The Road from Santiago

  I seem to remember that Toledo seemed to have two halves.  The crowded one where people lived and the big, emptier one where the hundred and one monasteries, nunneries and places of ecclesiastical power lurked - and in some cases - had been adapted.  Anywhere else the grand buildings would stand proud and free. Here it seems they are being slowly herded and nudged out of the way. The Alcazar de Toledo - wherein the military museum lives - dominates the city with its bulk and brooding presence.  As it was a Fasc hold during the Civil War the dark tower similarities work well.  The site had been a Roman Palace. In the 10th century it was turned into a fortress, during the reign of Caliph Abd ar-Rahman III.  Almost 40,000 people give it 4.6 stars, so who are we to quibble.  Two hours ago Isaac opined ‘ Very well maintained. Quite spacious. Helpful staff. We were impressed. ’ From military to the church militant. We are going to edge round Santa Iglesia ...

  We are not going far but we are going to back a lot in.  First we are reflecting we are walking up while we could have gone by escalator.  Wie Dar reports ‘ The escalators to the Old City Hill can be found by walking from the stone bridge over the Tagus River along the sidewalk to the right for about 300-400 meters. Then there are 7 or even 10 electric sections. They are a godsend for tourists with some miles under their belts. The problem is that poor signage makes them difficult to find. I've met people who walked up and were quite surprised by the escalator's existence. ’ Just round the corner is the Teatro-uditorio El Greco.  The Greek goes lance to lance with Cervantes here for attention and brush and canvas man won in this artistic space.  https://www.pctoledo.es/   Today Susana said ‘ Excellent sound and visuals. Parking right below the auditorium and very close to Plaza Zocodover. ‘  Francisco like this place. ‘ The facilities are very spaci...

  Toledo is steeped and crammed together and so we will take this easy.   First we will cross the Puente de Azarquiel. I’m not sure the 4.7 stars are for the perky nature of the bridge and more for the view.  I wasn’t the first person to have this thought as the first review to pop up was that of the three stars of Sveto.  ‘ An ordinary bridge for vehicles and people, below is a river with a not-so-well-maintained bank. People review the bridge reviewing the view of old town Toledo, which I think dont makes sense. ‘ We will spend today working our way up through a tiny slice of suburb which is squeezed between the road, river and walls. My memory of it, twenty years ago, was that it was it was a little tired and quite comfortable. It has a somewhat overlooked child’s park which a small boy made some use of.  It has grown and smartened itself up a bit and the Air BnB has moved in. Bar baobab seems the sort of place that will serve us well.  The most re...

  If we were actually about to do this walk I feel we would just spend it slack jawed and staring in wonder at the glorious views we are about to see.  No matter. On we fictionally trudge. We deserve a rest and the Restaurante La Ermitana is one of those places which exists because it has the most splendid view of Toledo. https://laermitana.es/   Google reports an average spend of 40-70 euros and the website is lush and so let us indulge.  1742 reviews people found it meet that they should leave their thoughts.  Nine hours ago santiago declared ‘ We made a reservation for dinner on Sunday and were given a 10:00 PM time slot. We called to see if we could move it to 9:00 PM, but they said no (we figured they were fully booked and couldn't change tables, which is understandable). To our surprise, when we arrived the restaurant was empty; there were only two other tables. We don't understand why we couldn't move the time. But after we sat down, they came and told us...