We didn't know what to expect. We knew that Toledo was legendary in days gone by for its superb swords. Toledo swords never broke in battle. But what would Toledo be like today? Would it be an old-fashioned Pittsburgh, an industrial-revolution Birmingham, a Gary, Indiana, a kind of Spanish "Steel City"--with foundaries and blast furnaces, etc.? Or would it be something else?

We found Toledo to be a wonderful place that maintained its medieval character. A panoramic view of Toledo today looked much the same as when El Greco painted his cityscape of it in the early seventeenth century! El Greco's view of Toledo hangs in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's scarcely different from our view of Toledo some four centuries later! A little more congested to be sure, but still recognizable:

Not a blast furnace in sight! Nevertheless Toledo artisans continue to sell outstanding cutlery and collectible swords. For our son, who is an outdoor enthusiast, we bought a bowie knife with a blade of vanadium and molybdenum steel that should hold a scalpel-sharp edge through the roughest use.

The best thing about Toledo is how a visitor feels transported back to the middle ages. There are narrow, winding pedestrian walkways. The streets twist and turn. They give little sense of sustained direction, The cobblestones can threaten balance, and foot travelers are occasionally challenged by some pronounced inclines. Still, it's fun to snake through the town's winding passages.

Toledo has a Cathedral. It also has a synagogue--dating back to 1180, long before the jews were expelled from Spain. It has an Alcazar (a palace). It has the remnants of city walls. Just across the river Tagus are the battlements where the movie El Cid was filmed. So Toledo is a strong reflection of things that are medieval. But mostly, Toledo has Domenikos Theotocopoulos--EL GRECO!

El Greco had a home in Toledo. And he painted in Toledo. His home has been reconstructed and is now a small museum. We didn't visit it. We are told that the museum holds some twenty of his works! We did visit Toledo's Cathedral which is where El Greco's magnificent painting, "The Spoliation" hangs in the sacristy. Toledo's Cathedral is truly a museum among cathedrals. It has paintings not only by El Greco, but also by Goya, Velasquez, Rubens, and Raphael.

Inside the Cathedral there is a very unusual Madonna--a smiling madonna. Our local guide alerted us to it. Generally speaking, madonnas don't smile. Think about that. When have you ever seen a madonna with more than a bland grin? The best they can master is a Mona Lisa-like smirk. But here in Toledo we discovered one of the religious world's most unusual phenomena--a beaming virgin!

A short distance from the cathedral, there is a tiny chapel known as the chapel of Santo Tome. Here is the work which many critics consider to be El Greco's finest--"The Burial of Count Orgaz." Once again, cameras and video were forbidden. I'm afraid that my spy-cam representation of the work is not very good.

In Toledo we also visited the synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca. You'll recognize that "Santa Maria" is a strange name for a synagogue. Synagogues don't normally get named after saints. The explanation is that, after the jews were expelled from Spain, the synagogue was turned into a Catholic chapel and re-named. (It's a little bit like happened in Istanbul--but in reverse--when the moslems turned the church of Santa Sophia into a mosque.)

The synagogue is beautiful. It mandates respect. An aura of peace abounds within it. The capitals of the columns are intricately decorated. The graceful arches and the soft lighting promote harmony and repose. You've got to be moved by it!

In Toledo, we found everything to be attractive and inviting. The shops were interesting. There were many historic sites. The restaurants appeared enticing. The atmosphere was charming. A visitor could have spent a relaxed week enjoying the city; we had half a day.