June 11-13

A lot has happened since our last post so we'll tackle each day one at a time.

Thursday was the highly anticipated trip to Toledo. It did not disappoint. The city was beautifully decorated for Corpus Christi, a very important Spanish holiday. We wandered through the narrow, and sometimes steep, streets of the city and visited various landmarks. We began with the Synagogue of Mary the White which may sound contradictory, but its history provides an explanation. Toledo has been conquered by several civilizations although it is a defensive town, and when the Moors conquered it, they tolerated other religions. The Moors' tolerance allowed Islam, Christianity, and Judaism to flourish side by side in the city. The building began as a synagogue, but when the Christians reclaimed the city, they did not have any tolerance for other religions so the synagogue along with other non-Christian holy sites were converted to churches. The styles of all three religions can be noticed in the building, and at times seem awkward together. We finished at the Cathedral of Toledo. The cathedral is a spectacular site and houses ornate carvings, paintings, and stone work. Simply put, it was gorgeous.

We took our first trip to Museo del Prado Friday. We had a little trouble finding it somehow, but it also met expectations once we arrived. We only spent an hour and a half there and covered four important Spanish artists. We began with Ribera, moved to Murillo, then Zurbaran, and finished with Velazquez. All fall under the Baroque genre although Velazquez cannot be fully categorized. According to one of his contemporaries, he was "the painter of all painters." His most notable works included his Crucifixion and Las Meninas. Many Spanish artists attempted a crucifixion painting, but Velazquez' is considered by many experts to be the best or most beautiful.

Today (yes, Saturday), we took a trip to Segovia which we were both unfamiliar with before the visit. The entrance to the city was marked by an ancient aqueduct we quickly discovered dates to the first century. It was an unbelievable experience to stand next to a 2,000 year old construction. Next we moved to the Segovia Cathedral. While it was not as spectacular or ornate as the Toledo Cathedral, it was still very impressive. In fact, John liked it more than the Toledo Cathedral. We finished with a visit to the alcazar of Segovia. Alcazar is an arabic word for castilla which means castle in Spanish. After touring all the rooms of the castle, we climbed to the top tower where we were provided an outstanding view of the surrounding landscape and skyline of Segovia. It was probably the best part of the day.

Next up we are planning on attending a famous flea market in the heart of Madrid after a long Saturday night. Monday and Tuesday we will be in Grenada which again should be incredible.