From Avila we go south through interesting hilly countryside to Toledo, with a stop to see the palace at El Escorial. It was built by Philip II in the 1500’s as a very large palace and monastery, and has room after room of beautiful tapestries.
The Parador at Toledo is a new building, located on the hill across the Tagus River, with a nice view of the city from our balcony. Toledo is often a day trip from Madrid for tourists, but is well worth a two or three night stay to see the many interesting sights. It has been a major city since Roman times, and has a beautiful cathedral with treasury, El Greco’s house and sites where some of his original murals and paintings can be seen, and shops where one can see artisans working on their renown damascene metal art and buy their wares.
The pageant of Corpus Christi is scheduled for the day we are supposed to leave, but we are able to extend our stay in the Parador for one night so we can see this procession that is considered to be one of the most splendid in Spain. Our seats are on the front row of the sunny side as we watch the interesting and colorful parade. The clergy in their rich vestments and the large monstrance are accompanied by children and the city's brotherhoods in brilliant traditional uniforms. We are happy our schedule is flexible enough we can see this!
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