Spain....."La Madre Patria"

Spain..!!   A country full of history and culture.....and a plethora of things to do, see and enjoy.

I arrived early Saturday on the 4th of July ....no signs of Independence day here of course but no lack of celebrations in the city nonetheless.

Plaza Major , which is point zero for Madrid....has 8 different roads leading to this center circle point which is a very big meeting point for many "Madrileños".

Although the city has its old neighborhood called "Old Madrid",  what impressed me the most of the city is its many squares and wide avenues and streets such as the "Gran Via" and "El Paseo del Prado". Madrid was established by the Arabs when the Muslim culture ruled the country and  you can still see much influence of it still to this day in the architecture, food, music and names of the cities and towns.

it is a city of contradictions...old world and its tradition and new world  open mind thinking  and state of the art technology. A wonderful combination.

Sunday we spent the morning and early afternoon in Toledo. About an hour south of Madrid , it is known for the place that the best swords were made because of its steel production. Toledo is one of the oldest cities in Spain established in the 5th century by its Jewish inhabitants.

 

The original city is walled in and still feels like you are transported back to the early 15th century.  Toledo used to be the capital of Spain until about the mid 1500s and then Madrid became the capital. Toledo also had a unique history due to "La Conviviencia", i.e. the co-existence of Jews, Christians  and Muslims until the late 1400s when the Moors were expelled from Spain by the "reconquista"....yep the Christians....when they finally took back Spain from the Islamic Arabs after an 800 year war....Wow!,,,now that's perseverance!!

So here in Toledo you will find a beautiful Cathedral,

a simple but unique synagogue with Hebrew and Arabic writings,  and the intricate and stunning Mosque in very close proximity to each other.

Truly a beautiful city and so much history,,,,,,Tomorrow Cordoba!!

Ciao!
Redheaded Lady