Vip Trip Madrid Day four

We have our longest drive ahead of us. About 2h drive from Segovia to Toledo. We learned that Toledo used to be the capital of Spain. That was long before Madrid started to grow and become a more important city in Spain. In Toledo we are staying in another monastery, there might be a pattern here. I just really love to stay in places that tell a story. Not just a brand new hotel that has no history. Definitely on a trip like this, I wanted to make sure we were completely indulged by the Spanish culture.

Toledo is a lot bigger than Segovia and Avila. It is also a bit more touristy. It shows on the moment we arrive. Busses and tourist groups fill the streets. We start walking up the main road, so far this is definitely the steepest climb ( we later learned that there are escalators that bring you up! More about that tomorrow)

If you only do one thing in Toledo, it has to be this one. Visit the Cathedral. As a European I have seen so many Cathedrals, churches, monuments. But I can tell you the Cathedral of Toledo amazed my in every sense of the word. It’s not only huge, with it’s 88 pilars holding it up. It’s also very beautiful, with a lot of tactile sculptures to feel. In this Cathedral chatgpt really is our hero. There is so much to see and explaining it all in detail is really not that easy. We take a photo of what we want more information about and chatgpt explains it nicely to us. We can ask it more questions and breeze through the Cathedral. We spend about 2h in there and you could easily double that if you want to know things more in detail.

If you have been reading since day one, you know that we are suckers for authentic places with good coffee! As we are strolling through the small, narrow streets. Really just checking out where the locals live, we see a sign that says ‘’Cafe de montana’’ Abierto, which means open. Now, this place could not be more random. Just amongst the locals houses on the corner of streets that are too narrow to fit a car. The strange thing is that there is a thick heavy curtain hanging in front of the door. Not very welcoming, should we go in? What will we encounter on the other side of this? Is this actually a cafe or will we step into someones living room. I poke my head behind the curtain, because I’m way too curious. 2 smiling, super friendly ladies shout ‘’Bienvenidos!’’ simultaneously and are so happy to see us. There are 3 steps down into their cafe/living room with only 3 tables. We are the only ones there and they strike up a conversation. After entering more people would fill up the cafe and it turns into a very cosy encounter. So happy we stumbled upon this place.

We drink our strong, tiny coffee and order some typical Toledo pastries. So far every pastry we tried was absolutely delicious. Usually soft, sophisticated and not overly sweet. Every place has their own specific pastry, cookies and meals. We practically tried them all, Spain is not a good place if you are looking to loose weight, that’s for sure.

It’s Siesta time! Yes, we are currently completely used to the Spanish way of getting through the day. With an afternoon rest moment in the hotel. Not only the jetlag, but the combination of early rising for the hot air balloon and climbing mountains of towns has us feeling a little exhausted. We are doing a Siesta and make sure we are ready for the evening surprise.

In Toledo, you have to eat or drink in the Cerveceria La Abadia. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. This unique restaurant is created in a cave. The vibes here are so nice and fun, people are walking around the tons of small hallways and are discovering new things around each corner. Before we sit down at our table, a tourist noticed we spoke English and asked me if I had gone to the bathroom yet?

What an odd thing to say to someone you have never met before!

The room we are seated in is a part of the cave, the walls are just the walls of the cave and the floor is made out of glass so you can see the cave floor. The cave next to us has the same layout, but with small artifacts displayed behind glass walls. The tapas we order are absolutely delicious. In Spain they love Squid in inc croquettes or octopus. Mike is happy to be trying all the seafood he was hoping to try and wow, everything we ate so far was just absolutely gorgeous.

The bathroom, of course i’m intrigued and I just have to check out what this lovely lady is talking about. I enter this fairytale place, with huge tulips shaped bathrooms stalls. The lighting, the plants and the oddly shaped sinks are making this picture complete. The ceiling is made out of mirrors. Don’t worry, you are privately tucked away in your tulip flower when you use the bathroom.

The end of another day. Luckily the way to the hotel is only downhill from here, we are so grateful for that as our bellies are about to burst.