Sunny Side Up One Last Time in Madrid and Toledo

Toledo

Toledo, a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage, is most impressive from a distance so that you can see everything.

This old city is located on a mountain top, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Tagus River, and contains many historical buildings.

Several cities had these sun shades on the main pedestrian avenues.

Side entrance to the Cathedral – it is limited viewing but free to go in.

View inside the cathedral from the side entrance.

So many stores that are selling swords- all kinds of swords and knives.

Witches are also a big deal here. The Spanish Inquision was not kind.

Don Quixote de la Mancha begins in Toledo so his image is common.

Luckily for pedestrians, there are escalators up and down from the sites to the coaches. And luckily they all worked.

Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid was built by the Spanish Royal Family, showing the
magnificent and splendid former empire and its historical grandeur.

The street leads to the chocolate shops- hot chocolate with churros that is.

Then I went to Puerta del Sol, a public square in Madrid. Descriptions say you can find the Km 0 square tile on the pavement, which represents Puerta del Sol, the center of the radial network of Spanish roads but I didn’t actually see it.

I just love the statues and details near the roofs of the buildings.

Madrid was crazy crowded and I found the prices to be the most expensive of any city I visited. I needed to pick up a couple of things to join the Camino after thois and needed to go to a store. It was insanely busy and change room lines were so long. A quick trip and then moving on to another more resonably priced city is ideal.

Chasing Summer –