September 2-6, 2018:
For this trip to Northern Spain we were joined by our friends, Barb and Fred Pyle.
Chicago Layover:
Our trip started off with a bang – a 12-hour delay flying through O’Hara Airport in Chicago.
12-hour delay flying through Chicago
MADRID:
When we arrived in Madrid, the first thing we wanted to check out were the…
Tapa Bars:
We concentrated on an area of Madrid close to Puerta del Sol.
Puerta del Sol
Before trying our tapas, we checked out the Museo de Jamon (Museum of Ham) close by the square…
We tried several tapa bars…
The next day we toured the…
Museo del Prado:
The Museo del Prado, officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid.
Museo del Prado
Bike Ride in El Retiro Park:
After the museum, we rented bikes and cruised El Retiro Park.
Biking at El Retiro Park
Walking Tour of Madrid:
While walking around Madrid, we saw a few sights…
Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena
Statue of Miguel Cervantes
El Oso y el Madroño – Plaza Mayor
San Ginés
Chocolate and Churros
Small Car
Casita Museo de Ratón Pérez
Street Flowers
Our next destinations were the Windmills of La Mancha and the city of Toledo.
WINDMILLS OF LA MANCHA:
Not far from the city of Madrid, in the province of Toledo, you can find one of the best places to enjoy windmills. Twelve mills are still preserved here, the location with the highest number of wind mills, just above the Cerro Calderico.
They have been standing since the 19th century and all are preserved, except for one, since originally the ensemble was made up of 13 mills. You will find 5 mills with intact machinery, one with a tourist office inside and another where you can enjoy local products.
Windmills of La Mancha
TOLEDO:
Toledo is an ancient city set on a hill above the plains of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain. The capital of the region, it’s known for the medieval Arab, Jewish and Christian monuments in its walled old city.
The first thing we did was drive to a viewpoint of the city…
View of the City of Toledo
Then we drove to a parking lot outside the city walls and walked to our accommodation…
Our Accommodation in Toledo
Sweet Treats Baked by Nuns:
It was a short walk from our accommodation to a local convent, where you could buy “sweet treats”…
Sweet Treats Baked by Nuns
Walking Tour of Toledo:
Here are some highlights of our self-guided walking tour of Toledo.
Toledo Streets
Arco de la Sangre (Blood Arch)
Statue of Miguel de Cervantes
Tagus River
Plaza de Zocodover
Don Quixote Scenes – Fountain – Plaza de Zocodover
Toledo City Hall
Convento de los Carmelitas Descalzos
Iglesia de San Ildefonso Jesuit church
Garcilaso de la Vega statue
Plaza Del Padre Juan De Mariana
Iglesia de Santo Tomé
Museo De Santa Cruz
Puppet Show
Dolls of the Convent
Puerta del Sol Gate
Bisagra Gate
Swords-Armor Stores/Factory
On the way of our walk, we stopped at these sites:
Cathedral of Toledo:
The Primatial Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo, otherwise known as Toledo Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church in Toledo, Spain. It is the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toledo.
Cathedral of Toledo
The cathedral’s main entrance – West Portal, finished in 1418, is divided into three grand doorways (from left to right): the Door of Judgment, the Door of Pardon or Forgiveness, and the Door of the Scribes – there are eight portals in the cathedral in total.
West Portal
The nave is grand and spacious…
Nave – Wikipedia – José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro
The High Altar is real gold on wood, by Flemish, French, and local artists, it’s one of the country’s best pieces of Gothic art.
High Altar
Nativity Scene
The high choir stalls have figures including Mary and Child, Joseph and Jacob…
Mary and Child, Joseph and Jacob
In the choir, check out Saint Peter (key) and Saint Paul (sword) – alongside the bishop himself…
Saint Peter and Saint Paul with the Bishop
Choir Misericord
On top of the upper choir stalls rests a gold and alabaster sculpture, by Alonso Berruguete, entitled Transfiguration on Mount Tabor.
Transfiguration on Mount Tabor by Alonso Berruguete
As you leave the Choir – note the serene beauty of the 13th century Madonna and child at the front (Virgin Blanca), thought to be a gift from the French king to Spain.
Madonna and Child
Notice the elaborate organ…
Organ
The Transparente is a unique feature of the cathedral – it was overlooked for years because the cathedral was too poorly lit for it to be noticed.
This problem was eventually remedied by its sculptor Narcisco Tomé in the 1700s, who cut a skylight in the ceiling to give it proper illumination. Another hole was cut into the back of the altarpiece itself to allow shafts of sunlight to strike it and at the same time allow people to see right through it.
The Transparente
The cathedral’s sacristy is a mini Prado Museum, with 19 El Grecos and masterpieces by Francisco de Goya, Titian, Diego Velázquez, Caravaggio, and Giovanni Bellini.
Sacristy
View other paintings in the Sacristy…
Other paintings in the sacristy
The sacristy also has a statue of Saint John the Baptist
Saint John the Baptist in the sacristy
The Cloister is beautifully decorated…
The cloister has beautiful frescoes
A small room holds the Bible of Saint Louis.
Bible of Saint Louis
The highlight of the Treasury is the 10-foot-high, 430-pound monstrance – the tower designed to hold the Holy Communion wafer (the host) during the festival of Corpus Christi (“Body of Christ”) as it’s paraded through the city.
Monstrance
Built in 1517 by Enrique de Arfe, it’s made of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and 400 pounds of gold-plated silver. The inner part (which is a century older) is 35 pounds of solid gold.
El Tránsito Synagogue:
The Transito Synagogue (Synagogue of El Tránsito), also known as the Synagogue of Samuel ha-Levi or Halevi, is a historic synagogue, church, and Sephardic museum in Toledo, Spain. It was built as an annex of the palace of Samuel ha-Levi Abulafia, treasurer to King Peter of Castile, in 1357.
The synagogue was converted into a church after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. It was briefly used as military barracks during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s. It became a museum in 1910.
El Tránsito Synagogue
Sephardic Museum
Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes:
“St. John of the Monarchs” is a grand Franciscan monastery, impressive church, and delightful “Isabeline” cloistered courtyard. The style is late Gothic, contemporaneous with Portugal’s Manueline (c. 1500) and Flamboyant Gothic elsewhere in Europe.
Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes
Museum of Visigothic Councils and Culture:
The Museum of the Councils and Visigothic Culture is located in the Church of San Roman (Iglesia de San Román) in the Plaza San Roman. This museum has archaeological collections from the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries that are related to the old capital of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo.
Museum of the Councils and Visigothic Culture
Visigothic artifacts
Layos Sarcophagus
Visigoth Crown
Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz (Mosque of the Church of the Light):
Of Muslim Toledo’s 10 mosques, this barren little building (dating from about 1000) is the best survivor.
Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz (Mosque of the Church of the Light)
This concludes our tour of Toledo. Our next stop is Ávila, then El Escorial.
ÁVILA:
Our only purpose in stopping in Ávila is the Cuatro Postes Lookout, which has a cross and a view of Ávila…
Cuatro Postes Lookout – View of Ávila
El Escorial:
Built between 1563 and 1584 by order of King Philip II (who reigned 1556–1598), El Escorial is the largest Renaissance building in the world. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school, and hospital.
El Escorial – Wikipedia – Turismo Madrid Consorcio Turístico
Main Courtyard
Grand Staircase
Church
Library
Philip II Sitting Room
Cloisters
Hall of Battle
Next is a memorial to the those who died in the Spanish Civil War.
Valley of the Fallen:
The Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caídos) is a Catholic basilica and a monumental memorial in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, erected at Cuelgamuros Valley in the Sierra de Guadarrama, near Madrid, conceived by Francisco Franco to honor and bury those who died in the Spanish Civil War.
Valley of the Fallen
Next stop, Segovia…