Holy Toledo!

The last few days in Madrid have been nice. Sunday evening we went to the Prado Museum because it was free. Grandma was tired, so we got a wheelchair and I pushed her around. It was pretty grueling work only because I had to pay attention to people who were looking at paintings and not watching where they were walking. Amazingly, I didn’t hit one person save the idiot who walked into me when I was stationary. (I’m only stationery at work. I’ll be here all night.) We then went to a paella restaurant that is reportedly one of the better ones in town. The food was really good and I was happy I got to try the dish in Spain.

Monday we were going to go to Toledo, but the train was sold out (alas!). So, we did a walking tour of the older section of Madrid and saw the main cathedral, royal palace, Plaza Mayor, and a whole bunch of other churches. It was a nice, long walk. Plaza Mayor was the site of executions, but now it houses a variety of impersonators including Charlie Chaplin, an invisible man, Mickey Mouse, and a glittery yak thing that tried to bite people as they walked by. It was a very strange sight!

After relaxing, we headed back out and went to eat tapas. I ordered a small beer, which was probably no more than 8 ounces. (When they say small, they mean small!) The food was good, and the dessert was even better.

Today we went to Toledo, which is perched at the top of a big hill. After a quick bus ride up, we walked around the alcazar, saw the Military Museum, and then went to the Cathedral (so beautiful!). We stopped by the main city gate on the way back down to the train station, which was beautiful in its own right (c. 1915). The cathedral had a beautiful piece by El Greco in it and was worth the journey alone. Sadly, we couldn’t take photos inside.

Tomorrow grandma goes back to LA and I fly to Pompeii. What a lovely vacation this has been!

More Madrid Photos

Toledo Photos

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