Honeymoon: Spain Day 8 Madrid & Toledo

The second last day was spent half day in Madrid and another half in Toledo. I am so glad, we headed for the half day tour to Toledo as Madrid city was simply boring. The only fascinating thing that got all the guys snapping away was Estadio Santiago Bernabeu!

On the other hand, visit to the Royal Palace was awesome. The Royal Palace is so lavishly furnished, it is hard to imagine how poor Spain economy is on a whole! As the Royal Palace is still in use for important functions, we were not allowed to take any photographs in the compound.

After the visit to the palace, it was free and easy time to wander around Madrid city central. Most shops were closed for their lunch break then. We ended up walking around the city central for two hours without being able to find a decent shortlisted restaurant to lunch. Hence, not a good impression formed because of all the crowds, closed shops and beggars at ever corner of the streets.

The only lucky thing that ever happened with all the uphill walking was to find Horno San On Fre (address: Hortaleza 9, 28004 Madrid, Madrid, Spain). It is a famous pastry store and I have to say, it truely lived up to all the hypes. The pastries offered by them is simply one of the best I have had in Spain!

After getting the pastries, we settled down at Mcdonald's for a quick bite before heading off to Toledo.

Toledo has been a traditional sword-making, steel-working center since about 500 BC. Its is famed for its very high quality alloy. We visited the old city which is located on a mountaintop and is made up of many historical sites like the cathedral which was unfortunately closed when we visited.

After having a city walk around the old town, we visited the alloy factory which is where we were given the chance to purchase some gold plated alloy souvenirs. Each piece of souvenirs were priced differently depending on the master that did the piece. Well, since we couldn't tell the difference and every piece looks nice in its own unique way, we each got a pair of cuff links and earrings from the cheapest range.

Even though it is in the cheapest price range, these set us back a total of 60EUROs!!! Oh well, still, I love the pair of earrings! No regrets spending the moolahs! :)

If you are thinking of getting swords for your personal collection, you may wish to know that you will have to declare it at custom back in Singapore. The custom will first confiscate your sword and you will have to write in to appeal for the sword to be returned to you as you bought it purely for personal collection purposes.

Tedious isn't it? Well, IMO, it will be best to leave the swords in Toledo and bring back the memories instead. :)


Honeymoon: Spain Day 1 - Barcelona

Honeymoon: Spain Day 2 Valencia

Honeymoon: Spain Day 3 Alicante & Guadix

Honeymoon: Spain Day 4 Granada & Cordoba

Honeymoon: Spain Day 5 Seville

Honeymoon: Spain Day 6 Caceres & Salamanca

Honeymoon: Spain Day 7 Segovia & La Rozas Village

Honeymoon: Spain Finale - Comerc 24