The Light of Toledo

Old City Gate

Santa Maria la Blanco Synagogue

View From Museum of Santa Cruz

Last Saturday was part of the first official weekend of the academic year, and so, a day trip was in order. I have always wanted to see Toledo so off I went with two friends to see what beauty the city could hold. We took a bus direct from Plaza Eliptica to the Toledo bus station, the trip costing fewer than 10 euros and we arrived in about 45 minutes. The city was stunning, its golden colored houses shining with warmth under the winter sun. We first saw the Toledo Alcazar, which now houses the military museum that spans every military escapade in the peninsula since it was first inhabited by humans. Accordingly, the museum was enormous and took hours to get through but was equally as fascinating and informative as it was large. After parting with my friends, I saw the Cathedral, which houses some of El Greco's best known works, and is best seen with an audio guide. I stopped for a brief snack in a park behind the church and headed off for El Greco's house (closed for renovations), Santo Tome, where El Greco's masterpiece The Burial of the Count of Orgaz can be found, the synagogues of Santa Maria la Blanca with its maze of pillars, and Sinagoga del Transito, which is also connected to a museum about Judaism in Spain. As the day began to end, i finished my lunch at a small park overlooking the river and then walked back through the city before entering the Museum of Santa Cruz, a former Renaissance hospital which now contains both an art as well as an archaeological museum both on an intimate scale. Here is El Greco's last painting as well as many other paintings, sculptures, and tapestries. The day was magnificent and proves that, even in the midst of winter, Toledo is a brilliant city.