Toledo, Beach Days, and Final Thoughts

      While staying in Madrid, we took a day trip to Toledo, which is a beautiful historic city. We took a high-speed train to the city, which is surrounded by water. Immediately after we arrived in the city, we stopped into a shop selling many beautiful metal pieces, including swords. Toledo is very famous for these exceptional swords and other metal objects. It was once known as one of the best places to find swords and daggers in all of Europe.

The river surrounding Toledo

My family standing on the bridge into the city

One of the display cases at the metal shop

      During the previous school year, I researched Toledo for a Spanish class project. I learned about the variety of cultures and religions and the acceptance of them over time. Like many other parts of Spain, there are strong Arabic influences. There are also Christian and Jewish influences. I researched a synagogue called the Sinogoga El Transito. The structure has been used for purposes other than a Jewish synagogue. For example, the Jews were kicked out of the city around the 15th century, which resulted in it being converted into a church. Today, it is a popular museum that many tourists visit. Unfortunately, all of the pictures we took in the synagogue on our camera were corrupted and cannot be used. 

This is the view of the synagogue from the exterior

The main worship area in the synagogue

       We had a wonderful day in Toledo and headed back to Madrid. Leaving Madrid, we stopped for a one-nighter in Logrono in the Rioja region. This is very close to the city of Pamplona, which is famous for the annual Running of The Bulls. There was a wonderful surprise in Logrono - we came across an opera house where the performance was being televised outside. Operas being held in Spain are often televised in the street so that even those who don't have a ticket can experience the performance. The next day, we passed into France for a brief period of time and drove along the border. We also visited the Salvador Dali museum, which was truly incredible. Dali was an amazing artist with such a creative imagination. My entire family was amazed by his surrealist artwork.  

       For the last days of our trip, we went to the beach town of Playa D'oro and enjoyed the sun and the sand and reminiscing about our incredible journey. My trip to Spain was truly a trip of a lifetime. I feel so fortunate that I was able to share these amazing experiences with my family. 

     The most recent terrorist attacks in Spain affected me on a more personal level. We met so many incredible people from this amazing country. Less than two months ago, we were walking the streets of Las Ramblas, freely, without any fear. We drove through the two towns where terrorist activity was found just shortly after the Barcelona attack. I hope that the Spanish people do not have to endure more of these heinous attacks and can continue to live the carefree, safe lives that they have lived for so many years.   

Toledo