Toledo, Spain

First, it’s not pronounced like Toledo, Ohio but TOE-led-O.  Actually, the girls thought it was pronounced TORNADO.  I had to keep explaining that it was not a town hit by tornado’s but that’s just how it was sounding to them.  The city is super old with lots of history and as such was a pretty neat place to explore. We did lots of walking and sightseeing and lots of eating.  We stayed in a hostel; which I had never stayed in one before.  It was essentially a bedroom with two bunk beds and a bathroom.  There was a rooftop terrace.  There was a small kitchenette and sitting area for all the guests on the rooftop as well.

Hostal Oasis – Toledo

The streets of the city were narrow and used by both pedestrians and cars a like.  Although in some spots I have no idea how a car even made it through.  Even the street right outside our hostel cars would drive on.  I did not attempt to drive in the city center.  I parked at the bus station in town and we walked (read aimlessly walked for way too long) to our hostel.

The girls and I took a trolley/train tour ride around the city.  It was more fun than I had anticipated.  We got a set of headphones and could listen to the recording on the history of the city — in English.

The train took us all around the city and gave us some great views overlooking the town.

Here is the Plaza Zocodover which is the main Plaza in Toledo and near to our hostel.  It was alright – as the Burger King and McDonald’s detracted from the ambiance of the city a bit.  But it was a good starting point and a consistent point on the map we could always find.

Kids are welcome just about everywhere we’ve been here in Spain.  Then again, I haven’t tried taking them to a night club…although I’m not sure I’m taking myself to one either.  But at whatever time we go and where ever we go, we can be guaranteed that our kids will not be the only ones there.  Toledo was no exception.  After walking all over the city on Saturday we had one kiddo tired and falling asleep, one kiddo overly tired and bouncing off the walls and one kiddo who just thought it was neat to be out and about.

On Saturday evening we went to see a Theater in the street performance.  While we mostly had no idea what was going on, it was cool to see.  The Plaza Ayuntamiento was PACKED!  The performance had several large explosions of feathers and colored dye.  The performance actually started at three different plaza’s and converged at the Ayuntamiento (i.e. City Hall) for the main performance.  After the streets began to clear the girls had a grand time playing in the mess that was left behind.  The girls were a mess!  I washed their hair later and the soap lather turned yellow!

And finally here are some pictures from around the city.  For more pictures you can check out our photo website.