March 23, 2017: Holy Toledo!

What a difference a day makes - this morning we awoke to bright sunshine.  This is the sunny Spain we were expecting.

After breakfast we took a taxi into the heart of Toledo, Plaza Zocodover, for a day of sightseeing.  The sun felt warm, but the wind still had a sharp chill, so I wore my winter coat and John took along a rain jacket and umbrella - just in case.  Seemed like overkill, but we might as well be prepared in case a shower came along.

Good thing we did -

Those aren't spots on the camera lens - that's snow falling as we enjoy an outdoor lunch on the plaza. Yes, we have officially brought the lousy Oregon winter along.  You'll notice the two diners in the photo staring out at the snowflakes - that's what everyone was doing.  It never snows in Toledo!

When we were seated next to the propane heater, I thought it might be too warm.  Silly me!

But before lunch we visited the military museum - not usually something we'd make a point to see, but Rick Steves (our trusted guide) said it was a good way to get a sense of Toledo's rich history - and it was. It's only been open since 2010, and the multitude of artifacts are grouped into theme areas - this made it easier to pick and choose what to see.

My personal favorite was a very recently restored 500 or 600 year old battle tent:

 

The entire surface is embroidered - here's one panel:

 

The weather began to go south while we were in the museum - it was decidedly chillier as we enjoyed the view from the museum garden -

 

The brief snow shower wasn't the high point of the day.  This was -

If you ever wondered what happened to all that gold the Spaniards plundered from the New World, be sure to visit the cathedral in Toledo - question answered.  This 10 foot tall monstrance (a tower designed to hold the Holy Communion wafer as it's paraded through the streets during the Feast of Corpus Christi)  contains 400 pounds of gold-plated silver, and the inner part is made of 35 pounds of pure gold.  

And here's where more of it wound up:

That's pure gold over wood decorating the cathedral's high altar.  But it isn't just the gold and silver that makes the cathedral such a jaw-dropper - everywhere we looked we were overwhelmed - this magnificent sculpture is found on the back side of the high altar:

Click on the photo below to see the trim beneath the gold leaf ceiling of the Chapter House - this is the unique gold-etched-on-black design that Toledo is famous for.  It's found on jewelry and decorative plates everywhere here.

Toledo Cathedral is immense - as long as any other, and far wider since it was originally a mosque dating from the Moorish period.  I took this picture of John standing by a pillar to get a sense of the scale - it isn't often that John looks dwarfed -

 

We finished up our day of sightseeing with a bus tour of the city - we got a little more historical background and a welcome relief for our tired feet - we had logged far more than our daily 10,000 steps going up and down Toledo's steep streets -