Arte en la calle

Don't believe what they tell you, contrast it (or check it, or refute it, depending on the dictionary..)

Toledo: Literary figures

It's Don Quixote!

Toledo: Outside Walls

Someone make sure she sees this, please

This is the third year in a row that I'm missing my sister's birthday.  It makes me a little sad, tbh.  MY BABY IS GROWING UP.  Anyway, happy birthday to my favorite sister!  Love you!

Maybe someday we should take pictures where we aren't making ridiculous faces?  You know what, nevermind.  I like our faces.  

Toledo: Cathedral Offshoots

Lining the walls of this room are portraits of every bishop for this discese since sometime in the 1400's, through now.  That is dedication if I've ever seen it.  

Off in a corner of the Cathedral we found a few paintings stuck in the corner.  Cause, you know, Titian, Velazquez, el Greco, and Goya are painters that can just be stuck in a corner.  

Possibly inspiration for the Great Hall?  Or are ceilings painted to resemble the sky very common place?

Toledo: Cathedral Main

 I won't even try to explain what these are pictures of.  I don't think I've ever seen anything this impressive in my life.  I can't believe I almost passed this up because I didn't want to pay 8euros to get in.  So worth it.  

Keep in mind this was built between 1200-1500.

Toledo: Outside the Cathedral

Toledo from the 9th floor of el Alcazar

Around Toledo

Emily and I took a day drip to Toledo this Saturday.  We got up around 6am to make a 7:30 bus to Madrid, and then took an hourlong subway ride to another bus station, where we caught another bus.  We spent the day roaming around the city doing touristy things, before heading home at night.  This top picture was taken at their Plaza Mayor.  Their plaza is smaller than ours, and oddly shaped.  Plus, they have a McDonald's in the square.  

Spain has the coolest mailboxes.

There are suits of armor all over the city.  This one was in the building where we bought our tickets to get in to the cathedral.  

The streets were a lot more narrow than the ones that we're used too, and there is no such thing as a slightly straight path to get anywhere.  I think Emily put it best in that it's a very claustrophobic city.

El Palacio del Riofrio

Earlier this week we took a mini field trip to el Palacio del Riofrio.  I enjoyed this even more than going to the castle.  El Palacio del Riofrio was built in the 1700's for sparring members of the Spanish royal family to hide out in.  It was never fully completed, as evidenced by the straw mats that cover the clay floor.  Still, the high ceilings, intricate wallpaper, crazy furniture, and impressive double staircase went above what I would have considered adequate for residency.  At the same time, the building isn't heated, and is actually noticeably colder inside than it is outside.  Half of the building is a hunting museum.  The palace has served as a hunting lodge and as a refuge for heartbroken kings.  Unfortunately, photos aren't permitted inside, but there are some pretty good ones here.

Walls

Morning view

New vantage point