Holy Toledo!

So, when Marcio and I moved out of Delft we sent. Bunch of our stuff (anything we didn't want on the bikes) with Isa, who lives in Toledo, had a car in Delft, and had to leave it at home before flying off for the summer. Thus most of our stuff was still sitting in her folks' house in Toledo. It was a pretty quick plan, but we decided to rent a car for 3 days and go see Toledo, collect our things, and stop by Zaragoza on the way back.

Crossing the Meridian!

The drive was kind of long, but we made it without any major hiccups. Isa's parents were REALLY nice, and the city was beautiful. What was really challenging was trying to function in a social setting in Spanish. This truly stretched my brain and left me very tired, even though I didn't say much. We went to the far side of the river and looked at the city from one of the surrounding hills - it's really a beautiful city. We had a marvelous home-cooked Spanish meal, courtesy of Isa's mom, too. :)

Toledo - it's really pretty!

Bridge into Toledo

The following day we wandered around the city of Toledo, including the really impressive cathedral and the Jewish Quarter, then we hit the road and drove to Zaragoza. Once again, no real trouble along the way, though I think we were all glad to be driving only half way.

Zaragoza by night

In Zaragoza we went to the Aljafería, a former Islamic palace converted to a christian palace then a military fort (with moat!) and now the parlimentary seat for Aragòn. It was a remarkable combination of cultures and architecture. We also went to Nosotra Señora de la Pilar, a HUGE basilica in the center of town. It was impressive for its size, but it couldn't match the cathedral in Toledo for impression.

Islamic-style arches in Aljafería

After that we drove our way back into Barcelona, where Marcio and I unpacked, turning our shell-like rooms into home at last!

Canada?