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Saturday, August 9 - Madrid & Toledo
We left a wake up call for 8 am. They called and we promptly went back to sleep! Marcus knocked on our door at 8:30 and we scurried to get ready. We grabbed coffee, OJ (fresh squeezed and delicious) and bread and boarded our tour bus. One immediate problem: Elliot is burning up and is complaining of a stomachache. On the bus he has to throw up in a garbage bag. We arrived at the central tour office where we divided into the various tours. Where are our tickets? Harvey thought he'd given them to the tour operator, but no. He was sure he gave them to Nancy, but again no. They call the hotel, and voila! He'd left them at breakfast! No problem - they confirm that we'd paid for the tour, and they let us on the bus! On the way to Toledo we see an old baroque bridge (still in Madrid) more beautiful than your average museum. The bus stopped outside Toledo for drinks and bathrooms. What a tourist trap! Every Spanish tchochkey you can imagine at Spain's most inflated prices. Reminded us all of South of the Border! Unfortunately, Elliot was sick the entire day in Toledo, and our tour was primarily walking through the old city. But he was a trooper the whole day, struggling to keep up. Toledo was magnificent. The main cathedral was unlike any we'd ever seen. Original paintings by Tissian and Greco, carved alabaster, marble and wood, vaulted ceilings and rose windows. We saw the oldest synagogue in Spain built in the 1100's, which became a church in 1492 when they expelled, forcibly converted or killed all the Jews. It has been a museum for decades now, but there is no visible evidence that it used to be a synagogue. In fact, there is a cross above the area where a bimah would have once been. Disappointing that they didn't make more of an effort to recreate what was probably once splendor. The Franciscan monastery was another highlight with an altar that housed a gold receptacle that looked for all the world like it could hold a Sephardic Torah! Not likely, however. Coming out of a little museum that showed us a movie of the history of Spain, Jacob missed the step down and fell, scraping his right knee, arm and hand. With help and supplies from the attendants, Nancy bandaged his knee. He continued to keep up, with the exception of the damascene workshop and store where he stayed on the bus with a depleted Elliot. Nancy managed to buy a couple of souvenir gifts at the damascene shop. We got back on the tour bus and headed for lunch at Cigarral Monterrey. Great lunch made to order for Jacob: hard crusted bread, vegetable soup, roasted chicken quarter with French fries (okay, he didn't eat the fries) and fruit cup with a tiny dollop of ice cream for dessert. During lunch we were serenaded by a group of 4 men dressed in ridiculous Spanish medieval dress, but the music was enjoyable (except for Elliot who wished they would just shut up and leave him alone). Back to the bus for our return trip to Madrid. Marcus wanted to take some pictures during our ride back. No problem! Oh, yes, problem. He realized that he took 2 pictures with the lens cap on. He then decided that he should delete the 2 pictures. Couldn't quite figure out how to do it; but in the process, he accidentally ERASED ALL THE PICTURES that we'd taken up to that point. So, now you know why we have no pictures of our walk around Madrid, the flamenco dancers, or Toledo. We'll start over tonight! At least Elliot has started to feel better, which is good news indeed. Now if we can just get the hotel staff to open the safe in our room, since the combination that Nancy thought she'd entered is clearly NOT opening the safe! Dinner at the Ritz' restaurant called Goya, on the terrace. We sat down at 9 pm, and it was finally beginning to cool off. The service was some of the finest we'd ever experienced anywhere. When Jacob had spilled a little food on his shirt, one of the waiters was quick with stain remover spray! But this service came at quite a price - OY! We went back to the hotel to get a really good night's sleep. |
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