La Vida Toledana: Week 4

The indomitable Austin Miles, Fulbright scholar and Athens townie.

     The beauty of being in Spain, apart from being 3700 miles away from The Donald, is the country’s conduciveness for travel. While our program’s schedule includes many great day trips and a couple weekend stays, it also offers us free time to travel and explore on our own. This past weekend I took advantage of that and made my way down to Alicante on la Costa Blanca to visit my friend, Austin.

     Last week also included a trip through Toledo’s Judería, the Jewish quarter. The city has had a colorful history that promotes its years of religious harmony, although the cohabitation of cultures was not always so friendly. This meandering of tolerance and dominance has led to curious transitions of purpose for some buildings, allowing them to be maintained. 

     In Spain, there are only three surviving pre-Inquisition synagogues. Though it’s sad to imagine the wealth of precious architecture that was destroyed in the name of uniting Spain, all is not lost—and two of them are in Toledo! On Thursday we visited la Sinagoga del Tránsito and la Sinagoga Santa María la Blanca. The latter, which might be the oldest synagogue in Europe, is strikingly beautiful but also strikingly symbolic of the religious transition in Toledo: originally built for the Jewish community by Spanish Muslims, it is of Moorish Almohad architectural style but is now conserved and protected by the Catholic church, hence the Christian nomenclature.

     We also had the opportunity to tour el Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, which was originally erected for los Reyes Católicos, Isabella and Ferdinand to be their burial place. Though they eventually opted to be buried in Granada, the monastery stands as a marker of Queen Isabella’s initial fondness for the Jewish community, as it too was constructed in the Jewish quarter of Toledo.

La Sinagoga del Tránsito

La Sinagoga Santa María la Blanca

Courtyard of el Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes

     I’ve had a desire to visit the Mediterranean ever since I became enchanted by the climate while learning about Greek and Roman civilization. On Friday, I left for Madrid to catch a 5-hour bus to Alicante, a coastal city in the autonomous community of Valencia to visit Austin, a family friend I’ve known essentially since birth. He’s been in Spain since last fall, conducting great research about the effectiveness of policy and process in Spain’s marine protected areas (MPAs) with the help of a Fulbright scholarship.

     Though I’m still not a huge fan of cities, Alicante is more my kind of place. It’s hip and cosmopolitan and has plenty of pedestrian-only thoroughfares. My first night there, Austin and I went to a dinner party with his roommate and friends. There were five Italians, a German, a Croatian, a Turk, and us two Gringos. At the dinner table we spoke Spanish, English and Italian interchangeably—it was a cerebral experience that will be a highlight of my study abroad experience.

     The sun never broke for more than a few minutes in Alicante, but the Mediterranean was lovely nonetheless. We walked several laps around Austin’s borough and along the port, sampling several taperías. We climbed up to the local castle (every ciudad and pueblo in Spain seems to have one) where there were stunning views of the city and the sea. The fortified bluff was reminiscent of Maori pā that I’ve visited in New Zealand.

looking inland from the castle.

Austin looks over his home for the better part of a year.

El Castillo de Santa Bárbara.

The Mediterranean at last!

Dates in Elche, Spain.

Austin in a Palmeral.

Giulia watches as Mike skips a stone in a palmeral.

Austin descends the tower of Elche’s Basilica de Santa María.

     On Saturday, we travelled to Elche, a nearby town known for its palmerales, or palm groves, and made famous by the discovery of la Dama de Elche, a 4th century B.C. artifact that bears resemblance to Princess Leia. We arrived by train and managed to leave by train as well, after waiting confused for about an hour. That’s travel, though!

     Many of the palmerales of Elche’s downtown are protected as a UNESCO world heritage site. Some of the groves may date back as far as the Carthaginians in the 5th century B.C. Apart from the immense history of these date plantations, they are downright beautiful. We wandered the town and later visited el Huerto del Cura, a botanical garden and collection of a vast variety of species from the palm family. I had to buy some dates on site and they were some of the best I’ve ever had, perhaps simply because of the environment and history.

     The bus back was somewhat nerve-wracking. After stopping in 6 towns on the way to Madrid, I was unsure I was going to make my train back to Toledo. However, everything went smoothly and, upon emerging from the bus station and making my way to the Atocha train station, I was asked for directions to the bus depot on the same block where I had asked for the same directions just two days prior. In an odd situation of travel karma, I happily obliged and continued jogging to catch my train. 

     In all, it was an excellent weekend. There is something magical about seeing someone you know very well while on the other side of the planet than your usual hemisphere. To add amazing views, history, food and new friends to that experience is surely the recipe for a great vacation. Thanks Alicante, Austin, Mike, Giulia, et al. I hope to see you all again soon!

Using Format