For the second day trip from Madrid, I was debating between Segovia and Toledo, and I decided on Toledo due to the convenience of direct trains from Atocha to Toledo. I also read that trains to and back from Toledo do sell out due to its popularity so I booked online (via renfe website) 2 weeks in advance to secure the tickets. The round-trip ticket was €22.2 so not too bad. We took the 8:15 AM train and arrived at 8:49 AM, a little bit over an hour so it was fast and easy.
Once arrived at Toledo, we took some photos of its beautiful train station, I remembered the old-fashioned ticket windows:
We walked out of the train station and just followed the crowds to the Alcantara Bridge viewpoint, it took around 15 minutes. A good portion of the walk was in shade, and it was early in the morning, so the heat had not kicked in yet. The views of the imperial city from Alcantara Bridge were postcard-perfect!
We crossed the bridge and the street, then followed the sign to the “Remonte mecánico de Safont,” the escalator. This made our ascent to the city much easier and faster, instead of having to hike up! Once we reached the top, we continued along the main road to Plaza de Zocodover. The plaza was bustling with tourists, and what caught my eye were the red cloths hanging from the balconies of a nearby building. These vibrant red cloths resembled the city as the old capital of Spain.
Our first sightseeing of the day was the Army Museum (Museo del Ejército) also known as the Alcázar de Toledo. Admission was very cheap for less than $6. When we got there, it was just opened and we purchased the tickets without much of a wait. Traveling with small kids and elders’ biggest challenge was bathrooms so museums and palaces were great choices. Also, the air conditioning was a plus during the hot summer in Spain! There are floors of exhibitions for us to explore and spent a good 2-3 hours in. The museum is well organized according to different periods of time. Their collections of weapons and armor were impressive.
As well as paintings related to wartime.
Modes of transportation were also displayed. My son is a big fan of cars so anything car-related kept him interested!
The huge miniature of the old-time battleship was nice:
We went from room to room along the halls and eventually brought us to this courtyard.
We remembered this staircase!
That door was massive!
Very quiet and pretty staircase and hall:
We went back inside to see the rest of the exhibits, there was a large tent in the middle:
The Army Museum was nice and inexpensive. Afterward, we walked toward the cathedral for our lunch at Shanghai Mama. The streets surrounding the cathedral were beautifully decorated; they looked much nicer than we were there over a decade ago. I love the huge cloth above the street that helped to provide shade and looked pretty with the hanging lanterns.
Shanghai Mama is next to the cathedral which provided great views of it while dining. We ordered Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings), a must for any Shanghainese restaurant. Those turned out to be good and plenty of soup (justify the price of it).
The sweet and sour pork was decent but the portion was very small for the price!
The eggplant dish was okay but very very small in portion.
The beef broccoli was too salty due to too much sauce. The quality of the beef wasn’t great – those were too hard to chew.
The “three cups” chicken tasted good but once again, very small portion.
Lastly, the stir-fried veggy was good, not overcooked to preserve the crunchiness.
Overall, the food flavors were good but the portions were too small for the price. It was the most expensive meal we had in Madrid: $183.74. The view from the corner of the restaurant, isn’t this amazing?
I love the flowers that added colors to the stone-colored cathedral and buildings, and the hanging lanterns and cloths.
At the far end of the cathedral stands the beautifully decorated Toledo City Hall, adorned with figures in ancient costumes.
From there, we strolled back to the main tourist street, filled with souvenir shops. I have to say, the lanterns in this street were the most beautiful ones we saw.
Another street:
We did a little bit of souvenir shopping where my daughter bought two fans 😀 We made it back to Plaza de Zocodover where we caught a bus to go back to the train station since it was too hot to walk. The exterior of the incredible Toledo Train Station:
I booked the 3:25 PM return train, but we got there an hour early. I walked into the office to ask if it’s possible to change our tickets to an earlier train, the employee said that the train is full. Then, I saw the printed schedule with markings to indicate that the next few trains are also sold out! Luckily, I have booked the return tickets in advance!!! We waited inside the hot but at least nice-looking train station. The fans were in good use 😉
My daughter loves her fan 😀
After we got back to Madrid, Jason and my uncle went to check out an Asian market on the other direction of Atocha while the rest of us walked back to our apartment to enjoy the air conditioner. It was triple digits out, the heat was unbearable to do anything else!
For dinner, we cooked frozen dumplings from the Asian market, which were alright, not the best frozen dumplings.
My uncle steamed mussels yum yum.
Shrimps too! Those tasted more “fresh” than the ones we had in the US.
Dumpling noodle soups with shrimps and chicken, yum!
Overall, we enjoyed our day trip to Toledo; it was easy, inexpensive, and city center was beautifully decorated. I love the cloth that provides shades; other hot weathered old towns should do that! The Army Museum was worth the admission fee. Of course, the city has a lot more tourists than a decade ago but not overcrowded. It has a lot more Chinese/Asian food options for tourists like us who crave for white rice and stir-fried vegetables.
