My Spanish Sabbatical, 2007/8
Daniel W. Koon
October 21, 2007


hi all--

we hear the temp in canton was 46 this morning--good heavens! it's 'cooler' here--around 70 in the morning, up to ~83 this afternoon.

in a couple of parks we've seen 'mayores' [senior citizens] exercising at "playgrounds" especially for them, with stationary bikes & other equipment for stretching & low-key exercises. cool.

last thurs. we took a day-trip to Toledo [~1 hr by bus to Toledo, then another few minutes up the hill by local bus to the old city]. old T is noted for its hilly, winding little streets [scenic Europe!], being surrounded on 3 sides by the river Tajo [defensible for centuries], its competing 'mazapan' makers [we had both really good and OK marzipan], and centuries ago having been a place where Jews, Muslims and Christians lived in peace. We visited 2 old 'sinagogas'--the 14th century Transito synagogue had Hebrew psalms carved all around the walls of the sanctuary, and a gallery for the women. It's also the home of Sephardic museum. After the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, it was used as a church. The other synagogue had whitewashed walls and the kind of arches associated with middle eastern architecture.

We also visited the huge cathedral, which had quite a few paintings [including a set of Jesus and the Apostles by El Greco] and sculptures, some illuminated by a hole that had been made in the roof then integrated into the surrounding murals with figures painted in.

D has taken some pix of the street name tiles found on most streets in the city center; they can be seen at http://it.stlawu.edu/~koon/gifs/Street%20Tiles%20of%20Madrid%20A.htm .

we hope you're all well, happy, and contemplating a trip to madrid!
judy, daniel, eli

Window from the Sinagoga de Transito, Toledo
 
Insides of the Sinagoga Santa Maria la Blanca
 
Monstrance: from the treasure room of the Toledo Cathedral
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