Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Day 89: Madrid to Cordoba, via Toledo
August 23: Woke up with a sore ankle, so it´s now all strapped up and bandaged.
Met my roommate, Belinda, from Newcastle, 34 years.
Early morning start out of Madrid where we drove for an hour to Toledo.
Met my tour manager, Raquel (from NZ) and our driver, Juan (from Spain). Very nice people.
The other tourmates are very mixed in ages, ethnic backgrounds, age and country - mainly USA, Canada (!) and Australia, with two from Japan - seem nice too.
Didn´t know what to expect with any of Spain´s cities and am being nicely surprised. Can´t speak a word of Spanish, but realised it´s a little similar to French, so muddling through. It´s a challenge (especially asking for no dairy, shellfish or pork at meal times) ... but lots of fun!
In Toledo (see photo), we walked around the Alcazar (fortress) and cathedral before having time to ourself to explore. It´s fun getting lost in these small towns. The cathedral was very impressive, saw the famous El Greco painting "El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz" inside the church, Iglesia de Santo Tome.
Also paid a visit to the two synagogues (and Jewish quarter). Never actually realised how much Jewish history there really is in Spain. Learnt about it at school, but wasn´t aware of its prominence in Spain´s history overall.
One synagogue was from the 13th century, with a museum about Spanish Sefardi Jewish history and artefacts (Sinagoga del Transito). The other one, Sinagoga Santa Maria La Blanca dates from the 12th century, and was later on in time converted into a church. Neither are used today for services of any kind.
Had lunch before jumping back on the bus to drive south to Cordoba. Did our ´introductions´ on this leg too. Did some shopping at "Zara" before having dinner in the hotel and grabbing a drink in a bar later on. Great nightlife.
One interesting point... Spain has a different day schedule... including a siesta in the afternoon, dinner not till at least 9pm and partying starts no earlier than 11pm (even during the week). When do they ever sleep properly?
# posted by mishij @ 10:54 AM 
