Day 3 in Spain

Our adventures have continued throughout Spain.  We took another day trip out of Madrid to explore the historical town of Toledo.  Toledo is about an hour’s drive south of Madrid.  The drive was not as scenic as our journey through the mountains to get to Segovia Hbecause we were on a major motorway.  We passed by numerous shopping centers on our way and as we passed the Ikea sign, we knew where we would end up later in the day.

When we approached Toledo, the panoramic view was stunning.  You could see the cathedral domes standing high on the horizon and the castle was at the far left.  This is supposedly the town where many kings have been buried, although we never discovered where that was.  When we drove into Toledo, it was very obvious that this town was very different from Segovia, which is great because we wanted to see something different.  The gate to the town was gorgeous and very detailed.  Contrary to the way we used to tour towns and cities before we had kids, we wanted to find the tourist center to obtain information and a walking map, but the visitor’s center evaded us as we never found it.  So, it was back to our traveling roots!  We parked the car, got our and started walking.  

It was still relatively early, which meant that it was still quite cold.  Now, please keep in mind that we have adjusted to the climate in Egypt, so, even though it was only zero degrees out, we found that quite cold, especially for the kids.  So, we walked around a little park and took some pictures of the castle, but quickly found our way back to the car because we were unsure as to which way to go and did not want to wander because it was too cold for the kids to do that.

So, we piled back into the car and started driving.  We took a “wrong turn” and ended up in the center of the downtown touristy area...driving through the extremely narrow roadways.  We folded in our side view mirrors and barely squeezed through some of the roads.  We drove past all the major historical sites and eventually found our way back to the original place we had parked.  About 45 minutes had elapsed so we parked the car again in hopes that it was a bit warmer.  Now that we knew which way to go, it seemed that it would be possible to walk around town.  Hubby loved driving through the very narrow streets.  It was quite an adventure for him; probably his favourite part of our time in Toledo.

Once we got out it was warm enough for the kids and we started walking.  It was fun to walk through the twisty narrow streets, but overall, the historical features of this town were extremely spread out and not nearly as magnificent as those that we saw in Segovia.  The Cathedral was very expensive to enter, so we did not.  We have been in numerous Cathedrals and Churches during our travels in Europe, so we did not find the need to go in to this one.  

The view of Toledo from the Castle.

Me and Hubby in a classic shot.

Narrow Twisty Streets.

Princess at the Cathedral.

Cathedral Spires.

After walking around Toledo for a couple hours, we opted to depart.  Although we had enjoyed our time in Toledo, it was time to go.  If you find yourself in Madrid and want to take a day trip, but can only take one, go to Segovia.  It has more charm and history and makes for a more enjoyable day. If you have time to go see both towns, they are both worth seeing for very different reasons!