DAY 3: TOLEDO.

My roommate, Sarah, and I woke up to a wonderful Saturday morning breakfast buffet at N.H. I've been getting "Macedonia" flavored yogurt, a peach, strawberry, orange, and banana blend; with dried fruit, nuts, goji berries, and granola. I already know I will miss this breakfast back in the states!

so yummy!

Soon we head across the street with our mountains of luggage to get on he bus and drive less than an hour to Toledo. Our tour of Toledo begins with another "panorámico" with a few stops at look out points along the way.

The city is breathtaking. While Madrid could be compared to most large cities with a mix of historical and modern, the city of Toledo is filled with cobblestone streets and old buildings.

Eventually we get off the bus for a waking tour of the town.

A smart-car - sports-car. Very fancy!

Our tour guide takes us through the streets to la iglesia San Juan de los Reyes.

they have the coolest doors in Spain!

After seeing the outside of the church we wander into a beautiful courtyard where are guide tells us the orange tree is over a thousand years old.

I love how intricate everything is in Spain-such attention to detail.  Here the light from the windows cast a nice shape on the walls.

the orange tree older than time itself :)

no editing on this photo--i think it is so beautiful!

We then see the inside which is just as grand as the outside.

i loved the floor!

I know by the end of the trip I will be sick of touring churches, but as this was the first one I went all out on the photos.  I suppose they are a dime a dozen in Europe, but they still are amazing.

Along the way I spot a sign indicating part of our route was Don Quixote's in Cervantes novel. Another interesting find is menorah tiles scatter throughout the cobblestone streets of the city, indicating the Jewish history.

Next, we head over to the remains of the Jewish temple. There isn't much to see here because, if I understood our guide correctly, the temple was destroyed and some of it has been remade cheaply to preserve the history.

We also stop in an art museum to see El Grecco's El entierro del Conde de Orgaz or the Burial of the Count of Organz.  I am always running into the most beautiful doors here.  I am sure I will have a collection of a few hundred by the end of the trip!

We also see the outside of the Cathedral de Santa Maria de Toledo. The best part is seeing families dressed to the nines leaving the cathedral. Most of the women have on very high stiletto heels, although I've been struggling to manage the cobblestone in a pair of flat boots.

Our guide takes us to the main city square and leaves us in front of a McDonald's with the recommendation that we eat anywhere but. Madison and I walk down one of the side streets and find ourselves at a cafe with "el menu de la dia," where we choose a first course, second course, drink, and dessert for 10 euro.

madison and her sangria, with the first curly straw weve seen since weve been in spain! 

blogger and a photographer together.. could be dangerous!

i liked the mix of graffiti and advertisement on the building next to our restaurant. 

Afterwards, we explored the city. Just about every street looks like this.  It is kind of like being in a dream.

 Around four in the afternoon we headed to the hotel.  With all the graphic hotel signs around, I've gotten into the habit of taking photos of hotel signs.

Hotel Beatriz must have been quite the resort in the 80s. We had a few hours to relax before three hours of meetings over academics, homestay, and ISA policy.

View from the hotel room.

I took a cab back into Toledo for dinner and to see the city at night. Madison and I were so hungry we ended up choosing a place with only average food. We tried out first paella...it was alright.  We need to find a place with the best though!  It is going to be a challenge to get used to a light breakfast and dinner, and heavy lunch, all at a later hour with no snacks in between!

We walked back past the city square to a lookout point to see the building lights at night. On our walk we saw groups of young people drinking in the street, straight from hard alcohol and fanta bottles, and a fight between two young men. Saturday night in Toledo!

We grabbed a taxi back to the hotel around midnight.

Here's my video summing up the views of the day!