Flying Solo

"There is nothing like being left alone again, to walk peacefully with oneself in the woods. To boil one's coffee and fill one's pipe, and to think idly and slowly as one does it."- Knut Hamsun

This weekend I went to picturesque Toledo. By myself. As I set off on my journey bright and early Saturday morning I was a little nervous about taking the train, and arriving with no plan, no tour guide and no map. The train ride went by quickly and before I knew it, I was stepping off the train. I didn't know where to go and my intention was to follow the herds of people, but this proved problematic as many boarded a "hop on, hop off" tour bus and the others scattered in all directions equally. 


I set off and finally found the longest set of stairs I've ever seen carved into the side of the hill and thought "surely these go somewhere important". Indeed they did and my effort in scaling them was not all for naught.


NOTE: I later found a set of escalators that runs from the base of the hill to the top and back again. So if you ever find yourself in Toledo, you'll know better. :)


Sure enough, the city of Toledo is high up in the hills and comprised of all sorts of windy streets. Very little traffic throughout and lots of places to get blissfully lost in. I was really happy to be by myself, following my every whim, stopping to sit in a park and people watch when it struck my fancy and take a turn down an empty street in hopes of discovering forgotten treasure.


Having been populated since the Bronze Age, Toledo grew in importance during Roman times, being a main commercial and administrative centre in the Roman province of Tarraconensis. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Toledo served as the capital city of Visigothic Spain and was the capital of Spain until the Moors conquered Iberia in the 8th century. 

I did manage to find the tourist information center and get a map and talked to the receptionist about what to see and what to skip. 




Most memorable were the vistas and the sheer beauty of the city itself. It is so ancient and well-preserved that you would think you were in an amusement park. There were medieval flags all over the place too and Toledo is famous for it's weaponry so there were all sorts of swords and such around every corner. Additionally, Toledo is famous for its marzipan (Mike, you'd have been in Heaven). 



Toledo was home to El Greco for the latter part of his life, and is the subject of some of his most famous paintings, including The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, exhibited in the Church of Santo Tomé. The museum is in El Greco's restored home (much like the Sorolla museum in Madrid) and it was a very engaging experience to wander around the home and gardens and see the work of the painter who once inhabited it.

After wandering and hiking up and down the streets all day, I worked up an appetite. With an hour and a half to kill before boarding my train home, I stumbled upon a little restaurant and in true Catherine fashion, found a perfect spot to sit and take the day in over the most delicious plate of roasted chicken and fries I've had in a really long time.