Toledo

Ok, here are some pictures from this weekend when I went to Toledo. We got there around 9:30 in the morning and went to this mall that you can see in the first picture. Its called Luz del Tajo, which translates as the light of the Tajo. The Tajo is the river that goes all the way around Toledo. It was a really nice mall and we spent about 2 hours there.

It was raining, but not too bad. We had to wait until 10 when the mall opened, so we took pictures and watched the cars.

This was my breakfast at the mall. We went to a little cafe and got Cafe con leche and chocolate doughnuts. Cafe con leche is famous in spain. Its usually very strong coffee with steamed milk. It was very very good, especially with a chocolate doughnut. And the best thing was that it only cost 1.50 euros which is a little less than $3 for everything.

After the mall we took a bus to the old part of Toledo. We had to walk up a big hill, and at the top was this doorway thing. Toledo is known for its moorish architecture, which you can see by the curved doorways and windows.

Here I am walking through Toledo. It was so beautiful, but we were a little disappointed because it was really foggy in the morning.

This is a view of Toledo from the top of the city. It finally got clear in the afternoon so we were able to take good pictures.

This is the Alcazar. Its a big castle that was turned into a library. Its not open to the public which is kind of sad, but the outside is cool enough. The funny thing for me about the Alcazar is that my friend and I walked around Toledo for almost 2 hours looking for this building, not knowing that we were right next to it and had taken pictures of it already.

This is a picture of the biggest cathedral in Toledo. It is incredibly beautiful and it has so much detail that you just can't capture with a camera. Also, it is situated right next to a lot of other normal buildings, so it is impossible to take a picture of the whole thing at once. I did my best to capture the best parts. We didn't get to go in it because there wasn't time and it was a little expensive. I wanted to wait until I know there is enough time and I can make it worth the money. Toledo is only like 71 kilometers from Madrid, so it would be easy to visit again.

Cathedral again. I just love the detail in the arches.

This weekend in Toledo it was Carnaval. That is a holiday kind of like out haloween because everyone dresses up in costumes. The difference is that they have marching bands that parade through the streets at night and everyone follows them through the town. It is a huge deal and there are dances and rides for the kids. Then again, every festival in spain is huge, and there are many festivals. Spaniards just like to party.

This is a little statue of Don Quijote. I'm sure you all know who he is...the guy who tried to fight the windmills. In Spain, everyone reads the book from when they are in elementary school to college, so they are very bored with the story. He's still a pretty famous figure though.

This was in an art museum that we went to. It was kind of strange, but we really just wanted to see the gardens, not the art and it was free, so we went.

There was a lot of random art, and I don't really know the history of art in Spain so it was kind of meaningless to me.

This is the courtyard/garden at the art museum. We couldn't take pictures in the museum, so we took a lot outside in the gardens.

This is next to the Alcazar, overlooking a valley that goes down to the Tajo river. It was really pretty. The lady who took this picture was funny because we asked her in spanish to take our picture and she says in english that she can't speak spanish. Ha!

This is just a picture of me with a cool bridge in the background.

Me and Alexandra...again We had a really good time in Toledo and I have so many more pictures. I am going to try and make a slide show, but we'll see. These are just a few of my favorites, and if you want to see it better, you just have to come and visit me and I will take you there!!!