Toledo

When I was last in Madrid two years ago with Mai Li, I had to decide whether to make a day trip to Segovia or to Toledo.  We chose Segovia, which I highly recommend.  It has spacious plazas and monumental sights, including the Alcazar (castle) and, most particularly, the spectacular Roman aqueduct (which I used as the cover to my book).
So, of course, this time I went to Toledo.  Given my limited time, I booked a tour.

Toledo was the capital of Spain before Philip II moved the capital to Madrid in the 16th century.  It is surrounded by steep hills leading down to the Tagus River, a perfect, almost impermeable site for defence, and it is this dramatic location which is its biggest appeal to the photographer.  Naturally, though not entirely apt or fair, I compare it to Segovia.  I'm afraid it comes up short.  The streets are narrow and there are no wide plazas, so it is very difficult to get a sense of location from the ground.  The national cathedral is sited here, and while it is impressive and deserves its reknown, there is nothing in Toledo quite as dramatic as the Segovia aqueduct.  Perhaps Toledo's own alcazar, the other defining silhouette on the city's skyline, would change my mind, but the tour can only include so much and it wasn't on the itinerary.

Spain: Madrid, Segovia, Avila...

The flight was largely uneventful, though for some reason Mai Li kept setting off the security scanners, despite dumping all her things into the tray provided. I think she was frisked three times. We've not been too jetlagged after having arrived. We researched the seating plans on the plane and booked good seats on both legs, so I actually managed eight hours sleep. Mai Li only napped fitfully, though, so after 24 hours travel time and checking into our 4-star hotel indulgence, and luxuriating in the shower, Mai Li had a little siesta. We then ate at the Museo del Jamon, the "Museum of Ham," a smoky bar festooned with legs of ham serving beer and tapas. Madrid was a bit overcast and rainy, and at one point we were traipsing through the rain between hotels with our backpacks and ponchos.

The following day we caught a bus tour from Madrid to Segovia and Avila. Segovia has three main tourism draws: the alcazar, a 19th-century reconstruction of the original 13th-century castle which burned down; the Gothic cathedral; and, the reason I wanted to go, the Roman aqueduct, still in use, spanning nearly a kilometre, rising nearly 30 metres and all built without a drop of mortar. Spectacular.



Avila is surrounded by 12th-century walls, the best preserved in Spain. The guide book says as a top priority one should walk atop the parts of the walls open to the public, but unfortunately it is the nature of tours that you have to follow the leader, and we stayed at ground level.

Lunch was included in Segovia -- bean soup and roast suckling pig -- but it was nothing to write about except that it gave me food poisoning, the details of which I will spare you. Apart from being easier on my stomach, we've been eating fruit, bread and yoghourt from the markets because it's cheaper and eating restaurant food and tapas is too rich to eat all the time.

I am writing this from Seville, a truly beautiful city, but am I supposed to waste all my time on this computer? I'll update you from the next stop....