Toledo, Spain

“In my mind, the misty end to our bus ride when we arrived at the parking lot near Toledo, promised to be magical. We disembarked from the bus, rode the escalator up the covered space along the wall of the Alcázar, then climbed a bunch of steps to finally get to the street level of the once-walled city of Toledo. When we walked across a road and around a corner to the plaza, I saw that it was surrounded by buildings that had been there for centuries. Some were likely from the third and fourth centuries and I could almost smell the old stone and mortar; the thick-cut wooden doors and old frames around the windows with a whiff of fresher air from the higher vantage point. I’d have felt that we were in a time warp, except for the number of people in modern clothing wandering about.”

“Walking into Toledo Cathedral genuinely stopped me in my tracks. The moment you step inside, you’re surrounded by soaring Gothic arches, glowing stained glass, and a sense of history that feels almost overwhelming—in the best way. It’s one of those places where you instinctively lower your voice, even without meaning to.”

“Stepping out of the hotel and into the Plaza de Zocodover filled me with incredible nostalgia. It made me realize just how quickly life passes as twenty five years is no small amount of time. We were all bright eyed, optimistic students ready for a great future thanks to our new ability to speak Spanish. Now, we have all lived another quarter century and my memories belonged in another time when the world seemed much less complex.”