Spain - Toledo, a Medieval City

As a video game lover, I've encountered many medieval-themed games. Castles, swords, knights... well, if you like these things, you will have to visit Toledo in Spain.

Overview of Toledo

I took a day off from my Madrid trip, as my friend suggested. Toledo is only half an hour away from Madrid by train. However, I highly recommend buying the train ticket in advance because there are a lot of people commuting to and from Madrid. It will not be surprising if you can't find tickets to go in the morning if you attempt to buy the ticket just before you ride the train.

This also means that you should - or I'd rather say, MUST - buy the return ticket in advance unless you are staying in Toledo for a night. 

Once you reached Toledo station, there is a tourist information centre where you can buy a wristband with access to 5 or 6 main attractions of Toledo. If I'm not wrong, you can also buy a combi ticket for the train ticket and the wristband at Atocha Renfe station in Madrid. I'm not sure if it would be cheaper, but in any case, you can still buy the wristband in Toledo station.

Toledo Station

Do you have to buy the wristband? Well, for sure, you'll save time queuing outside the main attractions. For some attractions, a guided tour is provided. So in the end, I think the wristband is worth getting.

The first attraction I entered was the cathedral.

What's interesting about this cathedral is that there are a lot of somewhat hidden rooms. Exploring the cathedral on your own feels like being in an RPG.

One of the 'hidden' rooms

As a foodie, tasting the local food is a must. I tried Toledanas, which are kind of like very crumbly almond cookies. They're yummy!

I enjoy looking at the buildings and walking up and down the alleys. Oh, that being said, PLEASE WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. And don't wear heels because they might get stuck between the stones on the ground.

The City Hall

You might think a library is too boring to visit, but not in Toledo.

If you enter the City Library (Biblioteca Publica del Estado), you can go to the 9th floor and have a great view of Toledo for free. Well, it would be nice to buy some drinks from the cafe up there.

 If you're not scared of heights, try visiting Iglesia del Salvador (included in the wristband). The church is very small and the design is pretty simple, but you could climb the bell tower.

Iglesia del Salvador

Iglesia del Salvador, bell tower view 1

Iglesia del Salvador, bell tower view 2

Iglesia del Salvador, bell tower view 3

Castilla-La Mancha Escuela de Arte

The synagogue, Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca, is a little bit difficult to appreciate without a guide. Somehow I missed the guided tour, so I didn't really understand what to look out for except that the interior somewhat looked like an interior of a mosque.

The next one is actually a must-go place: Iglesia de San Ildefonso. Why? Because you can get the best view of Toledo from this church's tower.

The interior is not as grandeur as the Toledo cathedral, but the entrance to the tower is free.

The climb wasn't that bad: the stairs are large enough. It's definitely much easier than climbing the Basilica di San Pietro's dome in Vatican City.

I didn't bring a good camera with me, but even with my smart phone, the view from the tower is magnificent enough.

My last highlight of Toledo would be the city gate.

The city gate is accessible for free, but in order to climb up the gate, you have to have the wrist band combi ticket I mentioned at the beginning of the post. All in all, the combi ticket is worth the price. It saves you time from queuing for tickets (especially for the Cathedral), and you get guided tours at certain spots.

Again, the climb wasn't bad at all. It's a little bit cramped, but it's fine.

Toledo is a gorgeous place to visit!

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Spain - Highlights of Madrid

This post was long overdue because of courses and group project deadline that I had to meet before graduation (yeah yeah I know, I keep making excuses).

I had a wonderful trip to Madrid, Spain, at the beginning of June. As I explained in my earlier post about foods to try in Madrid, my sole purpose to go there is to try as much local food as I could. But of course, sightseeing is part of the itinerary, especially when I discovered that there is always something interesting to see at every corner of the streets in Madrid.

The Hop-On-Hop-Off bus is normally my favourite way to explore a new city, but I decided that since most places can be reached by the Metro or on foot, it would be quite pointless to ride the hop-on-hop-off bus. 

The best word to describe the overall feeling I get from Madrid is "friendly". Although my friend warned me of pickpockets and people who would steal cameras from tourists if you asked them to take pictures. Luckily, I didn't have any of such encounters throughout my visit.

These girls were asking me if Spanish guys are hot, and then asked me to take a picture of them using my camera

Well, let's start with tapas bars. When you go to Madrid, you definitely have to visit at least one tapas bar for some wine or tapas (appetizer-like dishes). If you have dietary restrictions like no alcohol or no pork, it's probably a little bit hard to enjoy the gastronomical side of Madrid, but it's not that hard to find halal food. Unless you add seafood into dietary restriction.

The most famous street filled with tapas bars is called Cava Baja. It's pretty close to Plaza Major, just to the south of it.

Tapas bar in Cava Baja

Plaza Major

Another thing that catches attention is the cute city mascot:

If you want to take a picture of the bear statue, go to Puerta del Sol.

Statue of Charles III at Puerta del Sol

When I went to Puerta del Sol, I saw some kind of football gimmick. Maybe it's because the World Cup was coming! :)

Football gimmick: penalty shoots game

Madrid is heavily decorated with churches, cathedrals and monasteries of different architectures.

Iglesia de Los Jerónimos (near Museuo Nacional del Prado)

Iglesia de Los Jerónimos, interior

Monasterio Descalzas Reales

Santa Iglesia Colegiata de San Isidro

San Francisco El Grande

San Francisco El Grande, interior

Santa Cruz

But if there is one church that I strongly recommend going, it would be the Catedral de la Almudena, which is located next to Palacio Real (the Royal Palace).

Catedral de la Almudena

Catedral de la Almudena, side view

Not only it has wonderful interiors, but also you can climb the tower and see the whole Madrid from above.

Catedral de la Almudena, interior

Catedral de la Almudena, tower

That being said, the Royal Palace seems to be a worthy place to visit, but you have to start waiting in the queue before it opens. The line to enter the Royal Palace is always long - in the morning or in the afternoon. In the end, I did not manage to get inside, but the exterior can satisfy you enough if you don't have time to wait in the line. Just behind the Royal palace is Jardines del Campo del Moro.

Palacio Real (Royal Palace), side view

Palacio Real (Royal Palace), from behind

Palacio Real 

Jardines del Campo del Moro

As an addition, there is a beautiful viaduct just next to Catedral de la Almudena. Not literally next to it, but you'll find it if you walk a little bit to the south of the cathedral.

Plaza de la Villa is also quite beautiful. There is not much to do here, but it's a nice spot for pictures.

Another place I highly recommend visiting is Palacio de Cibeles (formerly Palacio de Comunicaciones or the Palace of Communication). There is a tourist information centre there, it has gorgeous interiors and various eye-opening art displays, and most importantly, it is FREE. And for someone who thinks that 25 degrees C is a little too hot for a full-day walk (like me), the air conditioner in this building is like an oasis in the dessert.

Palacio de Cibeles entrance

Palacio de Cibeles interior

I'm not a fanatic art enthusiast and sometimes I cannot appreciate abstract paintings or any other artworks, but I really enjoyed most of the displays.

One of the art displays in Palacio de Cibeles

That being said, I did not enter Museo Nacional del Prado. Almost everyone I knew recommended me to visit that museum, but I was more interested in discovering the city.

Caja Madrid Obelisk is not too far from Prado Museum, but unfortunately, you cannot enter the surrounding garden. You can still take pictures from afar, though :)

Now, about shopping. The city centre is lively with shops, department stores and restaurants. Since the weather is really nice around summer, it's also really nice to sit outside for lunch or dinner.

Callao

Terrace seats

Shopping streets (C. Preciados, between Callao and Puerta del Sol)

There's also a cute Angry Bird shop on C. C. Parquesur (street name).

Angry Birds merchandises

Not too far from Callao is the Teatro Real (Royal Theatre).

For food, try Plaza de San Miguel market or read my other post about food in Madrid for more info

Plaza de San Miguel market

Interior of Plaza de San Miguel market

And last but not least, visit Puerta de Alcala and Parque de El Retiro. Puerta de Alcala is located on the northwest side of Parque de El Retiro, so if you have the chance to visit the park, do visit Puerta de Alcala as well!

Puerta de Alcala

Parque del El Retiro entrance

The park is rather large, so if you have limited time, make sure to see the Alfonso XII monument in front of the lake as well as the rose garden on the south-most part of the park. I'm not sure if there are going to be any roses in winter, but at least it is beautiful in summer.

Monumento Alfonso XII

Rose Garden

Madrid is an awesome city to explore. You can also go to Toledo, a medieval city not too far from Madrid. A day trip is possible. I will cover Toledo in my next post :)

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