Walking Tour of Toledo, Spain

Having three Reconquista units pass off the painting desk in rapid succession and one more in work, thoughts of the Reconquista and Spain come to mind.  With that stimulus, my thoughts drift back to my visit to Toledo, Spain.  From the rugged landscape to the sweeping vistas, one could imagine why Toledo became such a defensible and important outpost on the frontier.

When we arrived by train from Madrid, welcoming us at the platform was the fantastic architecture of the Toledo Train Station.  Marvelous exterior and interior.   

Toledo Train Station

Toledo Train Station

Toledo Train Station - Interior

The main gate into the city is via the Bisagra Gate.  Beyond the gate is the escalator to the old city, proper.  An escalator up a mountainside?  Shocking!  

Bisagra Gate

Path leading to escalators

The old city is walled and entrance is by a scattering of gates placed along the city walls.  Walls and gates circumvent the city. 

Gate

Gate

Another Gate

Still Another Gate

Once up on the heights of Old Town, narrow, serpentine roads wind their way through the streets and back alleys of Toledo.

La Posada de Manolo,
our guesthouse

Dominating Toledo's skyline is the Alcazar.  Once an imperial residence, it now is home to the Spanish National Army Museum.  Jam-packed with displays inside, one could be lost for hours roaming the vast halls.  I did get bewildered a time or two in the maze of hallways and stairs.  A great military museum and well worth a visit.  Unfortunately, no photography allowed.

Alcazar

Across the river from the Alcazar,
the Infantry Academy

Fortunately, the Santa Cruz Museum allows photos.  Two of my favorites were El Greco's Virgin of the Immaculate Conception and the Tanner's Workshop shown below.

Santa Cruz Museum

Santa Cruz Museum

El Greco's
Virgin of the Immaculate Conception

Tanner's Workshop

The Cathedral

Wandering around Toledo, one is struck by just how well situated the location of the Toledo is.  Protected on three sides by the Tajo River and built upon rugged rock formations, Toledo presented a natural fortress even before the construction of walls and fortresses.

Looking down on the lower city walls

Toledo is a fine place to visit with great sights, worthwhile museums, great food, and welcoming Spanish hospitality.  A fine place to lose a few days!

Ronda, Spain and la Vuelta

Ronda, Old Town on bluffs of El Tajo Canyon

La Vuelta ended Wednesday's stage in the city of Ronda.  Seeing Ronda perched on the bluff with a birds' eye view from the race helicopter reminded me of my visit to this hill top town.  With dramatic vistas in every direction, Ronda is a perfect stop for a night on the journey from Sevilla to Granada.

Historically, Ronda was a Roman outpost founded by Scipio Africanus and fell to the Moors in 713.  Roman walls and bridge remain as do the Moorish structures.  Arab control ended in 1485 at the hands of the Spanish during the Reconquista.  French occupied the area during the Peninsular War and Ronda became a hotbed for guerrillas and bandits.  Today, Ronda hosts a Bandolero Museum.  The Ronda populace suffered greatly during the Spanish Civil War and many of its inhabitants left the city following the war.

Remember Hemingway's, For Whom the Bell Tolls (FWTBT)?  Hemingway spent several summers in Ronda and fell in love with bullfighting and the town, itself.  In FWTBT, a passage described the execution of a number of Nationalist sympathizers by flinging them off the high cliffs of El Tajo.  Many believe that Ronda was the inspiration for that scene.

Ronda - hotel and restaurant on the precipice

Ronda, Old Town

View of New Bridge from below
New town on left Old town on right

View of New Bridge from below

Bandolero Museum

Cliffs of El Tajo from below

View of Arab Bridge

Arab Baths

View of old city gate from Arab Bridge

Besides the fantastic views and excellent food, what do I remember about my stay in Ronda?  Well, we visited in September and the prickly pear cactus was in fruit.  Curious and tempted by the fruit, I climbed down over the retaining wall to sample a few.  Delicious, but I ended up with hundreds of threadlike stickers in my fingertips as I peeled the skin.  Even managed to get a few embedded into my tongue as well.  Ouch!  Anyway, my wife got a good laugh out of my exploit.

Fascinating place for a visit. The Tapas bars are lively and make an excellent oasis from the midday heat!

Tales of the Alhambra

Alhambra from the San Nicolas Heights

Having pushed out two stands of heavy cavalry for the Reconquista project and with a third stand of infantry on the painting desk, my thoughts returned to Granada.  Borrowing Washington Irving's catchy book title, I wanted to chronicle my stay in Granada through photos with an emphasis on the massive palace complex on the heights above the city.

Alhambra from Generalife

The Alhambra was built, added to, and rebuilt by successive conquerors with the oldest part, the Alcazaba (fortress), likely built in the 9th century.  Some suggest that this portion of the Alhambra may have been built over Roman ruins.  Even Napoleon stationed his troops here and contributed greatly to the decay and destruction of parts of the fortress.

Alcazaba from Generalife

Alcazaba

Arms Square

Alcazaba with Arms Square

Granada Cathedral from Alcazaba

Watchtowers of Alhambra

Watchtowers of Alhambra Overlooking Valley

Garden along rampart

After defeating the Moors at Granada, King Charles V built his palace over the top of parts of the Muslim palace.  Architecturally, the palace is a circle within a square and is Spain's most impressive Renaissance palace.  Designed to have a dome covering the circular interior, it was never finished.

Charles V Palace

Charles V Palace Interior

Nasrid Palace was the royal Moorish palace in the 14th century.  The palace walls and ceilings are covered in intricate works including ornately carved wood, stucco, ceramic tiles, and plaster.  Samples of some of these exquisite works are illustrated below.

Nasrid Palace

Nasrid Palace

Nasrid Palace

Garden of the Partal

Nasrid Palace - Court of Myrtles

Beautiful oasis atop the hill and quite fun adventure winding your way through the narrow pathways and streets in the medina to reach this citadel.