Day 34 - Madrid to Toledo to Madrid

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Full day in Madrid. First we have an optional tour to Toledo to look at another old town. There are only about 30 on this trip so lots of room to move in the bus if people wanted windows, etc. Takes about an hour to get there and on the way, we see a huge pall of black smoke in the distance. Eventually we pass close by what looks like a huge factory fire. Hard to see as the smoke is so dark. Everyone shuts down their vents until,we are well past. Bit of excitement.

As we have a bit of time, I decide to book our flights to Paris. Cheaper than the train and a lot quicker. All done and dusted, email confirmations and boarding passes before we get to Toledo. Gotta love wifi on the buses.

Arrive and drive up to the top of a hill and look back and down on the tow. Good perspective of where we are going later. First stop is to a sword and jewellery making place - also the only chance for a toilet stop.... We watch a master whatever doing his stuff in,acing gold thread onto a small disc. Grooves have been cut in the disk and he sits there with a small tool and threads the gold and stuffs it in those grooves with this tool. Painstaking work, shown up by the cost in the souvenir shop later. They also make swords and they are everywhere. Lots of guys want pics taken with these heavy swords. Don't buy anything, just use the facilities.

Back out and up to the get off point. We start our walk by getting on a series of escalators that will take us to the top - about 6 escalators in all. The guide says we must stay close as this towns streets are purpose built like a maze so they could get enemies lost if they invaded. He was right, tiny streets that wandered all over the place. Go through another cathedral. Hmm. Can't recall why this one was so special but it just was. AFC...

Out again and led into the main square where we get time for lunch. Find a nice cafe, go to sit down and we are almost shooed away by the guy. Not open till 1230 - it was 1215..... Ok back to the busy square and sit with an icy beer - so icy it had ice floating in the beer. Good start. Food was ok but the beer was excellent. Back to the bus and back to the hotel to pick up the rest of the gang. Some decide not to do the afternoon tour. A lot look like they have hit the wall, and it showed this morning, very quiet group.

This arvo we do a quick drive of the city, off at a monument of Don Quixote and pics then back to the Prado museum. They have a lot of Goya and Gaudi paintings in here (just remembered, the cathedral this morning was important coz it is huge and has some Gaudi paintings in there that are supposedly better then those in the Prado). Interesting commentary about how they got their 3D effects into the paintings and also the introduction of light sources. Art critic now...

Back to the hotel to scrub up for our last supper - the celebration dinner as they called it. Paid our non- obligatory but pretty well non missable tips to the tour director and driver and out to the dinner. Nice looking restaurant and we have our seats saved by our Italian friends, Tony and Linda. Two others sit with us - they are the couple who are Muslims - turns out they were from Syria originally. Chris talks to them and finds out lots of interesting info.

Food is really nice and the red is excellent. And it keeps coming. Got to desert and they bring out a bombe Alaska. Oh dear, the Syrians realise that they are about to pour alcohol on it. Panic and they ask if they can get some cut off. One of the waiter/showmen cracks the poops and loses it. The boss intervenes, cuts the end off for them - more cracking of the poops - and he does the bombe bit. Flame sort of works, everyone cheers and it is over. They get their non alcohol infused bits and nobody really cares except our waiter. I give him a smile which turns to my favour. Most wine glasses collected, I ask for more - no probs. nice guy.

Back to the bus, happy people and then Dan turns on the farewell CD music. Singing starts and we have the bus pull up to the hotel with singing and dancing. People on the street waiting for taxis wonder what has hit them. We all our off. Farewells, hugs, tears and kisses. All very good and then a few of us decide that more drinks are deserved. We wander off (finally) to a bar up the road someone had been to last night. Good choice. We invade and take over 4 tables outside. The waiter is good, learnt his English in Ireland. 13 of us sit down, Oder beers, wine and soft drink for some. Chris decides she wants a sangria. Only come in a jug - ok. A couple of others help her out. A good way to finish.

Quite a few are staying extra days so we say we might see them tomorrow, after a sleep in. All agree that a sleep in is well deserved.

That tour is now over, we now are free wheeling again.

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