1936 On the Continent

in the middle of which you will generally find a well. In the hottest months an awning is stretched over the court, and it is here that the owner and his family rest or sleep during the day. You can easily see the interior of one of these houses if you make yourself agreeable to one of the natives.
    If you wish to carry away a souvenir from Toledo you will probably buy a penknife or a similar trifle made of Toledo steel, which is reputed to be the best in the world, due, it is said, to a mysterious property in the local water.
    On the other hand, if you are interested in art, you may go to San Tome, in the Moorish quarter, and see an organ decorated with stained glass and paintings by El Greco. But, of course, the whole of Toledo is crammed with works of art of one sort or another, and you can see many El Grecos at the Casa del Greco and the Museo del Greco.
    Vehicular traffic is rather difficult in Toledo, as most of the streets are very narrow. On feast days, in particular, the town is thronged with visitors and it is hardly possible to walk in the streets.
    But side by side with all the sacred and beautiful things in Toledo there is also a bull-ring. As you will remember, the first bull-fight of the year takes place at Easter, after due spiritual preparation.
    You may also visit in Toledo the cattle market, where you may sometimes see a bigger concourse of donkeys than anywhere else outside Spain.
    You enter and leave Toledo by the Puerta del Sol (“Gate of the Sun”)—and it is. It is also a fine example of Moorish gateways of Toledo.
    Toledo has a number of good hotels, and although the city is a world-famous show-place, the
Patronato Nacional del Turismo
has seen to it that you are not overcharged. There are no luxury hotels, but the Hotel Granullaque, where you get food and accommodation of the usual good medium standard, charges a maximum of 25 pesetas per day, and other satisfactory hotels even less. During Holy Week, however, the hotels raise their prices.
    Before we leave Toledo I may mention that the city has a miniature Woolwich and also a miniature Sandhurst, so that the Spanish Army is fairly in evidence in Toledo.
Back in Madrid
    But we have not yet finished with Madrid. You return to the capital from Toledo the same way as you came, or if you want an alternative method the
P. N. T.
on the Plaza de Zocodover will advise you.
    It is from Madrid that you will go on to Saragossa, but before you do so you must sample a few specialities. The exasperating efficiency of the
P. N. T.
in reorganising practically all the hotels in Spain on almost Northern European lines makes it difficult for me to suggest adventures in the matter of food and drink, but here are two things you might like to try. There are
cervecerias
in Madrid which are so called because of the typical Spanish beer,
cerveza del aguila
, sold in them. As I have already said, you can get excellent beer everywhere in Spain, but these are not really Spanish beers, as most of the breweries in the country are owned either by foreigners or by Spanish brewers who have been trained in Germany.
Cerveza del aguila
is quite a good drink, and the
cervecerias
will also serve you with snacks, including shell-fish, fried potatoes, cold meats and
pâtisserie
. Cerveceria Inglesa, 28, Carrera de San Jeronimo, is a good place to try the Spanish beer, but there are many other
cervecerias
all over Madrid.
    The
horcheterias
sell, among other things,
horchata
, a Valencian speciality made from a ground nut. But the word
horcheteria
has become popularised and is now applied to many cafés. At the Bar Flor in Puerta del Sol (already mentioned) the speciality in question is served by Valenciano waiters. Other
horcheterias
are the Café de Pompo in the Calle de Caretas and the Café de Gijon, and others in the Paseo de Recoletes.
    The
Metropolitano
or Underground Railway is nothing to write home about, and you will find the trams far more convenient.
Language
    Before we go on to Saragossa, let me say a few words about the language difficulty and explain why I have omitted—and will continue to omit—to give you a few phrases in Spanish.
    As far as English travellers are concerned the language difficulty in Spain amounts to this, that whereas at the better class hotels, at the important stations and at the
P. N. T.
offices you always find someone who understands you in your own tongue, if you venture abroad you are reduced to pantomime. To give you a list of phrases