toledo

overslept. got up at 10.30am instead of 8. rush to pack up and get to bank. pleasant surprise - no commission for cashing in TCs (cf cambio asking for 9%!!)
grabbed coffee and tortilla (potato omelette) boccadillo. latter was a mistake: huge, hard and cold.
first stop in toledo, the cathedral. quite magnificent, especially the coro (choir). no photography allowed but too much detail anyway. jumble of gothic, baroque and other styles. real charm in the streets of toledo itself: narrow streets of cobblestones, barely wide enough for a car to pass.
lunch choice bar tropezon was closed. downside of being in toledo off-season and on a monday to boot. ended up at los cuatro tiempos. nice, proper sit-down restaurant. ham/egg soup was good, perdiz (porridge) was unusual, ice cream quite good as well. post-lunch, off to santo tome for el greco's masterpiece: burial of the count of orgaz. (other tourists from us, japan, eu, including france.) not a big fan of el greco but setting was excellent.
synagoga maria la blanca next. very different from the cathedral. (lovely smell of soap.) not so opulent in detail but interplay of columns and arches arresting; detail on walls intricate. also saw san juan de los rayes with the 'festooning' chains. crossed bridge in attempt to get better view. alcazar was good but nada for the cathedral. choice for dinner cudena closed. ended up at nondescript bar with the ubiquitous fruit machine. mushrooms as if from can, meatballs ok though some were cold in the centre. ate marzipan. not moved.
took no. 6 bus back to bus station... and missed stop. dropped and started walking back. ok, better start running if we want to make the bus. caught the 9pm bus back to madrid. shocked to find that buses for barcelona were from another station. rushed to avenidia de america only to find out that 11pm and midnight buses were full. sprung for 11.15pm eurobus. almost didn't find bus bay. €30 to travel in comfort (toilet, reclining seats, spanish videos...) vs €21 otherwise.