The Trip: Day 2

I have fulfiled a childhood dream. When I was a kid I used to love reading atlases and almanacs--the kind they make for kids with lots of pictures of what life is like in whatever country you´re reading about. Anyway, in the mid eighties, the new thing in Europe was the bullet train. Propelled by electricity it could travel at speeds in excess of 120 mph. I always wanted to ride in one. Now I have. They move pretty quick. Though now I want to ride in the ones that use magnets to travel in excess of 200 mph.

We went to Toledo. For those of you versed in literature and history, Toledo was long renowned for its steel armor and blades. Consequently every tourist shop there has a wide selection of swords and daggers. The city is built on a hill, so anywhere you want to go is uphill. It´s fortress was one of the most impregnable in Spain.

It was the capital of Visgothic Spain and is currently celebrating 1400th anneversary of the conversion of the Visgoths to Christianity (imagining the 1400th annaversary of anything is staggering). As with most premodern mass conversions it was accomplished by the gift of a mantle to a humble peasant by the Blessed Virgin.

The cathedral is one of the more magnificent that I have witnessed in my travels. Completed in the late 1400´s after 250 years (again, a 250 year building project is staggering) it is an outstanding example of late Gothic architecture. Gold presumably from Mexico is everywhere. The sacristry has a great collection of art including El Greco, Rubens, Carrvaggio, van Dyke, Titian and others.

Enough history...we had a great time. I am reminded of Mark Twain in the Innocents Abroad, or the Americans in Henry James´work, travelling around with their Badekers (sp?) The modern American tourist can´t go anywhere without a guidebook to explain everything. We traveled to Toledo with Angie, Adrienne´s high school friend who is staying with us, and Michael and his sister Adrienne, a friend of ours from Tucson who met up with us for the day. They are all great utilizers of Rick Steves, apparently the authoritative source for touring today. I personally prefer the Lonely Planet, which is light on explanation and description, and restricts itself to suggestions of where to stay and what to see. I see it everywhere I go in Europe--American tourists, nose in a book walking around great cathedrals and monuments, afraid to miss something worth reading about.

As we aproached Toledo, a relatively small town I could count no fewer than 20-30 cranes--the big construction site type, like giant crosses, though slightly off-center. Obscuring even the cathedral they presented an interesting contrast betwen the religion of yesterday and that of today.

More later...