Granada y Toledo

After Córdoba, we went to Granada, another city in Andalucía, but farther to the east. Granada is most known for the Alhambra palace, a magnificent royal palace built by the Moors centuries ago that I believe was recently named one of the wonders of the modern world. Since I didn't go to it this time, due to the fact I'll be there again in two weeks and that I had lots and lots of homework (yes, homework!) to do, so wait for another entry later detailing it. In Granada, however, I did walk around and explore a bit:

Near the Cathedral is a market area filled with souvenirs and imports from Morocco:



There were spices:



Strange shoes:



And oddly enough, Mexican sombreros (no idea what Mexican souvenirs were doing in Spain, it was strange):

In the evening, we went to a flamenco performance near the Alhambra. The Alhambra was beautiful, lit up at night:



Us in front of the Alhambra:

Although the flamenco performance we went to was definitely targeted at tourists, it was still very good. It had a lot of variety and several dancers. Flamenco dancing is an integral part of southern Spanish culture, and involves lots of clapping, stamping, arm movements, guitar, and singing.

One of the flamenco dancers at the performance:





Click below to watch a movie of part of the flamenco performance. How do you think it compares with the more authentic flamenco that we saw in Sevilla?

The next day, we started the long drive back to Salamanca, but we stopped briefly in Toledo along the way. For many tourists, Toledo makes an interesting day trip from Madrid. Although it has an impressive Cathedral, El Greco museum, and Alcázar, Toledo is probably best known for its swordmaking. In fact, when I went there years ago with my family, my brother purchased a large sword that he now has somewhere in his bedroom...just in case, I guess =)

The city of Toledo with its Alcázar and Tajo river (the same river that goes through Lisboa):



The Cathedral in Toledo:



The Synagogue in Toledo:



And interestingly, a street named in honor of Toledo, Ohio! There are over 50 cities around the world named after Toledo, Spain:



Toledo is also known for its damasqueños, a local style of craftmanship using gold leaf embedded in intricate designs:

Toledo is located a few hours south of Madrid, in Castilla-La Mancha: the land of Don Quijote. Don Quijote is a two part novel written by Cervantes in the early 17th century, detailing the adventures of a man who wants to be a knight but fails humorously. The most famous scene of the book has him jousting windmills, thinking they are giants. The book has been translated into more languages than any other book in the world, except the Bible, and Don Quijote is considered the literary symbol of Spain. If you've ever heard of Man of la Mancha, it deals with Don Quijote in the form of a musical.

Throughout Toledo, there are signs on buildings that supposedly tell you the route Don Quijote traveled on his adventures:

We were hungry, so we spent most of our time in Toledo eating lunch at a café on the Plaza de Zocodóver, often called the Plaza de McDonalds:

We also ate some dulces typical of Toledo, including yemas (a sugary sweet made of egg yolks):

And mazapán, almond pastry that Toledo is quite famous for:

After Toledo we endured a long bus ride back to Salamanca. This weekend I'm going to Asturias, which is in northern Spain, and then on Monday off to Germany! I can't believe the month has flown by so fast. I will keep updating this as much as possible, and will post my videos once I find internet that is capable of it.