Disappointed by the lack of unusual souvenirs in Madrid, left me to pursue one last option - El Rastro. Initially I was a bit scared of this place and wanted to avoid going here. All the books and the online travel guides said that its a haven for thieves and pickpockets. However, bundling all the courage I had, I decided to visit it without any valuables and cash hidden in an inner pocket.
This weekly market takes place on the streets, on Sunday morning. The nearest metro station is La Latina. The metro has a clear sign indicating the direction. When I walked out of the station, I tried to figure where it was. But when I turned around, there it was. The stalls had been set up and some of the owners were setting their goods.
I began from the beginning. The streets here were more lively and a completely different feel to it. Once I started looking around, I was glad I came. On both sides of this street were clothes, bags etc. A couple of stalls later I found these showpieces that were witches working on the internet. There were some with a crystal ball, one of which I immediately bought. And all for just 2 euros. What a bargain, I thought! A couple of stalls later, similar witches were there, but better quality, more variety and more expensive. They even had puppet like witches with broomsticks. I decided to skip this one for now.
There was also a stall selling copies of famous paintings from the Prado museum. The quality was not very good though. A little ahead, I even saw Indian Rajasthani Kathputlis (10 euros), Hindu God posters and even a Gay Mata (Mother Cow) poster. On my left I could see bags of all sizes. There were even TinTin bags and bags with Audrey Hepburn's photo. All for 12 euros each. There were souvenirs, Spanish fans, music CDs, DVDs, you name it and it was there.
I moved on and came across a square, where some of the stalls had second hand goods - not too interesting I thought. Some even had comics and books, all of it in Spanish though. I turned into this narrow alley, where a man was selling his items on the ground. There was a nice layout of old watches, the ones sailors used earlier. Moving on the antiques increased. There were old clocks with elaborate sculptures on it. Other things included candlesticks, old trinkets, figurines. I noticed that these streets had shops with old things in them. Quite interesting! This place was turning out to be like a treasure hunt. One never knew what one would find. At another similar stall, there was a chest of 2 drawers with the sun and the moon painted or embossed on it. It had the old wooden look in it. And it was only for 10 euros. If I could have carried it home, I would have bought it for sure. There was paper knife, where there was a stack of books made of clay. A photo frame, where the place for photos seemed to be cut out from a shelf of books. Zola's name was clearly visible on one of those. Seemed interesting, but probably difficult to carry.
I found a stall that was selling 3 magnets for 5 euros. Quite a bargain I thought and bought three from my choice. Quite touristy, as my colleague in Madrid would say! There were also old coins and stamps that could be bought. Having seen this treasure for a while, I decided to buy another one of those witches and headed in the other direction of the street. Two minutes later I was in a stall choosing a fake leather Chinese made bag. The choice was tough and in the end I managed to buy this nice looking purse which looked trendy and had a lot of pockets. Only 10 euros.
I looked around and even saw TinTin T-Shirts. At that time 10 euros for that T-shirt seemed too much. But after reaching the hotel, I regretted not buying the TinTin T-shirt or another fake bag. And that's what really summed up my experience of El Rastro - Buy it or regret it. Its a bargain!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Toledo
Yesterday, I went to visit the former capital of Spain - Toledo. When I first heard/read the name, it did not conjure any images and I was quite neutral about it.
Toledo is located 70 km from Madrid. A high speed train from the Atocha station takes about 30 minutes to reach Toledo. Toledo was the capital of Spain till 1561. Its famous for its religious tolerance in the middle ages, when Jews, Christians and Muslims co-existed peacefully. It was also the home to El Greco, the famous painter. The famous book, Don QUixote also has its
origins here.
I reached the train station at about 8:30 AM for my train at 9:20 AM. Ordinarily at an Indian train station, I would have went to the relevant platform and waited for the train. But....things were different here. First I had a hard time looking for where the trains came. I asked a policeman who directed me to the train departures lounge. I thought I had come to the wrong place. As I climbed this flat escalator, I saw a long line of passengers waiting for an X-Ray of their baggage. When I went inside it was more confusing. Rather than a train station it looked like an airport.The lady at the information counter told me that I need to look for the platform number on the television. I thought it was sort of funny. The train was really top class and they even had a bar and cafeteria inside it.
We reached Toledo in half an hour. The station there was itself a precursor to the sites of this old city. Built in the 1920s it had stained glass windows and it looked more of a Islamic architecture mixed with Christain effects.
At the station, I was told that I could walk till the tourist office and get the map of the city. Quite an uphill climb it was! But there were beautiful scenes all around. The river flowing below and the imposing Alcazar on top of the mountains. As I walked I saw the city walls with entrance from Peurta Bisgan. On the top it had an emblem of the Spanish empire and it seemed that it was an entrance to a whole new world. And it really was!
As I entered through another smaller gate, I could witness these old buildings with many small shops. I walked uphill intending to get to the cathedral but came across another monument, Mosque of the Christ of the Light. It is the best preserved monument from before the time when Christians invaded the city. The entry was 2 euros and it was being renovated. When I went inside, I was disappointed because most of it had been dug up and one could not really go inside. So I went to the back of the mosque to the small garden. There was not much to see and I headed towards the cathedral once again.
On my way I encountered these narrow and cobbled streets which reminded me more of Kalka (near Shimla). And right then a big jeep passed by. Not really medieval I thought. Perhaps if a few horses were around it would be more mystic. I also encoutered this square where lots of cars were parked and there was also an official building there adorned with carved figures.
A little distance away, I came across a church, the exterior was marvellously decorated with figures and it truly seemed from yore. The signboard said that one could get a panoramic view of the city from its twin towers. I paid 1.9 euros for that and entered the church with a beautiful fresco on the the main wall. Then it was up up and away. I climbed the stairs to get the two towers that promised a panaromic view of the city. Alas, my phobia of hieghts came in the way and I tried to climb the seemingly dangeourous stairs twice but could not.
I moved on further towards my destination - the Cathedral. On my way were many shops selling the typical Spanish souvenirs - Toledo's handicrafts including Don Quixote and Sancho Panchez. And there it was in front of me, the Cathedral. Its tower rose high towards the open sky as I entered a backdoor at the cobbled and narrow street. Across on the wall was a beautiful
fresco. The gate was closed and I thought we could not enter. I spent some time outside looking for another entrance but ended up taking more pictures.
I finally found the entrance and after paying 6 euros entered. What I saw inside left my jaws wide open. I had never such a magnificent structure, with such beautiful sculptures and paintings. The lights inside were small and placed in what used to be candlestands, making the ambience more historical.
The small chapels all around were closed but each had beautiful stained glass, statues and carvings - all unique. The one that impressed me the most was the fresco around the hole of the ceiling. The hole through which the sunlight came in was the centrepiece with all carved figures and the ones in the painting looking up to it. There were more paintings outside on the walls.
As I came out awe-struck, I headed towards Santa Tome and stopped on the way to eat some bread and cheese :(. Next to this restaurant was a souvenir shop where I bought some souvenirs (I wanted to take them all!). Moving further on I came across more suc beautiful things which were quite expensive. I reached Santa Tome and entered it with my ticket. However, I was quite disappointed after seeing the magnificent cathedral. The only part which impressed me was El Greco's masterpiece "The Burial of the Count". The child's hand pointing towards the dead body was something that drew my attention and was clearly the most haunting piece of all.
Moving on I bought the famous sweet of Toledo Mazpan (Marzipan in English). I then visited Convent of San Juan de los Reyes. It was again an old structure, but the exterior was being renovated and I could not catch a glimpse of it.
On the street ahead was an old fort wall and a statue of Queen Isabel who had the convent built. It was straight out of history books. By this time I was very tired and still had a couple of hours with me. I tried looking for Victorio Mancho's museum but reached El Greco's house
instead which was closed. From there I went to El Transito the synagogue. Another old monument with beautiful engravings. It also had a small museum and it was all free.
At the end of this I could not stay there anymore (heat and exhaustion) and headed towards the train station with some instructions. I came out of a door (gate/monument rather) and headed right. After coming out I could see the wall of the city clearly but could not take pictures as I ran out of memory. I did not have the energy to delete some pictures as I was feeling too tired. I walked and almost lost my way when I could not figure out the way to the station. Although the people around did not know English, they were kind enough to help me out.
After a 3-4 min walk I realized, I had reached the same place from where I had entered. I now knew my way and slowly headed towards my destination. Clouds were gathering in the sky giving the city a mystic old look. Unfortunately, I could not capture this on my camera. I moved on in silence contemplating on the life and scenes this old city would have seen.
Toledo is located 70 km from Madrid. A high speed train from the Atocha station takes about 30 minutes to reach Toledo. Toledo was the capital of Spain till 1561. Its famous for its religious tolerance in the middle ages, when Jews, Christians and Muslims co-existed peacefully. It was also the home to El Greco, the famous painter. The famous book, Don QUixote also has its
origins here.
I reached the train station at about 8:30 AM for my train at 9:20 AM. Ordinarily at an Indian train station, I would have went to the relevant platform and waited for the train. But....things were different here. First I had a hard time looking for where the trains came. I asked a policeman who directed me to the train departures lounge. I thought I had come to the wrong place. As I climbed this flat escalator, I saw a long line of passengers waiting for an X-Ray of their baggage. When I went inside it was more confusing. Rather than a train station it looked like an airport.The lady at the information counter told me that I need to look for the platform number on the television. I thought it was sort of funny. The train was really top class and they even had a bar and cafeteria inside it.
We reached Toledo in half an hour. The station there was itself a precursor to the sites of this old city. Built in the 1920s it had stained glass windows and it looked more of a Islamic architecture mixed with Christain effects.
At the station, I was told that I could walk till the tourist office and get the map of the city. Quite an uphill climb it was! But there were beautiful scenes all around. The river flowing below and the imposing Alcazar on top of the mountains. As I walked I saw the city walls with entrance from Peurta Bisgan. On the top it had an emblem of the Spanish empire and it seemed that it was an entrance to a whole new world. And it really was!
As I entered through another smaller gate, I could witness these old buildings with many small shops. I walked uphill intending to get to the cathedral but came across another monument, Mosque of the Christ of the Light. It is the best preserved monument from before the time when Christians invaded the city. The entry was 2 euros and it was being renovated. When I went inside, I was disappointed because most of it had been dug up and one could not really go inside. So I went to the back of the mosque to the small garden. There was not much to see and I headed towards the cathedral once again.
On my way I encountered these narrow and cobbled streets which reminded me more of Kalka (near Shimla). And right then a big jeep passed by. Not really medieval I thought. Perhaps if a few horses were around it would be more mystic. I also encoutered this square where lots of cars were parked and there was also an official building there adorned with carved figures.
A little distance away, I came across a church, the exterior was marvellously decorated with figures and it truly seemed from yore. The signboard said that one could get a panoramic view of the city from its twin towers. I paid 1.9 euros for that and entered the church with a beautiful fresco on the the main wall. Then it was up up and away. I climbed the stairs to get the two towers that promised a panaromic view of the city. Alas, my phobia of hieghts came in the way and I tried to climb the seemingly dangeourous stairs twice but could not.
I moved on further towards my destination - the Cathedral. On my way were many shops selling the typical Spanish souvenirs - Toledo's handicrafts including Don Quixote and Sancho Panchez. And there it was in front of me, the Cathedral. Its tower rose high towards the open sky as I entered a backdoor at the cobbled and narrow street. Across on the wall was a beautiful
fresco. The gate was closed and I thought we could not enter. I spent some time outside looking for another entrance but ended up taking more pictures.
I finally found the entrance and after paying 6 euros entered. What I saw inside left my jaws wide open. I had never such a magnificent structure, with such beautiful sculptures and paintings. The lights inside were small and placed in what used to be candlestands, making the ambience more historical.
The small chapels all around were closed but each had beautiful stained glass, statues and carvings - all unique. The one that impressed me the most was the fresco around the hole of the ceiling. The hole through which the sunlight came in was the centrepiece with all carved figures and the ones in the painting looking up to it. There were more paintings outside on the walls.
As I came out awe-struck, I headed towards Santa Tome and stopped on the way to eat some bread and cheese :(. Next to this restaurant was a souvenir shop where I bought some souvenirs (I wanted to take them all!). Moving further on I came across more suc beautiful things which were quite expensive. I reached Santa Tome and entered it with my ticket. However, I was quite disappointed after seeing the magnificent cathedral. The only part which impressed me was El Greco's masterpiece "The Burial of the Count". The child's hand pointing towards the dead body was something that drew my attention and was clearly the most haunting piece of all.
Moving on I bought the famous sweet of Toledo Mazpan (Marzipan in English). I then visited Convent of San Juan de los Reyes. It was again an old structure, but the exterior was being renovated and I could not catch a glimpse of it.
On the street ahead was an old fort wall and a statue of Queen Isabel who had the convent built. It was straight out of history books. By this time I was very tired and still had a couple of hours with me. I tried looking for Victorio Mancho's museum but reached El Greco's house
instead which was closed. From there I went to El Transito the synagogue. Another old monument with beautiful engravings. It also had a small museum and it was all free.
At the end of this I could not stay there anymore (heat and exhaustion) and headed towards the train station with some instructions. I came out of a door (gate/monument rather) and headed right. After coming out I could see the wall of the city clearly but could not take pictures as I ran out of memory. I did not have the energy to delete some pictures as I was feeling too tired. I walked and almost lost my way when I could not figure out the way to the station. Although the people around did not know English, they were kind enough to help me out.
After a 3-4 min walk I realized, I had reached the same place from where I had entered. I now knew my way and slowly headed towards my destination. Clouds were gathering in the sky giving the city a mystic old look. Unfortunately, I could not capture this on my camera. I moved on in silence contemplating on the life and scenes this old city would have seen.
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