Reino de España, Toledo

During my Spanish expedition, I did one day trip out of Madrid to go wander around the medieval remains of Toledo. Definitely worth it; my trip was pretty aimless and I kept it low budget so I did not go inside the cathedral (for which they charge for entrance and if you want to take pictures, boo) or do any sword-purchasing, but I did walk around and look at some cool stuff, eat an awesome 4 EUR lunch, ride a bunch of escalators, and climb some towers. All in all, very worth it.

Puerta de Bisagra.

Puerta del Sol.

The idea of draping a sheet over these little alleys to provide shade is genius. It's cool-looking and makes the Toledo heat more humane.

One of the few things I did pay for, climbing the towers in the Iglesia de San Ildelfonso. I got a student price ticket by totally ethically sound means and it was really cool to get such a good view of the rest of the old city. 

Holy Opulence, Batman!

The view: 

There's a bunch of these alleyway shots in here. I really enjoyed just moseying around.

"If you drink to forget, pay before beginning"

"Wine gladdens the eye, cleans the tooth, and heals the belly"

A pen for any/every occasion: Second to left, "PERDONAME", an "I'M SORRY" pen.

Mazapan is a big deal in Toledo.

Approaching the cathedral.

  

The back entrance.

Theater.

Tile slates detailing how to make all the essentials: cheese, bread, oil, and wine. There were a few others but I figure these might be good to have on record.

SWORDS. Also big in Toledo, which bizarrely means that there are Lord of the Rings memorabilia shops all over.

 

My amazing 4€ lunch. When I first entered the shop I ordered only the sandwich (which is literally just bread and cheese but look at that thing, it's massive and it was delicious) and a soda which is cheaper, but then I figured, what the hell? Spend the extra 1€ and get yourself a little lunch buzz and dessert. So they were a little confused at first as to whether I could even have wine in a takeaway lunch, but in the end they came through and gave me the wine in what I'm pretty sure was an empty perfume bottle. It tasted good and smelled awesome. Also, mazapan. Really tasty.

Another thing Toledo is really known for: Damascening. It's really cool-looking, you can find some nice stuff for pretty cheap, and it. is. everywhere.

Madrid's manhole covers did NOT impress me (MANHOLE SNOB), but I liked these little baby pieces that were all over Toledo.

After climbing all the damn way up the damn hill to get into the goddamn old part of Toledo I discovered there are FREE OUTDOOR ESCALATORS. Okay, so it was good exercise and I feel better about myself knowing I didn't take the escalators up. But you better believe I took them down. 

Thanks for all the laughs, Toledo! (Okay not really, it's not really a funny kind of city? I just could not think of how to end this. I have done way too much blogging in the last week and my brain isn't cooperating anymore.)