Spain Broke Us: Bird Attack, Train Chaos, and a Brutal Climb Through Toledo

Out in the street before the morning sun, we left behind our home for the past two days and made our way to the train station, putting Seville behind us.

We would have an early train to our next destination, Cordoba. We made our way through the surprisingly busy train station and soon found ourselves in the all too familiar train car.

The sun had finally caught up to us and we strolled through the palm tree lined streets and just tried to fully wake up. The warm sun on our faces woke us from our state and we began to take in our surroundings.

We made our way to an ancient fort we had bookmarked previously and paid the seven euro fee to enter and explore. Lasting for generations, it was now no more than just crumbling foundations and we tried to imagine the history that would have unfolded here.

Though the fortress was rather mild, it did give way to one of my favorite encounters as the six foot tall Austin smacked his head entering a small doorway. Ancient construction is not made for the tall.

Eventually we made our way out and upwards, overlooking the gardens below. Throughout these trips, we constantly try to navigate to these heights whether that’s church bell towers or castle spires as the views are breathtaking.

We slowly made our descent and began to notice a thick smell of citrus filling the air. We had arrived in the gardens and fruit trees consisting of lemon and orange trees surrounded us. The whole area smelt like orange juice and a peaceful feeling cloaked us.

Few moments later, we exited the grounds and made our way to a large cathedral. Unfortunately the line to enter was sprawling and never ending and we simply had to pass it by.

We continued down a maze of streets that seemed to have been pulled from my parents’ childhood (as they were all uphill).

Eventually we exited the maze of winding streets and found ourselves in front of an ancient guard tower. Cordoba continued to disappoint as we were unable to enter and we slowly slunk back to the train station.

As we were unable to enter the cathedral and the tower, we had an abundance of time on our hands before our train would arrive. We found a small cafeteria within the station and made ourselves comfortable. We grabbed some snacks and settled in. Several moments later, I felt something hit the top of my head and glancing up, I saw a white bird dart past.

Sure enough, a bird had decided I was a worthy target and had defecated on my hat and down the back of my shirt. I went outside and changed shirts (tossing the soiled one) and tried to clean up with some water and wipes. On the previous trip, the exact thing happened to Matt so it’s only fitting it should happen to me now. Hopefully Austin is next.

As clean as I could be, we set off and arrived to our platform, only to be told our train was now delayed. We used the time to frantically book our last two train tickets and switch our Barcelona high speed rail to a later time (with an added cost).

We found ourselves once more in the Madrid Atocha station before our connection to Toledo. Again with some time to kill, we nestled into corner at a small cafe located within the station and had several drinks to pass the time.

We then found ourselves on a torturous three hour ride to Toledo. The train car was extremely hot and the smell of soup filled the entire cabin. We tried to pass the time by napping and focusing on the changing landscape out our window. Fortunately our hotel was in the shade of the station, a mere two minute walk.

Checking in and dropping off our bags, we set back off into the afternoon and crossed an ancient Roman bridge to start the climb up to the city center.

The climb was surprising and the elevation rose rapidly. We took in the views of surrounding castles, cathedrals, and long past structures.

Yet lines of souvenir shops full of swords and cheap armor were the forever constant. We were able to try samples of marzipan, a small sweet iconic to the city. We eventually found a restaurant and had a quick dinner, still eager to explore the rest of the city.

Following dinner, Austin and Matt popped into a small shop for ice cream and we began to wander through the remaining maze of streets.

Unwilling for the night to end, we found ourselves in an Irish bar for an overpriced pint and a very loud and overall strange vibe.

Wishing for something a bit different, we left the bar behind us and started the long descent back down to our hotel.

We popped in to use the bathroom before setting back off into the dark night. We walked a ways looking for another bar but our search came up empty. Eventually we made our way to a small convenience store and purchased snacks and drinks before heading back to our hotel. We spent the remainder of the evening indulging on our treats and watching strange Spanish reality TV; just thankful to be experiencing all this.

To see the previous day’s adventure, click here.

To move onwards with us along our journey, click here.