Toledo

I think you could very well say that Toledo is the medieval heart of Spain. It´s narrow streets are even more of a warren, and where at least in Seville and Granada you could imagine horses riding abreast, here you´d be lucky to have pedestrians walking in that same space - it´s twisty and sometimes steep paths giving no inkling as to what´s around the corner (plaza? or maybe more maze-like corridors) and with its mostly cobbled stones used throughout, I can imagine in wet weather getting around here could be a little dicey.

Yet pedestrians do not have the right of way, cars regularly squeeze themselves through, making people jump into handy shops to avoid getting run over!

About 30 minutes out of Madrid, the Toledo train station has a gorgeous interior of stained glass, painted tiles and craved wood. I flagged my cab to the Hotel Eurico, a modest 3 star tucked into unassuming Calle Santa Isabel, a stone´s throw from Toledo´s much lauded cathedral. Sighting that within five minutes, I went for a wander in the opposite direction with a detailed map courtesy of the hombre at reception.

I noticed most of the tourist stores here seemed to specialise in a type of gold inlay carving called damascene which proudly displays a Made in Toledo sticker; and scores and scores of medieval weaponry (but also musketeer guns galore).

You could practically outfit a Tolkien army with all the broadswords, foils, knives, shields, helmets and full body armour throughout. Among the more traditional looking European items you could see the influence of The Lord of the Rings - locals obviously inspired to produce the them for modern fantasy fans :)

The main reason for my visit here was of course, the Toledo Cathedral, a building which has such amazingly detailed inlaid carving in marble, jasper and wood that I could just imagine these creations coming alive at night, they are seriously that perfect.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a no photography rule in Toledo (there was also a notice up at the Sinagoga de Santa Maria de Blanca which despite it´s humble exterior held stunning white and painted gold Mudejar frames) so despite sneaking some early no flash shots, I ended up feeling guilty enough to refrain for the rest of my visit. The fascinating and slightly grotesque choir section is amazing and the heavenly skylight which dapples the sun upon a beatific marble inlay of Mary with baby Jesus will not be accompanied by my own photos :( So here´s some links from Flickr!

The cathedral even has works by Caravaggio, Goya, Van Dyck and Titian as well as numerous paintings by El Greco, a Greek born artist who lived and worked extensively in Spain specialising in religious imagery.

The almost ostentatious Monstrance in a separate section is a 16th Century treasure which is still carried out in the streets of Toledo during the Corpus Cristi celebrations (May/June).

On a personal note, waving a map around gives a Spanish guy ideas on showing you around his home town... Muchas gracias pero lo siento (Many thanks, but I´m sorry, no :) Still, it´s always nice to be asked!