra de Alcalá |
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| The National Library - founded in 1712 |
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| seating 23,000 |
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| Santiago Bernabéu Stadium - seating 85,000 |
Home of the Real Madrid football (soccer) team who have won 10 European Cups.
Time to repack and get to the airport. Easier said than done as we will find out. The car rental return was so poorly marked and we lapped the huge Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport twice trying to find it. Frustration with a capital F!!! Then took the shuttle to the wrong terminal. International travel is not for the faint of heart.
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