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Toledo
Alyssa, Mathilde (right), and I got up early in the morning in order to be at the Chamartin
train station in northern Madrid (tower at the train station
pictured below).
 I enjoyed looking at the countryside during our short hour and a half ride. The train station alone looked like a masterpiece. I was really excited to be back.
 < main gate of Toledo
When I visited Toledo in March of 2001 it was really fast paced, so I really didn't get to enjoy it. Toledo is a city worth visiting. Mathilde, my roommate and friend from France, went crazy taking pictures. Alyssa, my fellow API member and friend, and I laughed and made jokes about her, but with her knowledge of course! Mathilde knows no English so Alyssa and I spoke only Spanish to her. So you can probably imagine how we funny we looked to locals with our half-Spanish half-charades communication.
 We chose a great day to visit. A lot of the museums were free, which was more than alright with us. Unfortuately, the Museo del Ejercito (El Alcazar) was closed. The alcazar is Toledo's most visible and awe inspiring monument
(above). We paid to go inside the cathedral which was well worth it. It is truly breathtaking, as are, many cathedrals in Spain.
< Alyssa & Danny
We had fun going down the narrow and winding roads. It is really easy for tourists to get lost in these tricky labyrinths, but we surprisingly knew our location at all times.
When one thinks of Toledo it is impossible to not have El Greco in mind. El Greco made Toledo his home and painted very well known masterpieces of the city. One of his most recognized paintings, El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz (The Burial of the Count of Orgaz), is located inside the small church of Santo Tome. It is my favorite Greco painting so I didn't hestitate when Alyssa and Mathilde asked me if I wanted to see it again. We had a great time in historical Toledo. I enjoyed not having a big group. It was really cool just being the three of us.
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