This city delivered surprises from the moment I got off the train. The railway terminus is an extraordinary building in the Moorish style, spectacular from inside and out.

I walked to the station much earlier than I needed to in order to avoid walking through Toledo with my heavy bags. I might have caught a taxi, but the station was only 25 minutes walk from the hotel, and I prefer to walk if I can, for one last sight-see and to avoid that uncomfortable silence that I often feel in cabs. Besides, walking is good for me!

I stopped twice on the way. Once for a cafe frappé with the texture of a soft ice-cream. It was delicious, but something about it upset my stomach.

Then I stopped in the park above the bridge that I crossed when I first entered the city. It was cool sat in the really morning under the shade of the trees.

What did I make of Toledo?

Before I came I didn’t know much beyond the name, vague ideas of the Spanish Inquisition, and of a Muslim history before the Catholic Monarchs (Ferdinand and Isabella) brought much of Spain under their rule. Toledo was recaptured for Catholic Spain in the eleventh century, so much earlier than I thought. The direct Muslim influence was only about four hundred years, but shaped the city long after the end of Muslim rule, and still shapes the city today.

There is so much more to see here. Some places that I found weren’t open on the days I was here, there are other monuments and stories – there’s a witchcraft museum I’d like to have a look at as well!

My only real gripe was the traffic. Some streets are barely wide enough for pedestrians, let alone cars, so you’re forever flattening yourself into a doorway while another expensive 4×4 squeezes past.

So I sit here, feeling tired, in the terminal building wondering what I’m wondering, and thinking “what the hell am I going to do with three hours?!”

Then I look up and see the ceiling of the terminal building, decorated in wood carved into a repeating geometric design. And I think if the other ceilings I’ve seen, painted or carved, and how much effort went into them before modern times. All do we do now is paint them white and forget about them.

I guess my wandering thoughts will be keeping me company until the train arrives!