Having covered some of the key sites and walked round the streets and shops of Madrid, we decided to head further out on a day trip to Toledo. Caught an Eva train (fast, direct trains). Bit like an airline. You check in, have seat allocation etc. 25 minutes and 80kms later we arrived in Toledo. What a great place. Skipped the tours and caught the local bus to the main plaza. After a caffeine refreshment (ok and a sweet delight) we began walking around. The town is lovely. A few hundred years ago it was the capital of Spain. Toledo is a World Heritage Listed site and still looks quite medieval with the stone walls, bridges, fortress etc, (but the shops are brilliant...yet again very narrow, cobble stoned streets). Shopkeepers take such pride in their shops. They are truly lovely. Good to see they are small, even the chains like Zara do not dominate..like a Myer, Target or DJs would in Australia...we really are quite uncool when it comes to shopping. Walked the maze of tiny streets...at times if you spread your arms out you could touch buildings on both sides of the street. All stone and cobblestones. Found the Cathedral. Magnificent, as you would expect...both inside and out. I think it is one of the major gothic cathedrals in Spain. Took in sites like the Alcázar of Toledo which is a stone fortification, the mosque, bridge, stone walls that encircle the town. It was lovely walking around the town. Sampled the local paella for lunch...quite nice. A short train ride back to Madrid and a day well spent. The great thing was that it hit a warm 18 degrees. Nioce to be in a T shirt for a change.
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