These Streets Are Made For Walkin'

My host mother has traveled a good bit in Spain she said. Even so, her favorite city is still Toledo. Scoping it out for the past few days, I wholeheartedly understand. Perched on a hill overlooking beautiful countryside, this cobblestone-happy town is the epitome cities that grow increasingly more charming with age. Whenever my friends and I walk its hilly streets, which I imagine to be quite perilous for los borrachos (drunks), I can’t help but imagine how much fun it would be to be chased by the police here. Little alleyways and randomly placed one-way streets offer plenty of chances for a well-versed Toledano (?) to outwit his Johnny-Law pursuers and make a romantic getaway. Toledo is perfect for James Bond. I unfortunately haven’t taken too many good photos of the Toledo streetscape yet, but do enjoy what I have from the western edge of the Río Tajo's loop around the southern portion of the city. The photos are slightly altered because it was a cloudy day, but there aren’t many cloudy days here (or so they say) so I thought they would be more accurate with a sunny touch-up. Also, they look nicer this way. Now that I think of it, my favorite photo is taken within “España: 1808-1814: De súbditos a ciudadanos” (Spain: 1808-1814: From Subjects to Citizens) an exposition we found during our wanderings today. The exposition is in an old monastery with a beautiful courtyard, the subject of this particular photo. And here it is!

I can only imagine how much prettier this is during the spring when new life blooms and the sun's renewed warmth reminds of us of the renewal Jesus brings us in the Resurrection. Oh, natural symbolism how I love thee. Two different quotes come to mind, but I can't remember them exactly so I'll give them as best I can. The first is Thomas Merton who said something to the extent of "A tree praises God by its very act of being a tree" and then probably went on to make some amazing point about how we must reclaim and live out what authentic humanity consists in. The second I think was Gregory of Nyssa (maybe John Damascene? who knows...one of those awesome Greek Fathers or maybe not too, it could've been CS Lewis for all I know) who said that "The sun mourns when humanity praises it and serves it as God, for it gives light and warmth only to reveal the even greater Light and greater Warmth that comes from God Almighty."

While we're on a nature kick, here are those photos of Toledo on the West Si-ee-de (that's my attempt to spell side in gangster phoenetics). Yea, this where I'll be living and studying for four months!

The castle on the hill houses students at the military academy, which dominates the top of the hill on the other side of el río, which you can see running at the bottom of the photo. Cool place to live, eh?

Do you like the one car touch in this photo? I had to wait a minute or two for a car, but I just had to have it jaja.

Nothing crazy about this one, just beautiful rock formations where some lucky ducks were smart enough to build their houses. I think the one building that stands out in the upper left part of the picture is actually a restaraunt...must be pretty pricy. I think I'll stick to the tapas on this side of the river!

Ok, I know some of you are disappointed there are no photos of the Cathedral. ¡No os preocupad! (Don't worry!) They're coming soon and will have their own entry. We actually went to one of the side chapel for daily Mass today (so beautiful!), but it costs money to see the whole Cathedral (this subject will also have its own blog if it's not covered in the one with the photos), so instead we resigned ourselves to receiving the greatest gift of all, the Eucharist for free in a beautiful chapel...siiiiigh...life is so hard! However, after the Confession I made, I talked it up with one of the priests and he gave us the skinny on how to get in for free. Score! Love me some priests. So yea, keep praying for vocations...that way you can get into Cathedrals for free and maybe the cost will go down cuz people would be going to Church more...oops, did I say that?

Kk, todo mi cariño a vosotros (para los que hablan español...¡me estoy acostumbrando a vosotros! No es tan difícil como pensé...¡gra(th)ias a Dios!) y más que os durmaís siempre a las canciones de cuna que María cantaba a su infante Jesús.

Translation: All my affection to you, but more so that you always fall asleep to the same lullabies Mary sang to her infant Jesus.

-Javs