Even here, I can't escape The Rats

It's been interesting getting settled here; I've spent a lot of time wandering the city and just absorbing it.  Toledo is the capital of Castilla La Mancha, the land of Don Quixote and delicious Manchego cheese.  It has existed at least since Roman times, was the capital of Visigothic Spain, and and enjoyed a golden age under the Muslim Caliphate.  The first major city captured during the Reconquista, Toledo served as a toehold from which Ferdinand and Isabella could attack Muslim-controlled southern Spain.  Carlos I (grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella mentioned above) later established his court here, and the city remained an important cultural center until Felipe II (Carlos's son) moved the court to Madrid.  Toledo is known as the "City of Three Cultures", due to it's Christian, Muslim, and Jewish heritage.  The narrow, winding streets and timeworn walls and buildings are a connection to the past.  I wonder, when I wind my way over cobblestones and crumbling bridges, if my ancestors walked these same streets before they left to find their fame and fortune (and untimely deaths) in the Americas.  As a branch of the family tree lived in Toledo, it's more than likely.  Located on a plateau, the land surrounding the city is windswept and rugged.  In some places, reminiscent of Canada, rocks poke through the scrubby brown vegetation like the exposed bones of the earth.  Other times, cyprus trees and rolling hills remind me of Italy.  The city resembles the back of a coin at sunset, when the light turns brown and tan to gold.  The surrounding land, however, resembles a car commercial.  I wish someone had been driving around the corner.

This is where the bandits hide their loot (seriously, can't you imagine a dinghy full of criminals entering that cave in the dead of night? And the room above is the perfect lair):

More views by the river:

Note the massive building toward the right in the picture below:

And a closer view:

In turn a Roman palace and a Nationalist stronghold during the civil war, this behemoth is the Alcázar.  It houses the regional library of Castilla La Mancha.  The library!  Imagine the books!  I haven't gone inside yet, but I will very soon.  I have a lot more to say, especially about Angeles, my host (parasite that I am), and my classes, but almost 2 am here and I have a very busy day tomorrow.  So, Monday it is.  ¡Hasta luego!