Our fourth excursion took us to the blisteringly-hot Toledo: 95 degrees! Our tour of the city began with a bus ride around the exterior of the city, showcasing Toledo’s views, which fascinated the group. Next, we toured the city on foot, visiting the exterior of the Toledo Cathedral, the Plaza Principal, and the Museos de Castilla-La Mancha among other historical sites. Following the tour, we had some free time to check out the city. We chose to spend our free time enjoying the longest zip line in all of Europe, while others explored the stores, ate in the restaurants, and some decided to get a fish pedicure. We returned around nine for a dinner of salmorejo (a cold Spanish soup) and roasted pork loin, with ice cream for desert, concluding our first day. The second day began early with breakfast at 8:30am, followed by a visit to the interior of the Toledo Cathedral. The entire group was shocked with the magnitude and intricacy of the Cathedral’s decorations. During the visit our professor Luis filled us in on the historical and religious significance of each piece of art. Next, we visited the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz, an ancient mosque repurposed by Christians following their re-conquering of the city. Our time in Toledo concluded with some free time to browse Toledo’s many shops. También, ¡tenemos el blog en español!
Nuestra cuarta excursión nos trajo a la ciudad calurosa de Toledo donde la temperatura llegó hasta 95 grados Fahrenheit. Nuestra visita de la ciudad empezó con un aventón alrededor de la ciudad que mostró las bonitas vistas de Toledo que al grupo le fascinó. Luego, andamos por la ciudad y visitamos el exterior de la Catedral de Toledo, la Plaza Principal, y los Museos de Castilla-La Mancha, entre otros sitios históricos. Después del recorrido, tuvimos un rato de tiempo libre para ver la ciudad. Elegimos pasar nuestro tiempo disfrutando la tirolina más larga de Europa, mientras otros miembros de nuestro grupo fueron de compras en las tiendas, comieron en restaurantes de la ciudad y algunos recibieron una pedicura por peces. Volvimos al hotel a las nueve para comer gazpacho y cerdo, con helado por postre, concluyendo nuestro primer día. El día segundo empezó temprano con desayuno a las ocho y media, seguido por una visita al interior de la Catedral de Toledo. El grupo entero se sorprendió por la magnitud y la intrincación de las decoraciones de la Catedral. Durante la visita, nuestro profesor Luis nos contó sobre la historia y significados religiosos de cada pieza de arte. Luego, visitamos la Mezquita de Cristo de la Luz, una mezquita antigua que fue reutilizada por los cristianos después de reconquistar la ciudad. Nuestro tiempo en Toledo concluyó con un rato para ojear las muchas tiendas de Toledo.
21 Comments
Courtney King
5/28/2017 03:16:41 pm
This short trip to Toledo was awesome! Despite the fact that it was super hot we were all able to have a good time seeing a different part of Spain. My favorite part had to be doing the fish pedicure. It was a very interesting experience and it tickled a lot! A close second to the pedicure would have to be the meals that we ate while there. I don't think I've had a bad meal yet!
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Fernando Gorrin-Rivas
5/29/2017 06:12:47 am
Toledo is such a beautiful and historic city. Even though the temperatures went up to around 95 F that weekend, strolling through the ancient city was quite an experience. This trip was also the first time we got to spend a night during an excursion. The food at the hotel was exceptional as always! My favorite part of this trip was the zip-line over the river. The zip-line offered breathtaking views of the famous river and it was loads of fun!
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Jason Coggins
5/29/2017 06:22:41 am
Although Toledo isn't much latger than Segovia, it definitely had a much stronger tourist feel to it. It was pretty hot, but luckily many of the streets had cloth awnings to provide shade. My favorite part was definitely the tour of the cathedral. The cathedral was enormous with thousands of ornate carvings on the interior. The fish pedicure was a close second though.
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Joselyn Barrientos
5/29/2017 06:35:24 am
I really enjoyed our trip to Toledo!! The views when we first arrived were incredible. Though it was very hot, the "toldos" provided us with shade! The hotel we stayed in was so nice and it was fun being across the hall from friends. The cathedral was beautiful and I was amazed by the detail that they put into everything. My favorite part was definitely the fish pedicure, though my face in the picture says otherwise!
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Garrett Selden
5/29/2017 07:33:10 am
The Cathedral in Toledo is beautiful I am so glad that we got to visit it, the amount of detail in every part of the cathedral is incredible. No two chairs are the same. I also enjoyed going on the longest zipline in Europe even though there is one in Charlotte that is bigger, it was still fun. I was very surprised to see that a lot of the stores had so many swords and knives that were hand crafted, so I obviously had to buy at least a knife. But my favorite part had to be how many times we almost got run over by cars.
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Colleen Carroll
5/29/2017 08:29:05 am
I had an absolute blast in Toledo! As Luis taught us in class, Toledo has a rich history of religion and it was really cool to see how Christianity, Islam, and Judaism helped shape this town. My favorite part was most definitely the Cathedral visit. The Cathedral was very ornate and the pulpit was completely covered in gold! Also, I really enjoyed the salmorejo and the lomo! It was delicious!
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Nick Chisholm
5/29/2017 09:24:25 am
I really enjoyed the trip to Toledo. Despite the blistering heat, the views of the city were incredible! The hotel was very antique, and had some pretty cool accommodations. The blend of the three cultures was very interesting to see, and the sword that I bought there might be the highlight of my trip so far! I wish we had gotten to spend some more time there, but maybe I'll get to return in the future.
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Madeleine Ciszewski
5/29/2017 09:25:52 am
Toledo was a blast! The city alone had amazing architecture and beautiful views. I think it is so cool that they built an escalator to go inside of the mountain; hopefully there are no earthquakes :/. We found a sweet bar with delicious craft beer to get out of the heat. My favorite tour was of the cathedral; it had amazing stained glass and woodwork. Truly stunning!
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Jewel Wasson
5/29/2017 09:35:12 am
I was definitely suffering walking up las colinas in the heat, but Toledo was awesome! I have never seen such intricate sculpture work as the art in the cathedral, and I'm so happy we visited. The best part of Toledo was definitely the fish pedicure though. Only 10 euros which is way less than a pedicure in the US!
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Brittney
5/29/2017 09:42:46 am
I have to admit, Toledo was not a city that was on my radar before this trip or one of my must see's. I'm really glad McConnell took us here because it was definitely a city worth seeing. I loved the history behind the city, and the small streets made the city unique and special. Also, I am glad that we went to the cathedral because it was one of the most beautifully designed and decorated one that I've seen. During our free time, we tried a fish pedicure, which was an interesting experience that I'm not sure I would try again...
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Ben Laramee
5/29/2017 09:48:36 am
My favorite part of Toledo by far was the Cathedral. It's amazing to think that it took 200 years to build, and the artistry incorporated into every inch of the building is breath-taking. I really wish we could have heard the organs play...I'm sure it would have been incredible. The most astonishing piece of art was the giant gold, silver, and jeweled piece with the unbelievably detailed etchings and figures. It's crazy to think that it was made with some of the first gold discovered in the Americas! This was definitely a highlight of the trip!
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Andrew Morrison
5/29/2017 10:02:48 am
Spending the night in Toledo was one of my favorite excursions so far! We visited several religious sites like centuries-old synagogues, mosques and of course the Cathedral of Toledo! The Cathedral was absolutely beautiful, with such intricate works in the paintings, sculptures, the ceiling and of course the monstrance. I was really happy to have visited this city and would certainly go back again!
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Supriya Caton
5/29/2017 10:15:42 am
Toledo was very hot but so beautiful! One of my favorite excursions so far! The hotel we stayed at was really beautiful and it was fun to hangout with everyone in the hotel. The Cathedral in Toledo was absolutely stunning it did not look that big on the outside, but on the inside it was very intricate. I could not believe that many centuries ago they were able to construct some of the things they did in the Cathedral. Toledo was a really fun trip with lots of memories. :)
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Amy Houlihan
5/29/2017 10:41:47 am
Toledo was amazing! The cathedral alone was indescribable. A few of us visited a museum focused on tapestries, and the zip line was a fun way to beat the heat- along with ice cream of course! The bread with the dinner at the hotel was the best I've had so far. That is no small feat seeing as we've had bread twice a day for the past two weeks!
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Savannah Abel
5/29/2017 10:47:13 am
Like Dana and Bryan said in their posit, it was hot hot HOTTT in Toledo! But the telas (similar to sheets) hanging above the streets provided lots of shade for everyone. The most beautiful part of the city was the first view that we stopped to see. It literally took my breath away! I also went with a few friends and did the fish pedicure where the tiny little fish eat your feet, and it was really cool after I stopped freaking out about it :)
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Ryan Bartone
5/29/2017 10:50:06 am
Being in Toledo was truly an experience unlike any other, starting with the heat. It was so hot! Getting past that, I did not regret one thing I saw during my time in Toledo. Visiting the Catedral was for sure my favorite moment though. The entire time I was trying to imagine what it was like to design all of the architecture, and I still can't figure it out. I was entranced by all of the sculptures up on the ceiling of the cathedral. I also really liked visiting the synagogue. Finally, nothing beat the view of the city when we drove by the first time.
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Jash Gulabrai
5/29/2017 11:56:54 am
As the pictures illustrate, Toledo is a beautiful city. Although it is similar in size to Segovia, Toledo was certainly a more-fast paced city and had a stronger tourist presence. I was captivated by the beauty of the cathedral - the pictures don't do it enough justice! The fact that it took over 200 years to build echoes its majesty and overall complexity. It is the coolest place I have visited in Spain so far.
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Jake Marthinsen
5/30/2017 11:29:06 am
By far the best excursion yet was spending time in Toledo. The top the best things I did was play with over $1000 swords, go zip lining over a river, and who could ever forget that miraculous day when my fidget spinner was purchased! The lunch the next day was also great, I ate paella and steak. I don't think there was anything more I could have wanted out of that trip.
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Samantha Winterrowd
5/31/2017 03:46:00 am
Toledo was so hot, and we walked so much! It was really interesting to be able to see the differences in architecture and general city layout between Segovia and Toledo. Like Luis said, Toledo had a mixture of bricks and stone in all the buildings, and the streets were much narrower. It was definitely more of a tourist spot, but the zipline was so fun!
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Bailey Ambrister
6/1/2017 02:51:21 am
Toledo was genuinely one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. The view of the city from the top where we stopped the bus was so breathtaking. One of my favorite things I did there was the fish pedicures that some of us got, it was super weird but fun! And, of course, shopping! The cathedral was also so incredible. It's so hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that people actually build that in the thirteenth century. Amazing!
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Gabriella Mamlouk
6/1/2017 07:26:26 am
Even though it wasn't very far from Segovia, Toledo felt like a different world! I had always learned about Toledo as the city of three cultures- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but witnessing it in person was incredible. The diverse architecture was amazing to witness, but I'd have to say my favorite part of this trip was ziplining!
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