The morning is cool around 12 degrees but is clear and sunny. It is an hour drive to Toledo. The town is very old and buildings are brick and limestone, very picturesque. The old town is on the top of a hill and we visit the Jewish, Catholic and Arabian areas. The cathedrals are magnificent. We view a synagogue built by Arabs. It was a very cosmopolitan city where all three religions lived harmoniously, until the spainish King believed the catholic orders and the Jews were too rich and powerful and conspired with the papacy to abolish some orders and evict the Jews.
It was extremely interesting to hear the history and our guide told us he had on three occasions met Jews who still held the keys to their old houses which had been passed down through the generations.
The getaway palace at Aranjuez was extraordinary, with beautiful gardens and magnificent palace rooms and furniture.
By the afternoon the temp is in the 30s. We get back to Madrid about 7 pm in desperate need of a beer or two. We decide to find something to eat on the way back and Ann and Ross find a hamburger place. We have two beers each and a hamburger each. The first beers went down very well.
It is such a busy place, even at 9 pm people are everywhere, the temp is mild - mid 20s and you would think it was a weekend.
The roads are fantastic, but traffic is very heavy. There is an underground road system through the centre of the city as a bypass, and we exit the city from an underground bus park and a six ks road tunnel - amazing. Wednesday we have the hop on hop off bus.
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