Spain - Madrid to Toledo - Eurail Lessons in Leaving Madrid

I am writing this from the RENFE train station in Madrid, on the Calle de Atoche. We just had our first dose of not-so-good news since we've been here. Apparently, our Eurail pass is only valid when it is accompanied by it's corresponding "control voucher" and the official Eurail ticket cover. In preparation for our trip, and trying to minimize everything and pack as efficiently as possible with easy access to all documentation, I must have thrown away the cover thinking it was not necessary. The ticket agent said that we may not be able to get on the train. So, the moral of the story is that if you buy Eurail passes, don't throw anything away. We'll just have to wait and see how it works out.Monday would be our first day in transition from our original day of arrival. We planned to take the 12:20pm train to Toledo, rather than an earlier one, since we needed to build in space for the unknown. Hopefully, as we get better at this, we'll be able to take much earlier trains. We packed up our bags, checked out of our room, and once down in the building entryway, strapped on our huge packs, each weighing probably 50 pounds or so. I commented that if I had fallen over, I'd never be able to get back up. These packs are excellent though, as each has a built-in extendable pull-behind bar and wheels so you can pull it behind you like a traditional tavelling bag, while also, having hideaway "straps" (I know this is not the right terminology") for wearing them like a traditional hikers backpack. And, the removable day pack, that zippers and straps onto the main pack, is an absolute dream. Everything is very well padded and comfortable, although, with the amount of stuff we have crammed in there, it does not take long to become quite a burden when it's all on your back at once. For me, it felt like it was cutting off circulation between my neck and shoulders and as if my lungs were being stretched outside my chest cavity. Anyway, we decided to walk directly to the train station, since it was a beautiful day for it, and since on the map, it looked like a straight shot down the Calle de Atroche. The walk took maybe 20-30 minutes. We followed people inside and were immediately struck with the beautiful deep green jungle that took up the center of the station's main terminal. There was a constant warm mist that was pumped into the vegetation and the affect was that of an authentic in-house jungle. Nice! We disengaged ourselves from the packs and pulled out our Eurail passes, got in line for reservations, and waited 10 minutes or so before it was our turn. It was then that the agent pointed out the fact that if we did not have our Eurail "cover", we don't necessarilly have to be let on the train. Wonderful. So, what could we do? Luckily, he validated our passes, and left it up to us to figure it out. We were pretty upset, but there was nothing we could do at this point. We had everything else, BUT the stupid cover, and so we put it all together and hoped that if anyone decided to give us a hard time, we'd just show them everything else and try to squirm our way through it. I get this feeling though, that once we are in countries like Germany, and Switzerland, our squirming might not work as well...we'll just have to wait and see and in the meantime, call Eurail customer service, and find out how we can get a new ticket cover. Yes, this is a cover, just like the flimsy useless ones they give you at the ticketing counter of an airline in an airport that holds your boarding passes, the kind you throw away as soon as you feel it no longer serves much purpose. Unbelievable. So anyway, we took the slightly inclining conveyorbelt escalators up to the second level where the train platforms were, and patiently waited for our train. Once on board, I immediately wished all modes of transportation could be as nice. The interiors are spacious, immaculate, seemingly brand new and modern. The trip would be an amazingly fast one since this was a high speed line, taking just 35 minutes for us to arrive in Toledo. The landscape that whizzed by was rather plain, mostly just vast emptiness. A few breaths later, we where there, and outside taking snaps of each other, just like most every other tourist around us. The train station itself was a beautiful, morroccan style building with lots of colored tile and pretty woodwork, but nothing we felt inspired to photograph. We knew that their was much more out there to be seen that would be even more impressive. We didn't get the whole taxi-thing right away, but eventually figured out where we had to stand in order to get one. The trip to our hotel was only 5-10 minutes, and the scenery on the way was gorgeous. It seems the perfect place to build a fortress and the river surrounding the town provides a natural moat, and beyond it is nothing but shear rocky ledges leading straight up to the city above. The city is layer after layer of mauve-colored buildings and copper-toned roofs, with zig-zagging streets that carve their way to the top where a fortress and cathedral commands attention. Unfortunately, the afternoon was already growing late, and we knew that as much as we wanted to, we would not be able to walk into town in time enough to walk back again, and we'd have to put that off until the next day. Once to the hotel, we really just could not believe it. We booked this online through bookings.es because it was the cheapest, and looked livable. It is much more than that, and the price is considerably less than what we spent on our tiny place in Madrid. Our room has a spectacular view, with our own balcony, a well-appointed bathroom, two beds, a desk and chairs, closet, safe, and tv. The hotel has a pool, dining room, bar, lounge and is nestled with a beautiful view to the city of Toledo. The downside is that there is not immediate access to the city, like we had in Madrid, but on the flipside, we have a beautiful tranquil setting, romance, peace and quiet. We still had not eaten anything, so soon after we got our room, we explored the dining options and found that our only option was the in-house dining room. The setting was beautiful, and the food was excellent, and not even that expensive. We had a bottle of the house red-wine, I had trout with fried potatos and carrots, and Vee had salmon with asparagus. Our meal came with bread, and 4 empanadas. The wait staff were friendly and we felt very welcome. All this for 27 euros. We finished everything but the wine, and took it and our two glasses, with our waiter's permission of course, back to our room. There is supposed to be Wi-Fi, but just like last time, it is never as easy as expected, and I still cannot connect. Vee is napping, as the wine has had it's usual affect on her. We are both very excited about tomorrow, and look forward to setting out early for a long full day of Toledo.