Hoy en Toledo

Churros con chocolate (Madrid, Spain)

June 17, 2011

Yesterday we went to the Prado museum! We saw many a Goya (most exciting was an entire room filled with his "black paintings"), El Greco, and even the famed "Las Mininas" by Velásquez. Afterwards we had ham croquettes and fried shrimp, which seem to be common everywhere. We also stopped by a chocolateria, to eat churros! In the home of the churro, they are not covered in cinnamon, but are instead served with a side of warm chocolate pudding for dipping. We ate them while sitting outside at a small alley way cafe, which seem to pop up in almost every street.

Cruising the streets of Toledo! (Toledo, Spain)

Today we took the high speed train for a day trip to the city of Toledo, which used to be the old capital of Spain when it was under Muslim rule. It is a fortified city, which is surrounded by large stone walls and sits on a large hill. We went inside their famous cathedral, which is the richest cathedral in Spain, and the second largest. In the 1200s, they built it directly over the old cathedral, which had served as a mosque. It was quite grandiose, and was filled with paintings by famous artists, many stained glass windows, and other things. 

Toledo is also home to marzipan, the delectable almond paste candy made by nuns to support their nunnery. We ate a lot of it, and decided that it was delicious. This is also where they manufacture the world's best steel, so sweet swords were being sold on every corner.
 

Marzipan (Toledo, Spain)

We had more tapas for lunch, and this time had the most authentic cuisine yet. We had partridge salad, more croquettes, tuna belly cheese squares, pickled peppers, and fried cod with mayonnaise. The feature of our meal was the foie gras dipped in white chocolate... we decided that this was NOT delicious.

Tomorrow we leave Madrid for Sevilla, home of Flamenco and much Spanish culture. Ay ay!

Hasta Luego, 
K & S