Toledo: The City of Three Cultures

yup, I took this photo #nofilter

Part of my compensation for working as an auxiliar de conversación is a sweet benefits package (read: time off). All auxies work four days a week, and the government strongly encourages schools to offer a schedule that includes either a Monday or Friday off to provide ample time for travel. As not just language, but also cultural, teaching assistants, our travels around Spain and Europe while living here will help enhance our understanding of the culture, and therefore our understanding of people and how best to help them learn.

Weeeeellll...we all know I didn´t quite get that sweet schedule with 3- or 4-day weekends on the reg. I have Wednesdays off, so while I miss the consistency of frequent long weekends, I do have the opportunity for some kick-ass, superlong FIVE-day weekends, but normally I´m working with the Friday night to Sunday night situation. Last weekend I realized just how great this is. Knowing me, I´d be tempted to hightail it out of the country every time I could snag a Thursday night flight. International trips aren´t as tempting with the expensive Friday/Sunday travel days, so most weekends I'll be in Spain - which is pretty damn cool. It would be a shame to miss out on the beauty and diversity within this country, and thanks to my semi-suck schedule, I won't miss a bit!

Last month my friend Karen and I were trying to get in on an organized trip to Valencia, but that trip fell through. Bummer...but not for long! Karen invited me to go with her and a group of folks to Toledo for the day. We all bought train tickets and hopped on for the quick 25-minute ride on the Renfe high-speed train out of town.

this is my train face!

It blew my mind how different Toledo is from Madrid. In Chicago, I could be driving for 25 minutes going from Hyde Park to someplace in the loop! Granted, I never drive above 110 mph in the Chi...I digress. Toledo is, right outside of Madrid, a crazy hilly little cultural gem.

Toledo was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO specifically because it houses so many gems  and hosted so many cultures - the city has a history as a place where Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures existed harmoniously. This means cathedrals with both Gothic and Moorish architectural influence. An ancient synagogue now owned by the Catholic Church displays ethnically accurate Biblical drawings. In short, it is unique and mind-blowing.

Bible stories galore at Catedral del Toledo!

13th Century Bible

drawing of Abraham with Sarah and Hagar

I also saw the famous El Greco painting, El Entierro de El Conde del Orgaz (The Burial of the Count of Orgaz) at Iglesia Santo Tomé (El Greco's home church), which depicts the funeral of the Count in Toledo, when it was said that Saints Stephen and Augustine descended from heaven to personally lay him to rest. The two worlds merge seamlessly and looking at this huge painting is magical. I couldn't take a picture, but it was chilling and truly magnificent, and the highlight of my trip - I enjoyed it more than seeing the Mona Lisa!

here's a crummy pic from Wikipedia

Want to see more? I've opened up a photo page to share all my photos from the different cities I visit. Check it out my Toledo photos here: LaLa in Toledo.