Toledo

After a very short week in Madrid, Matt and I took off again, this time for Toledo. Most people spend a day in Toledo, but not us. We decided to spend 4 whole days there. I think we saw just about everything there was to see!
Back when I was 15, I spent a day in Toledo and fell in love. It's narrow streets and medieval feel fascinated me. I'd been waiting eagerly for 13 years to return. This time, well, this time I did not fall so deeply in love. Don't get me wrong, it's still a beautiful city with a fascinating history, but this time it was CHOCK FULL of tourists. I felt like I was in Disneyland. Matt, however, had a great time, so I will stop my bitching here.
Highlights of Toledo:
• Partridge: Do we even have partridge in the U.S? It's a specialty of Toledo, so we had it a number of times. It's a bit try and tastes like chicken, but I liked it.
• Marzipan: Another delicacy of Toledo. When I was little, I hated marzipan, but now I think it's delicious. I think we ate it everyday.
• La Catedral: I think I've been to the cathedral of every city I've visited in Spain (except Madrid!). They're all impressive and they're all starting to look alike. What stood out for me at Toledo's catedral was when we went to the mozarabic mass. Matt had read up on this mass, which dates back to the Visigoths and has not changed since then. It's still held in Latin. It was really neat to observe.
• El Museo Sefardí: Set up in one of the few remaining synagogues in the city, this museum covers the history of Jews in Spain. I've been learning a lot about this in my lit class as well, oddly enough. As you all probably know, Spain was home simultaneously to Christians, Jews, and Muslims for centuries before the Catholics kicked everyone out, and Toledo is a city representative of all three cultures. Fun fact: Did you know that in 1492, Columbus not only sailed the ocean blue, but also Ferdinand and Isabela expelled all the Jews from Spain and defeated the Moors? Big year. Also Columbus was able to take off because his trip was financed with money taken from the Jews.
• Speaking of Ferdinand and Isa, there's disagreement over the truth of their relationship. The common story is that, against their parents' will, they fell in love and married, thus uniting their kingdoms and Spain. Their motto, "tanto monta, monta tanto" represents their equal power as king and queen. However, an opposing theory is that their marriage was purely political, and that they basically faked their love for each other as a form of propaganda. The first story is certainly sweeter, but the second makes me feel ok for hating them since they screwed over the Jews and Moors.
Once again, a great weekend, and the last one we had before Matt had to head back to India.