We started off with our good friend, Rick Steves, and his walk titled, "Welcome to Madrid." Mock if you will, but I adore Mr. Steves and his geeky guidebook humor. (Granted, the third time I read his jokes, I'm just irritated.) The walk started at Puerto del Sol--Madrid's hub. The building below is currently a governor's office, but started as Madrid's first post office and is most famous for being Franco's police headquarters. 
It seems like I have seen pictures of Franco out on this balcony. Whether that is true or not, Franco did speak to the people from this spot. Rick points out that quite a few people questioned by Franco's men "accidentally fell" to their deaths from the balconies.
This is a statue of Charles III, who ruled through 1788 and is famous for cleaning up Madrid--making our beloved Retiro Park (see yesterday's post) a public park rather than a royal sanctuary, putting the beautiful fountains throughout the city, and establishing public schools. (Incidentally, Spain requires compulsory education through age 16.)
We mentioned one of the Prado's great works--"The Second of May" painted by Goya. The event depicted occurred at Puerto del Sol. When Napoleon appointed his brother as king of Spain, the Spanish people gathered in this square to protest. The French guard massacred them. The plaque below memorializes the tragedy.
On our brisk, chilly walk, we saw European parking in action. Really? Is this van really going to get into this tight space? How? All these questions were answered within moments. The van bumped into the car behind, then in front, over and over again until he was successfully situated.
Perhaps the best part of the walk was reaching the cobblestone streets of Plaza Mayor. The square was constructed in 1619, and is the home of many historical happenings--like bullfights, royal processions, and the monstrosities that occurred during the Spanish Inquisition.Brief History Note: Ferdinand and Isabel established the Spanish Inquisition in 1478. Up to this point, rulers had been generous to those of other faiths (particularly under Moorish rule), and practicing Jews were generally allowed to worship. At this time, however, religious courts arrested and convicted basically anyone who would not declare Christianity. They also convicted anyone whose conversion seemed suspicious.
It was in the Plaza Mayor square that many of these victims were paraded around with billboards around their necks, which listed their "sins." They were then tortured and burned, strangled, or executed in another fashion. Gory.
Phillip III, who had the square built:
On a happier note, Madrid voted to have the square painted burgundy--a democratic shade--after Franco's death.
A very old road leading out of Plaza Mayor:
For all our winter clothes shopping (oh, the selection of Kauai!), we didn't bring enough. We were freezing! Check out our bright red noses below.
In route to the Palacio Royal, we stopped at a bakery. After watching us look over the goods for a few minutes, the lady at the counter griped to her coworker in Spanish, "Those tourists...I wish they would pick something and get out of my shop!" Ha! 
We reached the palace, but I was actually more excited about reaching the sunlight and thawing out.
Views from outside the palace:
Hope you enjoyed those views, because that's all we saw. It is still an operating palace, and can close at a moment's notice for a royal function. It was closed all day. 
We fell in love with this city even before getting inside it's gates. Toledo was once Spain's capital (until 1651, when Phillip II moved it to Madrid), hit it's prime in the middle of the 14th century, and holds 2,500 years of history from an eclectic set of peoples--particularly Jews, Muslims, and Christians. 
Keyhole arches are found throughout the city. 
See the cathedral through this narrow alley? 
Holy Toledo! Jews from Spain are called Sephardic Jews. When many of these Jews immigrated to America, they still considered Toledo the holiest Jewish city in Europe. Thus, the expression "Holy Toledo" was coined.
In my opinion, Toledo's cathedral was the best site we visited--period. The Gothic architecture, 500-year-old stained glass windows, carvings and artwork throughout are awe-inspiring. The cathedral took 250 years to build, and after completion, each archbishop added something to make it their own.
Gothic archways and stained glass:
Phillip III, who had the square built:On a happier note, Madrid voted to have the square painted burgundy--a democratic shade--after Franco's death.
A very old road leading out of Plaza Mayor:For all our winter clothes shopping (oh, the selection of Kauai!), we didn't bring enough. We were freezing! Check out our bright red noses below.
In route to the Palacio Royal, we stopped at a bakery. After watching us look over the goods for a few minutes, the lady at the counter griped to her coworker in Spanish, "Those tourists...I wish they would pick something and get out of my shop!" Ha!We reached the palace, but I was actually more excited about reaching the sunlight and thawing out.
Views from outside the palace:
Hope you enjoyed those views, because that's all we saw. It is still an operating palace, and can close at a moment's notice for a royal function. It was closed all day. We killed a little time by stopping for hot chocolate. Unfortunately, it wasn't the creamy goodness from the day before, but on such a chilly morning, it did the trick. We then spent some time shopping a bit--picking out a Barcelona soccer ball for Zachary and admiring Will and Karen's decision to buy a real, certified Madrid jersey for their son. Their kiddo can literally jump out on the field and play with this jersey!
We picked up some bocadillos (cured ham on baguette) and went straight to the train station. The last half of our day would be spent in Toledo, a 30 minute, high speed train ride from Madrid.
In Toledo, everything screams ambiance--even the train station!
We fell in love with this city even before getting inside it's gates. Toledo was once Spain's capital (until 1651, when Phillip II moved it to Madrid), hit it's prime in the middle of the 14th century, and holds 2,500 years of history from an eclectic set of peoples--particularly Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The entire city is a national monument. Modern exteriors are not allowed. Traffic is limited to local resident's cars only (and only 10,000 people reside within the city). It's a quaint, historical paradise!
Keyhole arches are found throughout the city. 
See the cathedral through this narrow alley? 
Holy Toledo! Jews from Spain are called Sephardic Jews. When many of these Jews immigrated to America, they still considered Toledo the holiest Jewish city in Europe. Thus, the expression "Holy Toledo" was coined. 
In my opinion, Toledo's cathedral was the best site we visited--period. The Gothic architecture, 500-year-old stained glass windows, carvings and artwork throughout are awe-inspiring. The cathedral took 250 years to build, and after completion, each archbishop added something to make it their own.Other visitors had out their cameras, so we joined in the fun (until told otherwise through a general announcement). Brady had enjoyed playing with his new lens, and captured some of the beauty of the vast interior.
The high altar (real gold on wood):
Gothic archways and stained glass:
I think this is the best picture from our trip: 
The organ:
(Yes, I did just include 3 pictures of the exact same archway.)
A view while standing on the bridge: 
Whoa, that's a long way down... 
The streets in Toledo are my favorite in Europe (so far...um, out of the 3 countries I have now visited). 
We snacked on gilato, talked with the Elders, and picked up a few tacky souveniers (i.e. Brady's purchase of a miniature sword stuck in wood...). We even snagged a nap before dinner. 
It was right around this time that one of us made the comment that it seemed impossible to really get lost in Toledo. It was ironic timing, because it took about an hour to find our restaurant. 
The organ: We were unable to capture photos of the artwork inside--with Goya, Titian, Rubens, Velazquez, and other works. They were paintings depicting Christ throughout various times in His life.
After visiting the cathedral, we booked it over to a museum only to discover it was missing the El Greco paintings we wanted to see. (Strike 2 for the day.) Instead, we wandered through the city and walked to a bridge.
(Yes, I did just include 3 pictures of the exact same archway.)
A view while standing on the bridge: 
Whoa, that's a long way down... 
The streets in Toledo are my favorite in Europe (so far...um, out of the 3 countries I have now visited). 
We snacked on gilato, talked with the Elders, and picked up a few tacky souveniers (i.e. Brady's purchase of a miniature sword stuck in wood...). We even snagged a nap before dinner. 
It was right around this time that one of us made the comment that it seemed impossible to really get lost in Toledo. It was ironic timing, because it took about an hour to find our restaurant. A view of Alcazar (the fort) on our way out of Toledo.
I think we were all a little sad to leave this city!
