Toledo (Spain, of course)

This was another day trip from Madrid; this time we headed about 30 minutes south by high speed train. Our major site for exploration was the Cathedral, which is still the seat of the Catholic Church in Spain today.

(Wandering the narrow, curving streets was fun too!)

It was hard to get it all in one picture -

Construction was begun in 1226 and finally completed in 1493.

The interior was enormous and with jaw-dropping ornamentation. This altarpiece was commissioned in the 1490s and took 6 years to complete:

Hopefully you can enlarge that picture to be able to appreciate the details.

Behind the main altar is this amazing piece:

The sculptor was upset that this wouldn’t be able to be appreciated in the dark of the poorly lit cathedral, so he had a large circular hole cut in the roof to allow sun to shine on it!

In the upper left corner of the above picture, you can see the top of the altarpiece, to give you some orientation of the space. The hole was cut in the roof opposite that sculptured marvel.

I have always been drawn to rose windows (and the people in the bottom of the picture give scale):

We then visited the Sephardic Museum, which is housed in a synagogue built in 1355.

I kept the people in the bottom of the photo, to again provide scale -

That wooden ceiling was gorgeous, but the scrollwork in the stone was even more breath taking:

Steve was enamored of the brickwork…

…while I enjoyed wandering the maze of narrow streets -

On our way out, we admired the walls ringing the city -

(look closely to see the crenellations, to help you find the wall)

great layers!

The entrance gate into the city -

One last look at its commanding position -