Last Moments in Madrid and First Moments in Toledo

Alex was up early (4:30 anyone?!?) and so we were up and getting ready around 6. Since we were leaving later in the day we opted to pack up and check out early. The Marriott would store our bags all day, so this way we figured all we had to do was talk to a porter to get our bags when we were ready to head to the train station versus having to be back at noon to check out. By 8:00 am we were back on the streets off to catch the last few sights of the city.

First up was breakfast. This time Tim found a great place that had all locals in it, and ones who looked like they came in every day for “the usual”. Young and old alike. The waiter was a sweet older gentleman who was very patient as we tried to determine what we wanted. In the end it was cappuccinos for Tim and Michelle, orange juice for Alex and Spanish tortillas of various flavors for all of us. Spanish tortillas are not at all like the tortillas we have at home. They are eggs, onions, cheese and potatoes mixed together and fried. If you have no other ingredients then it tastes like potatoes au gratin. Michelle had the original, Alex had added ham and Tim had added chorizo. All of us enjoyed our selections.

After breakfast we made our way over to the Egyptian temple. Apparently at some point in history the Spanish helped the Egyptians defend part of their territory and in thanks the Egyptians gave the Spanish one of their temples. So there it is, in the middle of Madrid, an Egyptian temple. Unfortunately it was closed on Monday’s, and since there was a healthy gate and a literal guard presence we couldn’t even peek through the windows. There is always next time, right?

Second on the list was to show Alex the palace and the cathedral. Since Tim and Michelle have been in these before, and we know the patience of our kiddo stacked against a long waiting line and even longer time on his feet, we opted to just see it from the outside. In all honesty, at his age we are just thinking exposure. He won’t remember details of this trip, but if he remembers the size and scale of things, and that there are different ways of living life, then that is enough for us.

After our quick exterior look at the palace, the garden and the cathedral we headed over to a restaurant for quick kebabs and pizza and were on our way back to the hotel. We collected bags and made our way through a crowded metro to get to the train station.

We had not bought tickets the day before as we just wanted to check on seat availability. Only 2 of the 12 trains were sold out for the day so we were not worried about getting tickets,  it was just a matter of when. We went back to the kiosks to buy them and realized all of the kiosks had been turned into contactless ones since our last visit in 2009. That means there is not place to insert your credit card, you have to have a contactless method of payment (like ApplePay). So these luddites treked there way to the very long ticket line. In front of us were two older ladies who were also going to Toledo. They were not sure they were in the right line. Tim assured them they were. After they finished purchasing their tickets for the next train (leaving in 30 min) it was our turn. And guess what. There were only two seats left on the train leaving in 30 min. But there were some for the train leaving in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Glad for the other ladies, but wondering how we would entertain Alex for 90 minutes in a train station, we plunked down our money and headed to security. We made sure to purchase our return tickets at the same time so we could be certain we were able to get back for our flight!

The train to Toledo was a fast one and we were there in 35 minutes. Trains are funny things. There is something cold and hard in the way they are designed, but once they start moving their rhythmic rocking is hard to resist. It almost feels like being held by your mother as a baby and gently rocked to sleep. Tim was out in 5 min, Alex lasted 15 and Michelle was the last one to go with about 10 minutes until we arrived in Toledo. The nice thing was, about half the coach we were in was already
asleep by the time Michelle finally nodded off. We are not alone. :)

We arrived and determined that we would only save around 40 cents if we took the busses into town versus a taxi. We hailed a taxi (Alex’s first!) which zipped us up the hill with alarmingly fast speed. Our hotel was located easily and once we checked in we were on the hunt for some good food. The hotel clerk had some good recommendations and we were excited to work our way through the list.

The thing about towns like Toledo that we love is that half of the fun is to get lost and then find yourself and then get lost again. The curving winding streets that split off in multiple directions are so fun. It is like a secret maze where you ever know what is around the next corner. We learned that this kind of development was also a defensive measure. It is much harder to invade a city if the invaders don’t know where to go and you can hide around various corners. Toledo is pretty manageable and fun. Venice, which is also like this, is a bit crazy. In Venice you could loose yourself and never be found!

We had some great tapas at one of the recommended restaurants, grabbed Alex his first helado and were on our way back to the room. Both boys crashed out quickly and Michelle was fast to follow. We are excited to have three full days in Toledo to really dive into the city and see all it has to offer.