Has it really been twenty years?

It has been nice to have lunch and catch up with Enrique. It is now 16.00 and we don’t really want to spend another night in Madrid. Two days are enough. It now feels too big, too busy and too claustrophobic. Besides, I cannot wait to drive off to Toledo.the place where I studied and  to see my very good friend, Jero, who I haven’t seen for twenty years.

I came to the University of Toledo to study a Business Administration degree. I still remember the day I arrived, how excited I was about living away from home for the first time, studying a degree, meeting new people… I lived here for five years so I got to know it very well. For a long time it was like my second home.

Jero was in my class. We talked occasionally during the first three years but it was only over the last two when our friendship eventually consolidated. Since then, we became very close. When we finished our degrees, I went back to my hometown, Talavera de la Reina and two years later, I emigrated to London.

We kept in touch during my first year in the UK, he came to see me on one occasion. Unfortunately, our lives gradually drifted apart. I haven’t heard much from him over the last sixteen years other than he got married one year before I did and that he continues to live in Toledo. However, thanks to the grand invention of Internet, we connected again about a year ago. We exchanged addresses and telephone numbers and since then, we have been keeping in regular contact and we promised we would meet soon.

But trying to arrange a meeting has not been that easy. When I was working, I came to Spain with little time. I would always come to Guisando and my hometown to see the family and friends who still live there. I could never manage to spare a few days to go somewhere else. This year’s travel is the perfect occasion to reunite with him.

So, here we are, 19.00 in the evening, in front of the Toledo bus station. We are due to meet him tomorrow for lunch at 14.00. I am intrigued; will he have changed much? will we recognise each other? will he still be the Jero I used to know? Well, I will find out tomorrow.

10.30 am, we are ready to start our route around Toledo. I am showing Gary the treasures of this beautiful town, as well as the places I frequented during my time living here. I have warned him though, there will be places I once swore I would never come back. These places form a significant part of my life and, with the passing of time, they may have changed or even disappeared. So I would rather not visit them to keep these memories untouched.

First place to show him, my university, still in the same place, ‘El Palacio de Lorenzana’ (Lorenzana palace)

A bit further down, ‘la iglesia de San Vicente’ (San Vicente church) where I used to take my exams. This church was temporarily lent to the Toledo university to accommodate the huge amount of people studying the  Business Administration degree at the time. I remember writing my exams in the cold, dark, and dreary room. Not the ideal atmosphere that helps you concentrate.

Toledo is famous for its traditional sword-making, steel-working business since about 500 BC! Not particularly something we would have at home. Tourists love this gaudy crap and, more importantly, they are willing to pay eye-watering prices for it, suckers.

We have a couple of hours to spare before lunch and it is raining and cold. We are not very fond of art museums. There is not much to do in the rain in two hours other than shopping or drinking. A bit early for the latter, not really in a mood for the former. What should we do? The cathedral is €8 each, we are not going to bolster the coffers of the catholic church any more than they already are. Didn’t realise it cost so much to venerate christ!

Suddenly, we come across an exhibition about torture methods in Europe from the middle ages until they were abolished (at least officially) in the XIX century. I remember going to a similar exhibition with my parents when I was seventeen. My brother and I came out from it incredibly disturbed, to the extent that we still talk about it occasionally after so many years. We had never seen anything so cruel and brutal in our lives.

I am into remembering my life back in Spain on this trip, so I am happy to visit this exhibition again.  Gary is up for anything that has nothing to do with the church. So we get tickets, which happen to also allow us to visit another exhibition about Leonardo Da Vinci.

After one hour around the torture methods museum, I am feeling as distressed as I did twenty years ago. Gary too. It is absolutely incredible, all of this caused by religion. Aren’t religious people meant to be here to make the world better?

Couldn’t resist adding my bit. The bible is meant to be an instruction manual for life and a place where you can get your morality from. Well if this is the result, you can keep your Bible. I find it contemptuous and pure evil. People should be very cautious of any book that promotes slavery, vilifies homosexuals, promotes torture, genocide, infanticide, but most importantly, asks that people do not think for themselves. (If you do not think that this is part of the bible, then you better read it more thoroughly) I do not believe in any of the above. My morality is better than that of the bible. GDR

Now to the exhibition about Leonardo Da Vinci. I am not particularly keen. Gary will enjoy it for both of us though.

Da Vinci, pure genius GDR

It is now one hour before we meet Jero. It has stopped raining so lets go for a walk along the river.

Below, the Alcazar, a highly symbolic building of Nationalist victory in Toledo.

It is located on the highest part of Toledo. From here you can enjoy stunning views of the River Tajo.

I could sit here for hours. How much I love this city. How many memories it brings!

I take a panorama to catch the extension of the valley.

Before we head off to Zocodover square, we pop in to have a drink in “El Gallo” one of my favourite bars back them. It hasn’t changed. I can’t stop telling Gary stories about my youth. He says he doesn’t mind but surely, he must be getting a bit sick of them. These stories must seem so remote to him. Besides, they describe the Susana he never knew.

We are now in the Zocodover square, our meeting place. He is running late. When he turns up he looks slightly stressed and guilty for making us wait. He apologises and drives around Toledo to park the car and treat us for lunch. However, it is Saturday, no chance for a place, Toledo seems a tourists hell these days.

After 45 minutes, we have found a place. We get to see a lot of Toledo, Gary is very happy. We get out of the car, now it is time for proper greetings. We hug and kiss and hug and kiss again! Gary is not happy about it.

He takes us to a tapas bar next to the main square. The bar is quite busy but he knows the staff who have managed to find a table for us. We order one of their best wines, from ‘Ribera del Duero’, the occasion deserves it.

I can’t wait to catch up with life and hear about his new job, a general manager of the family business. This business is ‘the confiteria Santo Tome’ (www.mazapan.com) a firm which has been making natural and handcrafted marzipan and sweets for over 150 years. It is now the most important and well-known cake shop in Toledo.

Jero is gradually taking over from his aunt after announcing her retirement. Up to now, Jero has been working as a Finance Director for over then years in CMT Television, a regional TV. “I felt sorry when I left my previous company” he says. “However, I am really excited about my new role here. It is less about finance and more about the  strategic and management of the business. It requires different skills and it involves more responsibility” he says. I feel very excited for him, I am sure he will succeed. He has always been very bright. I can’t wait to see the factory later.

We are having a really nice talk over lunch. Him and I are catching up with life. His English is good so he can also interact with Gary.

After lunch, time to see the factory. We first visit the original shop in Santo Tome road, opened in 1856. They make many different sweets, from tea biscuits to birthday cakes, muffins…

Look at  them! They look absolutely gorgeous. I couldn’t work in this shop, I would be nibbling cakes all day!

The strawberry ones look fantastic. I am thinking of buying a box for my parents but with it is becoming so difficult to choose now. Should I take one sample of each?

However, the main product and what they are so known for is marzipan, a very traditional Spanish Christmas sweet made out of almond, sugar and honey. Obviously they are now incredible busy, having to hire 30% extra staff to cope with the high demand.

We are now moving on to the back of the shop where the factory is located. The process of making marzipan is still very manual, they use all natural ingredients, without any preservatives.

The ingredients are mixed using a machine with big granite rollers which crushes the nuts, sugar and honey into a paste. The marzipan paste is left to rest overnight.

The next day, the past is taken to another machine which shapes it into different shapes, mainly animals and Christmas motives.

Thereafter, the marzipan shapes are baked in big ovens for 10 minutes.

We are given some to taste. They are absolutely delicious, very moist and incredibly tasty.

These shapes can also be bathed with nuts such as pine nuts and almonds. He gives us to try some. Okay, I have made my mind up, I will get a box of these later.

A premium product made purely with marzipan stuffed with some sort of pumpkin jam is the marzipan eel. Again, manually made – including the shape of the scales –  except, of course for the paste.

The eels is taken shape after a few minutes in the oven. They are now ready to be decorated with sugary, colourful fruit that would make the eyes, the tongue, etc. Again, all manual.

Each year hundreds of them are made and sold.

Almost the end of the tour. Time to take a photo of the two of us at his office.

We go back downstairs. I know what to buy for myself but I will also take some marzipan for my mother, she loves it. I get a box of sugary fruit for my father which Jero won’t let me pay for. He knows my parents, these boxes are his presents for them.

We now go to the busiest shop in Toledo, the one located in the Zocodover square. Before that, we pop in the shop next door, his main competitor. Yes, prices are 30% lower, but the presentation, design and quality differences are obvious. We walk towards his shop but we can’t pop in, it is too busy, too many people. Clearly, he is the market leader in Toledo.

However, he is bringing new ideas to the business. He would like to expand it and increase brand awareness. He is looking into exporting, however, he highlights the problem he has. He wishes to keep his marzipan free of conservatives and preservatives.This means that the marzipan has a very short shelf life and it won’t reach the foreign shops before the expire date. Aiming at gaining market share in the national market is probably his best bet.

I also fear another problem with his export strategy. Marzipan is not unknown in the UK, however we tend to roll it into thin sheets and spread it across cakes. It is especially used on christmas and wedding cakes. The baked marzipan shapes, although delicious, do not have the cultural significance that they have in Spain, and therefore I do not think they would sell that well. GDR

Goodness, it is 19.00!! Time has flown. We need to press on if we want to get to Guisando in a reasonable time. My parents can’t wait to see us.

However, he is not saying good-bye to us before he sees Dora. Jero has been one of our most faithful followers of our blog.

Look at us. “We make a really nice couple” we joke.

Jero, it has been such a pleasure being with you again. Time has not changed our relationship a bit.

Our meeting has been far too short. We have still lots of things to talk about. I would ask only one thing, please do not let another twenty years go by.

We wish you all the best in your new adventures. I am sure you will do very well.

Love you lots!

SM