AUGUST 2015 : SPAIN : Madrid : El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos

HToday we had a very special treat. Alejandra and Raquel, whom we met on the Camino, planned a 

 remarkable day for us.

        

        We met at Plaza de Espana at 9.30 and they drove us the 45 minutes to El Escorial.

        Philip 11 built a monastery and palace here in the 16th century to house the mausoleums

        of Spanish royalty.

        It was also to make a statement about the efficacy of the Catholic Church and 

        to make a place of peace after so much warfare with the Moors, the British and the French. 

        Originally it was a monastery under the order of St Jerome but more recently it has been under    

        The Augustine Order.

      

        The monastery and palace is grand on every scale.

     

        This area was selected for the resources of wood, stone and water.

        

          It is the most impressive complex on scale and maintenance, being in operation since the 

          16 th century.

          Here are our 'Camino' group: 

          Raquel, Alejandra (cousins), Mark, me and Carlos (from Malaga)

          

        The chapel, mausoleums, the artwork, palace furnishings and Renaissance gardens - exquisite.

         

           The library in the palace of the Monastery of San Lorenzo.

        

          The pretty town of El Escorial built around the monastery.

        

          Alejandra and Raquel had researched the best restaurant and found La Cuerva.

       

         Nearby is the Valle de los Caidos. The huge cross, 150 m high, is evident miles before you arrive.

      

         The Valley of the Fallen is a monument to those who died in the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

         

                         It is located in the beautiful valley of the Mountains of Guadarrama.

          

                The huge forecourt over the valley floor

          

             Our enthusiastic hostesses, Raquel and Alejandra.

                                    

                           The proportions of the building and colonnades were astounding.

                                       

   The door leading into the basilica, which has been excavated into the hard rock into the mountain.

   Franco's grave is also here.

        

    The Basilica, hewn inside the mountain,with memorials to the Spanish Civil War. It also includes

    Franco's grave. Massive proportions of the statues, artwork, mosaic dome. Amazing!

           

       Back into Madrid we visited a Central Park with beautiful palms

        

    

     In the park, an Egyptian monument.

       

         Nearby at the Plaza de Espana, our heroes, Don Quixote and Sancho.

        

        Muchas gracias, Espana. Hasta luego!

M&M