Toledo (pronounced 'Toe-lay-doe') was the first capital of Spain, built on the top of a tall hill as was the custom in the early centuries. This was a protection for the city along with a tall wall.
In 1085 the Christians took over the city from the Muslims and lived there along with a community of Jews until 1492 when all Jews were exiled from Spain. Evidence still exists of Jewish homes and their synagogue which was converted to a Christian church. There is also a Mosque with a minaret.
The most powerful people in the 13th century were the bishops of the catholic church. So the city hall was built close to the church.
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo is very large and very impressive. A sign by the door stated that the building had a capacity of 2,450 people. A massive scene was carved into a wall surrounding the Chorus and is lit by a decorative skylight that makes the gold shine when the sun hits it just right. In the front of the Chorus is a statue of the Virgin Mary that was from the 4th Century.
Since we are to fly home tomorrow, we all had to be tested for Covid and 22 of the 52 people on the tour tested positive, including me! John tested negative. We went into panic mode since we could not travel for up to 10 days and immediately had to find a place to stay starting the next day. We also had to decide if I would stay by myself or if John would stay also (he stayed). John felt like we should get an independent test to make sure this was correct so we walked 5 miles to find a clinic, tested again and returned to make final arrangements. We both had during the previous week or so what we thought was chest colds. Neither of us ever ran a temperature and I was completely asymptomatic.
John canceled our flights home, contacted the family and I slept.
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