The Church of Santo Tomé brings you to a town full of desserts, gold, and bridges.

Toledo is located about a half hour or so outside of Madrid, Spain. When Madrid was just a little village, Toledo was the actual hot spot of Catholic Spain. Even before the Reconquista of Spain by the Christians, Toledo was a Moorish stronghold – thus there is an Alcazar, Arab baths, and the oldest Mosque in Spain. There was also a synagogue, but it has long been converted for Catholic use.

The surrounding river acts like a natural moat, resulting in the old city growing up the hill. Tiny streets weave down the hill, passing doors with abnormally high knockers for use by people on horses, and a bunch of Cardinal walks (bridges connecting buildings).

Santo Tomé is in the top ten sites to see in Toledo, in addition to the Cathedral, Alcazar, and maybe every single Toledo gold shop! Where else you can buy gold engraved swords and guns? It’s where everything’s shiny, Captain!

Don’t forget about the marzipan shops. Toledo is known for its sugary, almond confections crafted into as many shapes and animals as you can imagine! Okay, maybe not that many, but still. The funniest thing happened when I was Googling "marzipan" because I couldn’t remember the spelling: One of the first links was a trip advisor review for a bakery in NYC by the name of Santo Tomé that specializes in marzipan! My universe just exploded!

Back to the real Santo Tomé, the reason for its popularity is El Greco’s masterpiece of The Burial of Count Orgaz. No pictures allowed in Santo Tomé, but there isn’t the distinct feeling of sheep herding you feel at larger historic sites.

Santo Tomé would have fallen into ruin if it weren’t for the Count. Long story short (see The Burial of Count Orgaz), he left a substantial amount of money to the Chapel, that not until nearly 200 years later did the Chapel receive, and then they rebuilt and did what every Medieval/Renaissance Church would do – they painted a picture for him.