Toledo y La Mancha

Marzipan, ah marzipan . . . how I love thee. Toledo is famous for many things. The finest swords are made in Toledo. All the swords in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy were made in Toledo. The chains on the side of one of the churches in Toledo were the chains that used to shackle the Christian prisoners that were liberated in the conquest of Granada. When they were set free, the Christians hung the chains on the side of the church to symbolize Catholic dominance.

Toledo is also famous for its nun-made marzipan. Every store front had elaborate items fashioned from marzipan including replicas of buildings in Toledo, eels (there used to be many eels in Toledo), and fruit. We bought a small box of marzipan. Everyone got one piece and then I ate the rest. I LOVE IT! It is definitely one of my favorite candies.

We saw a bunch of jewels, crowns, and religious items made of gold, silver and precious stones in the cathedral. We saw two paintings by Velasquez in a small church. We ate lunch with Fatima in what looked like an old church. The food was pretty good.

On the way home we stopped at the windmills in a place in La Mancha. In Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes, Don Quixote tries to attack some windmills thinking that they are giants. Ian fell and tore open his knee pretty badly. I felt sick on the ride home because it was so windy.