Spain Day 12

On our last day in Spain we decided to go to Toledo. We were up early and our train didn’t depart until close to 11:30, so we decided to walk to the station about 30 minutes away. 

Life on the train:


Our only objective in Toledo was to visit the cathedral, Santa Iglesias Catedral Primada de Toledo. This cathedral was very large, and less populated than others.






The main alter:






Probably my favorite spot in the cathedral was here, it looked like a portal to heaven. Due to the lighting, photos just don’t do it justice.




At one point Caroline took my audio guide, which included photos of what the guide was explaining. Caroline had fun looking at the photo and trying to figure out what we should be seeing.


A beautiful ceiling:


Another ceiling:


The new kings chapel in the cathedral where Queen Isabel’s grandparents and great grandparents were buried.




Touring the choir:




We found a chair carved with mermaids:




In the year 666 AD the Virgin Mary came to earth and touched a stone before ascending to heaven. The rock she touched was at the church, and we got to touch it:

It was super windy and because we are horrible parents, and the weather had been so hot, we didn’t bring Bennett’s jacket, so Caroline and I went shopping to find one while the boys waited for our lunch:

Don Quixote:






More pictures outside the cathedral:








Chocolate con churros, Caroline’s first. She wouldn’t try the churros but was thrilled with the chocolate.










Marzipan church replica:


The last church we visited was San Juan De Los Reyes:




It had a beautiful courtyard:








Ceiling:






The alter:


We had a little bit of time before our train, so Caroline danced to pass the time:




Back in Madrid, the train station:




We ate at a restaurant in the Latin quarter. It was the cutest place, and one of the only places we could find with an open table because all of Madrid was out with friends. The real tapas restaurants, we came to realize, always serve a tapa on the house to get started. This one was maybe tuna, it was so delicious even Bennett loved it.






Caroline was in a sour mood but Joel got the kids going, talking about all the funny movies and movie scenes they love:






Then Caroline was starving and refused to eat any of the food we ordered. She really wanted pizza.


Toast with cheese, chicken and honey mustard. The other with carmalized onion, Brie and jam.


Caroline and I went on a hunt for pizza and finally found a place with slices to go, that they placed in a folded piece of cardboard. It was still a cool evening and Caroline was freezing, so I had her hold the pizza while I held her and tried to navigate my way to the hotel.


We got up early the next morning and had a quick breakfast before heading to the airport. We hung out in a lounge for a while.




Then I drew the short straw and sat with the kids on the nine hour flight to Atlanta. The kids did great, and Caroline even managed to sleep for 1.5 hours.


Our flight to MSP was also uneventful and we were glad to be back. It was a good trip, although a little long towards the end. Both of the kids claimed the Alcazar in Granada was their favorite, but when I’ve asked them separate times they say they like the parks we played at, or swimming in the pool, so who really knows. Caroline did like to talk about Queen Isabel a lot and Bennett learned who Christopher Columbus is, so I’d say they learned something. We realized how hard it is to be with Caroline all the time, but she is definitely someone who needs a full 10 hours of sleep at night and 2 hour nap during the day. I doubt she got that any of the days we were there. It was fun seeing Bennett actually learning about where we were, so it does make us excited to continue traveling with them, although we need Caroline to grow up a bit more. I will say our trip ended on a high note because when we got off plane from Madrid to Atlanta, a guy commented on how well behaved they were. “My kids couldn’t have done that,” he said. We saw him in a lounge later and he said, “Oh, there’s that perfect family with the good kids, being good again,” because they were sitting in chairs and eating. So slowly, we’re getting there with our traveling! Bennett fell asleep around 6:15 pm when we were in the airport and Caroline fell asleep as soon a we got in the car, around 6:40 pm. Both transferred to their beds as soon as we got home, however they’ve been awake since 2:30 am. We’ll see how today goes...