Madrid one more time 17

Toledo’s old town deserves its UNESCO World Heritage status by virtue of its network of medieval streets: a dense labyrinth of cobbled alleys, stepped streets and dead-ends. It’s a confusing jumble to navigate, compounded by hilly terrain and the heat of the sun.

The only way to gain an overview of the entire city is to climb one of the few towers that poke above the tiled rooftops. For the postcard view of Toledo seen in all the brochures, be sure to find Iglesia de Los Jesuitas (the Jesuit church).

The church’s whitewashed baroque interior is of no great interest, but climb the stairs and you’ll find yourselves on the city’s best balcony, where all of Toledo spreads out below you. The panoramic view allows you to admire the bulk the Alcazar, the cathedral tower and the hills that surround the city.

The view is at its best near dusk, after the feverish heat of the day has broken and when the light of the setting sun rakes across the rooftops. We had to settle for the mid-afternoon glare.

We had time enough before our train to call in at the Santa Cruz museum, the municipal art collection. At the time of our visit most of it was shut for renovation, with ‘only’ a dozen El Greco paintings of saints on view, plus some tapestries.

The building used to be a hospital and still has its cloister, these days lined with Roman sculpture. The rooms around it held a large exhibit of antique tiles and some contemporary art. It was all free and allowed us to wander around one last lovely old building.

A few steps away and past the statue of Cervantes,

we found the town’s main bus depot and caught our ride downhill to the train station for our return to Madrid and our last night in Spain.