El Greco's "View of Toledo" has haunted me ever since I first saw it in 1971 on a college art assignment to NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art. With a few days of Madrid under our belts we're back in the vagabonding groove and it's time to see Toledo in person. Only 30 minutes south of Madrid, Toledo is a perfect outing for day-trippers but spending a couple of nights here gave us a chance to see the UNESCO World Heritage site in the early morning and late afternoon without the crowds.
Maps are plentiful, colorful and mostly useless
Toledo has been, varously, a regional hub of the Roman Empire, a (sometimes) safe haven for Jews, a Moorish center and the first capital of a united Spain. It sits atop a hill horseshoed by the Tajo River, reminiscent of the hill towns of Tuscany. The streets are narrow and winding, a maze of lanes waiting to swallow up visitors. Everywhere people look quizically at their maps, fully aware that they will soon get lost. Wandering aimlessly eventually brings you to your destination. Or someplace equally interesting. That's just one of the joys of Toledo.
Even the few cars in the historic center are too many. When our taxi met another coming in the opposite direction, more cars piled behind, trapping us. So we had to bag-drag the last 50 meters to Hostal Palacios. And of course we got lost!
