After the last two weeks, I might be a little closer to figuring out what cultural diversity means in Spain. These photos are a mashup of a day trip to Toledo with IES and my recent explorations in Madrid. Toledo is a genuinely multicultural city, as Christians, Jews, and Muslims coexisted peacefully there during a time when they warred elsewhere in the country. Within Madrid, I attended my first-ever flamenco show and played in the city’s most diverse neighborhood. Once again, Spain has left me with a more open mind, saying “I used to think…but now…” Make sure you click on the photos – some have extra descriptions!
![Flamenco Take Two Shattering stereotypes at Casa Patas.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.zapatero2-150x150.jpg)
![Strange Tapa I'm still not sure what this tapa contained, but it tasted vaguely of Asian spices and pork.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.tapa_4-150x150.jpg)
![Sinagoga del Tránsito This is the first synagogue in which I've ever set foot.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.synagogue1-150x150.jpg)
![Pulpo Gallego I've never once been allowed to forget that even within the Spanish national identity there is a huge amount of cultural diversity.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.pulpo_2-150x150.jpg)
![El Café de las Monjas Religious tolerance may tumble through Toledo's streets like an easy breeze, but Spain's dominant Catholicism is ever-present. Have a habit with those churros con chocolate.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.monjas1-150x150.jpg)
![Monastery A classic monastery courtyard...but wait! What's this? Mudejar arches supporting a Catholic institution? Welcome to Toledo.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.monastery5-150x150.jpg)
![madrid.doyel.mezquita Three faiths, one day trip.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.mezquita5-150x150.jpg)
![Marzipan You may be thinking that marzipan is irrelevant to cultural diversity, but I'm here to prove you wrong.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.marzipan1-150x150.jpg)
![Diversity in Groceries I walked Lavapiés, Madrid's most diverse neighborhood in terms of ethnicity and nationality, with my intercambio group this morning.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.lavapies1-150x150.jpg)
![Flamenco Attending a flamenco show has always been at the top of my Spain to-do list, and I finally fulfilled my wish this week.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.flamenco2-150x150.jpg)
![Typical Toledo Cobblestone The cobblestone in Toledo's twisting alleys and roads is lined with blue tiles featuring menorahs and Hebrew - reminding visitors that Jews and Catholics did actually coexist in Spain before the expulsion.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/madrid.doyel_.cobblestone4-150x150.jpg)