Toledo

Now I know why people use "Holy Toledo!" as an exclamation. The place is incredible. It's just a day trip from Madrid, so lots of tourists. You know what luxury is? It's being driven to incredible places in a car with friends, rather than taking a bus with hordes of other tourists. Ahhhh!  Juan got us all the audio guides to the cathedral, and wow, I learned so much!  I think I'll always get the audio guide from now on. All this time, I've been wandering around these gothic cathedrals in ignorance, just admiring the scale of the beauty, oblivious to the intricacies of the history.

Scott loves to find a ray of light to take pictures in. I think he got it from that one picture my dad took of my mom in Rome. Doesn't Juan look stately?

Being Holy Week, all the cathedrals had their procession floats on display inside. Each cathedral has a certain time and theme for their procession.

Every single street is a quaint little mystery.

The grandeur is staggering.

I love that these kids love this stuff, or at least have a knowledge and appreciation for it. When Ruby and Golda met Victor in Paris for a week with no adult supervision, I was proud of them for hitting so many museums. They've been taught well.

Oh, and the art!! El Greco lived here in Toledo. He is one of my favorite Spanish artists, and now I have an even bigger appreciation for him.

Sofia gave us a guided tour through some of the ancient ruins while Juan took Victor to the train station. One of us had to take the train to Toledo (Sofia) and one from there to Badajoz, since we could only fit 5 in the car. It's hard to describe how incredible it was to see all of these historical buildings, ruins, etc. On our travels around Extramadura with Juan as our knowledgable guide, we really started to develop a sense of the history of the area, and it is rich. The week before we went to Spain, I had taken the kids to the Pueblo Indian ruins at Mesa Verde. Some of the things we saw in Spain were from the same time period. Indeed, some structures that are still in use today are from the 1100's. The United States is such a newborn baby. We have virtually no known history on our own soil, compared to other parts of the world, and only a page in the books as the United States, comparatively speaking.

When we arrived at Sonia's house in Badajoz, she had a wonderful dinner prepared for us. At home, we are terrible at sitting down to dinner, as are most Americans. I'll try to take the time to do that more often, but it's easier said than done. In Spain, it seems so natural to sit and eat. At home, it's more natural to eat an apple or a cheeseburger in the car on the way to whatever pressing thing is next. It's sad. Needless to say, we very much enjoyed every meal in Spain, where they really know how to treat and enjoy food.