Toledo

Wow! What a fabulous old city, the old capital of Spain. Spain is divided into 17 regions or Castiga and Toledo is in La Mancha, of Don Quixote fame. It has a hugely interesting history- Romans, Goths, Arabs and Spanish, being the religious and political capital of Spain from the 600s. It is surrounded by agriculture - wheat, olives and wine with its continental climate - minus 15 in winter and up to 45 degrees in summer! Toledo is absolutely stunning, with amazing stone architecture and quaint narrow cobbled streets.The gigantic Gothic cathedral (60 metres long)made in granite and limestone was really majestic.It was finished in 1493 and took 200 years to build. Our guide, Antonio had a great sense of humour eg ABC= another bloody cathedral ! We also saw one of El Greco's most famous paintings in a special little chapel called 'The Burial of Count Orgaz'. Our final stop for the morning was a Damascene steel workshop, which besides inlaid armour, made the most beautiful hand crafted jewellery. I bought myself a lovely bracelet here.