Toledo: Dia Cuatro

On our fourth day in Toledo and the eve before our departure to Northern Spain, we decided to take things a little slower. We went to Zocodover Square to wait for the Zocotren, which according to the advertisement is the “largest open-air museum in the world.” The train took us on an historic tour of Toledo full of great folk tales from the region.

Victor had never ridden the Zocotren and was very excited. This picture cracks me up because he looks like the Spanish Godzilla about to eat the little tourist!

Waiting for the Zocotren to leave and Victor practicing English (specifically trying to make the word “beach” not sound like the word for female dog :) ):

Bridges to the city:

Remnants of a Roman aqueduct:

Former home of the diamond cutter:

Legend has it that he was once asked to make a large order of diamonds for the monarchy, so the goblins came out of the river to help him. You can still hear the goblins singing today. Actually, it sounded more like stray cats, but it is a good story…

Monasterio San Juan de los Reyes:

There were other old stories, many of which included a woman either being killed or committing suicide because of a lover. There are many female ghosts that supposedly haunt Toledo...

After a delicious tapas tasting at a very old Spanish bar where they deep fry everything, Victor and I made a trip to the shrine of the Virgin of the Pins. Supposedly, if you put a pin (hair or straight pin) through the hole in her shrine, you will get married.

Victor put in five pins:

I tried my luck with one pin (that got stuck the first attempt…does that mean something? :) ):

Meanwhile, J. Santiago looked on with terror:

After casually strolling the city, we all took siestas. I had the opportunity to watch my first bull fight on TV. It was not a brutal as I expected, and I still think that I would like to attend a bull fight in person before I return home. Knowing that the bulls that are killed are still used for meat, etc., makes the brutality a little more palatable. I really want to experience as much of the culture as possible during my travels. J. Santiago and I went for a walk around the city at nighttime. We watched the sunset from one of the highest points in the city and ate a sampling of traditional Toledo cuisine before returning to Victor’s house to get ready for our big trip.

On a side note, traveling in Spain can often feel like a food and beverage tour. Food and drink is such an integral part of their culture because it facilitates socializing. Spaniards are extremely social people, and it was really fun trying different cuisine and meeting different people over tapas. Some of the things that I had consumed after four days included: squid; eel; mussels; deep fried egg with béchamel sauce; sardines; anchovies; jellyfish (not sure if this is what it really was, but that was how it was translated for me); veal (or was that rat/pigeon, Issac?); deep fried pork rinds (very different from the southern variety); ham; olives with pickled onions; cheese from goats, sheep, and cows; fish and meat pates; lots of fried potatoes; lots of olive oil; and lots of bread. Notice anything missing from this list? That’s right, folks, vegetarians are in for a very tough time in Spain. At this point, I’ve discovered my favorite way to get my vegetable intake—pisto (a stew of tomatoes, onions, and zucchini). It has also been very difficult getting used to dropping napkins on the floor of a bar. They sweep up the trash at the end of the night, but I just feel weird “littering.” After four days, it already felt like I had been in Spain for much longer, but the cultural differences were still striking. These differences would only continue as we began our trip to Northern Spain.