Holy Toledo!

Toledo is magnificent. Yet again I'm cursing my inability to post pictures, because this city is gorgeous. I took about 350 pictures during the course of ten hours of walking through the old city, and I could have taken hundreds more. I was so saturated in architectural beauty that by the end of the day I was walking glassy eyed past things that would have stopped me dead in my tracks any other day of this trip. It is just that lovely here.

Picture a huge, round, steep hill surrounded by a wide green river on three sides. Across the river from the hill are mountains on one side and a wide plain on the other. That's Toledo's environment. It was the perfect site for defense purposes--the river functions as a moat, they built high walls along the hill, and there was no way to approach the city stealthily. Because it was such an attractive defensive installation and because it's centrally located in the Iberian peninsula, Toledo was a nerve center for the Romans, the Visigoths, the Moors, and the Spaniards. In fact, it served as the capital of Spain until it became so overcrowded that the King finally had to move the capital to Madrid. Over the centuries, Toledo was home to vibrant Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish populations, and it's still easy to spot the architectural influences of each religion in the old city today: a handful of synagogues, convents and monasteries and churches all over the place, Moorish arches and doors, and so on. The historic preservation is startling. I walked almost every street, alley, and cow trail in the old city today, and I saw fewer than a half dozen buildings that looked at all contemporary, and they were mostly museums.

Because of its preservation and its cultural importance, UNESCO has declared the entire old city of Toledo as a World Heritage Site. If you're unfamiliar with the UNESCO World Heritage Site program, you should give it a look on Google. It's a program that the United Nations operates that identifies, celebrates, and protects the most unique and significant cultural, historical, and natural sites in the world. Quite literally, the are the coolest places on Planet Earth. I love that somebody else has gone to the trouble to do all that research for me, so now all I have to do is figure out how to visit as many of them as possible! :)

Oh, and while I'm letting my nerd flag fly, I should admit that one of the best adventures of the day was inspecting the Toledo public library. Seriously. Almost first thing this morning, I noticed their library, and the door was open, so of course I had to go in. Just like mine back home, the Toledo library is packed on Saturday morning, which made it feel strangely familiar. The tired dad with three little boys, two of whom were wearing Wile E. Coyote t-shirts. The art student with the jet black hair, ink, and more eyeliner than you'd think a person would want at 10 a.m. on a Saturday. The retirees bringing back materials in reusable tote bags. The high school students who study for 3 minutes, then text for 3 minutes, and then repeat the process endlessly. Different country, different languages, same basic types of people. In a way, there's something kind of sweet and comforting about that, don't you think?

But I'd trade my library for theirs in a heartbeat. Their building must be about six stories high and is loaded not just with books and computer equipment, but with art exhibits, murals, a fantastic kids' section, a cafeteria, a roof deck looking down into a courtyard with a war memorial sculpture, a special rare book exhibit room, and so many comfortable places to curl up with a book. It feels really alive, like it's an important part of the community. And the collection seemed great: travel guidebooks alone took up a room half the size of my neighborhood branch library. Jealous!!! And the sheer joy it must be to read there! Because the building is so tall, the top floor windows are flooded with sunlight and give a panoramic views of the city, the river, and the countryside beyond. Each window stretched almost the full height of the wall, and they were separated into nooks. Each nook had one easy chair pointed at the window, probably 20 of them in a row. Beautiful vista, peace and quiet, a little privacy, and a book. And a sandwich if you want one. Most days, that would be enough for me. :) It was a wonderful space, and I'm really glad I checked it out. Plus, I got some amazing pictures from the roof deck!

Another half day here and then back to Madrid so that I can catch my flight to Marrakesh on Monday. Still apprehensive about Morocco, but I'm cooking up some options that might help that situation. More later. Good night!