Toledo

Today we participated in the SLU sponsored day trip to Toledo, Spain.  We took a big tour bus into the city which was about an hour away.  We could hardly see anything coming in because it was only 10am and super foggy since the city is built in the hills above the River Tajo which encircles the whole city.  We began the day with a walking tour and got to see some really old Gothic churches and cathedrals that have been around since the 14th century.  We also went into a small museum and got to see an original Greco painting entitled The Burial of the Count of Orgaz which was huge and so amazing to see in person.  For anyone who isn't familiar with Greco, he is a very famous Spanish 16th century artist who was famous for his use of color and the elongation of his human figures.  He painted his most famous paintings and lived out the end of his life in Toledo.

After the walking tour, the fog cleared up to reveal a clear blue sky and a lot of sun.  So, we took the opportunity to do the bus tour and circled the city on the bus and got to see the overview of Toledo which was absolutely gorgeous.  Sadly, at this point, my camera died and so I will have to steal some pictures from my roommates camera.

At about 2:00pm we were set free to do whatever and so after getting lunch at one of the local cafes, we decided to explore the hills and river of Toledo.  I can honestly say I have never seen anything so pretty.  The hills were green and rocky and expansive.  We walked through the hills down to the river and took the same path that Don Quixote took in the story by Miguel Cervantes which was pretty cool.  There were ruins and castles up in the hills that we got to see pretty closely on our hike.  We spent the entire afternoon exploring the natural side of Toledo and I would say it is a must do for anyone who makes it over to Spain.

Overall, fabulous trip and well worth every penny.  I wish I could do it justice by describing it, but I'll sort through some pictures and post them as soon as possible, hopefully I got a few good ones before my battery died.