I am currently in my third week of teaching English in Spain. Before venturing across the pond, I had a lot of ideas of how teaching English may go, but I truly did not know what to expect. I am living in a small pueblo about 2 hours south of Madrid. There is one bus station and the bus seems to run whenever it feels like it or just not at all. The area is known for grapes and olives, making the town producers of wine and olive oil. Tractors slow the town’s so-called traffic, as it is harvesting season for grapes right now. In the morning fresh bread is delivered at everyone’s door. This is the closest thing to Amazon deliveries, as the driver of the bread van honks their horn to let the people know they are outside, then speeds off to the next delivery.
This past weekend I decided to take a solo trip to Toledo. Toledo, is a popular day trip destination from Madrid, it is known for its beauty and history. Toledo is a fusion of Christian, Arab and Jewish culture. As you wander through the streets you will find the interwoven lives of these three cultures. The city sits on top of a hill as the Tagrus river winds around it.
The Plan
There are three different ways to travel through Spain that are not by plane. You can travel with a bus, train or BlaBla car. I would like to think BlaBla cars are similar to uber, but my BlaBla car driver laughed when I told them that. With a BlaBla you do not pick your pick up or drop off spot. The driver is already going to a certain destination, they post their route on the app and you can decide to join them. Initially, when planning for the trip I decided to go to Toledo by train. I timed the train tickets so I could take the bus that left once a day, to the nearest town that had a train station. I found a hostel to spend two nights in a 4-bed dorm for only 30 euros. The only thing was that I had no one to go with. There are currently no other language assistants in my town and I don’t know anyone else living in Spain.
On a whim, I decided to reach out to a girl living in Ciudad Real to see if she wanted to meet a stranger, myself, in Toledo. She actually said yes and was looking for a place to go. I didn’t tell her when I was getting there or where I was staying but through her own means she was getting there and leaving the same days and booked the same hostel as me. Now my solo trip wasn’t so solo anymore.
Beginning my journey.
After learning more about BlaBla, I saw on the app that a woman was leaving my small town Saturday morning to go to Toledo. I checked with my coordination if she knew this BlaBla car driver, as she knows everyone is the town, and she said her daughter has used her before to get to and from Toledo, so I went for it. At 5:45 in the morning I strutted through the dark streets, with my big blue travel backpack, to meet up with my BlaBla car driver. We talked a bit in broken Spanish and English on our way, I tried incredibly hard not to fall asleep. We arrived in Toledo around 7:15 and the sun was not going to rise until 8:30. She dropped me off at the curb next to a churro shop and told me to get some breakfast. So that’s exactly what I did. I joined whoever else was up before the sun and ate fresh churros and piping hot chocolate goop, that is considered hot chocolate. With more time till things would be open I decided to go catch the sunset at a lookout spot called Mirador del Valle. It was a 40 minute trek up the windy hillside of Toledo to reach the lookout on the outskirts of the city. Finally, I stood at the top taking in the city ALL BY MYSELF, until a tourist bus decided to drop off 20 people right next to me. My alone time was over. I made my way back down as a hot air balloon slowly floated over the city.
Day 1: History and the Sights
Toledo was the capital of the Spanish Empire until 1561, when Marid as the capital by Phillip II. The city has preserved a mix of Chirstian, Jewish and Muslim cultures, which is why it is called the “city of three cultures.”
I dropped my things off at the hostel and started my trek throughout the city. Walking through the history of the old town of Toledo I easily ran into museums, churches, synagogues and mosques, all along the same road. I purchased a 12 euro tourist wrist band which allowed me to enter into 12 different sights. My favorite was the Iglesia de los Jesuitas as there were two bell towers to scale and see the view of the city from above. I also enjoyed the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes. It was restored in the 19th century, and the lower cloister resembled the Renaissance era while the upper cloister allows you to enter into the Flamboyant Gothic style of architecture. I entered the church from a balcony above and was mesmerized by the chandeliers and big glass windows, before I even realized that a wedding was going on right below me.
For lunch I met up with the other language assistant that joined my weekend trip to Toledo. We enjoyed a glass of wine and paella, and I got to learn more about her experience. Then we made our way to the cathedral, filled with gold everywhere and a huge organ in the middle. Honestly you could just stare at one spot in the Cathedral and be mesmerized by the details for hours. We both headed back to the hostel to officially check-in and both of us booked the same hostel and ended up being placed in the same 4-bed dorm room. So I am not sure if this solo trip counts as being solo anymore. For dinner I reached out to other auxes in the city to get drinks and tapas and three more joined us. It was good to understand everything that was being said and to get the perspectives of other people in the program. Where they came from, why they are here, what their plans are for the future.
Day II:
The second day started off with a hike along the Targus river in the morning. This ended up being one of my favorite parts of Toledo. It was quiet and peaceful as it seemed to be just us and the locals, walking their dogs, going for a run or fishing on the river. We ended the hike in what is considered new town, a different area of the city where the universities are located and many college students live. We then made our way back to the old town to see a couple more sights and to go to the Alcazar, the army fortification of Toledo. After taking a short break in the hostel, I headed back out to find a peaceful place to read and write. I ended up going back to the Mesquite de Cristo la Luz where there was a small garden attached with flowers and a beautiful sight of Toledo. To finish the last day in Toledo we headed to El Trebol for tapas and ended the night on the foottop of a hotel with a beautiful sight of the cathedral.
Traveling back
To travel back to my small town I left Toledo at 10:30 am, took the train to Madrid, waited in Madrid for more than two hours because of a delay and then took another train from Madrid heading to ciudad real. Got off at another town and waited another two hours for the bus to my town. I unlocked my apartment around 7:00 p.m. After this travel day I definitely prefer using blabla car whenever it is possible.