Holy Toledo

Holy Toledo, an expression used by Robin of Batman and Robin fame, has nothing to do with Toledo in Spain, but more on that later.

It’s an early start to our final day in Seville. We have several hours of train travel ahead of us. We’re out of the Airbnb by 8 a.m. and at the train station by 8:30. Breakfast and coffee at a station café, then some time spent figuring out which of the 15 platforms our train will leave from. There is an airport-style security gate to get through, then it’s on to the platform to find our carriage and seats on the high-speed train, and we are away. It’s a few hours to Madrid, with an hour waiting at Madrid train station, then 25 minutes to Toledo. On the train, Robyn googles the origin of the term "Holy Toledo," which relates to an agreement between organized crime and the police in Toledo, Ohio.

We arrive in Toledo around 2 p.m. and get a taxi into the old walled city of Toledo, once the capital of Spain. The taxi drops us at a corner because our street, like many in the old town, is too narrow for cars. The old town of

Toledo is high up on a hill on a tight peninsula of the Tagus River—a very defensive position for a walled city. It’s a maze of narrow laneways running between two- to three-story buildings, mosques, and churches. It extends only 1 or 2 kilometers in any direction. While walking on any of the slightly wider streets, everyone jumps into the nearest doorway or recess at the sound of an approaching vehicle on the cobblestone street. Cars drive with their wing mirrors folded in, and there is barely a vehicle without side damage.

We only have two nights here and spend all our time exploring as many laneways as possible. We walk across the city, around the walls of the city, and from the western gateway to the eastern gateway. During the day, it’s packed with day visitors from Madrid, but at night, it’s very quiet, and the streets are almost deserted. While Seville is flat, Toledo is undulating. The weather in Seville was perfect, with daily highs around 24°C, but Toledo, at 500 meters above sea level and at the top of a hill, is relatively chilly.

The history of Toledo spans the Visigoths, Romans, Moors, Jews, and Christians, all omnipresent in the built form of the city. While there is a Jewish quarter and synagogue, these are only historic as there hasn’t been a Jewish population here since 1482. This is also where Don Quixote started his adventure and, for a time, the home of his author, Miguel de Cervantes. There are references to Don Quixote all through the town, with his image on almost all types of merchandise and a statue of Miguel de Cervantes at the main gate.

On our final evening, we joined a city walking tour with a group of about 12

people. The morning and midday tours have groups of up to 20 or 30 due to the number of day-trippers. While the crash course in the history of Toledo was fascinating, we had already discovered most of the sites on our own extensive walks.

It’s a very short visit to Toledo, and we spend little time in our Airbnb. We’re pleased to experience the free tapas with each drink order at many venues. While we enjoyed that on our last visit to Spain nine years ago, it was missing during our time in Seville. Our culinary experiences varied from the typical tapas bars to the Cheese Museum close to our Airbnb, where for 7 Euros, we enjoyed a great selection of local sheep cheeses ranging in age from 1 to 3 years, paired with a glass of local red. Our favourite was the older of the 3 cheeses.

Our time in Toledo disappears as quickly as the red wine we enjoy with tapas, and suddenly we’re on a train rocketing toward Madrid. Our adventure is nearing its end.