Nancy, Ellen, and I did a daytrip to Toledo. We took the high speed train, as it takes 30 minutes, vs. 90 on the bus. It was another whirlwind, but would like to go back sometime. We didn’t get to see many of the panoramas from a distance for which Toledo is famous. It’s also famous for its swords. There is plenty of evidence of swordsmithing still there, however they have transferred it into knife-making.
One cannot speak of Toledo without talking about El Greco, or as the say here, just “Greco.” By the way, he died almost destitute. Apparently he had quite an ego, and when not willing to follow the party (king and pope) line, he didn’t get the big contracts. It wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th century that the impressionists and expressionists started digging him that his reputation was refurbished.
He is a major presence in Toledo. We say some of his masterworks, and went to the Casa de Greco. Even though the latter wasn’t particularly well-received on Lonely Planet, we all liked it quite a bit. A rich local count redid what he thought was his house in the early 1900’s. They restored it in a way that would lead one to imagine what is was like when El Greco lived there. As it turns out, he never did, but the museum established a new methodology for presenting art. It also put Toledo on the tourist map.
I loved Toledo and studied El Greco while I lived in Madrid. Toledo is also where I discovered Cointreau!
You are making me so aware of the wealth of history extant in the world. And the youthfulness of our own country! Mom