Today was a full day trip to El Escorial located about 30 miles northwest of Madrid. We opted to try a new form of transportation for us…the bus. The bus station is only a 10 minute walk from our hotel. The building is modern and you enter on the street level but you go down the escalator one flight to the departure area.
The buses enter an under ground garage and you have to locate your departure door. There is a sign above each door telling the destination of the bus, the number of the bus and several times of departure. All you need to do is just get in line and wait. You pay the driver cash once you enter these modern coaches. Our fare was 4.5 Euros each way per person. The buses depart on time.
It was nice to be above ground and see a little of the country. The ride was only about 45 minutes and delivered us to the town of San Lorenzo where the El Escorial is located.
Monastertio da San Lorenzo El Escorial was built in the time when Catholic Spain felt threatened by Protestant 'heretics'. The construction of this palace dominated the Spanish economy for a generation (1562 to 1584). Because of this major undertaking, Spain has almost nothing else to show from this period. The building is about 650 feet long and 50 feet wide.
King Philip II (1527-1598) was very Catholic and ruled his empire and the Inquisition from here. To Philip this building embodied the wonders of Catholic learning, spirituality, and arts. To the 16th century followers of Martin Luther, it epitomized the evil of closed-minded Catholicism.
The building was conceived by Philip II to serve several purposes: as a grand mausoleum for Spain's royal family, starting with his father, Charles V (known as Carlos I in Spain); as a monastery to pray (a lot) for the royal souls; as small palace to use as a Camp David of sorts for Spain's royalty; and as a school to embrace humanism in a way that promoted the Catholic faith.
The whole group of us was really excited to tour the El Escorial. We had read the history behind the importance of this in Spain's history. Well, when we arrived a guard told it was closed today and tomorrow because of a local religious holiday with a parade in town. This is what we deal with in Cuenca, Ecuador when an unannounced holiday comes up and closes things. With nothing else in the city to see, we just walked around. The local children were dressed and walking with their parents. Everyone was out enjoying the holiday and perfect weather.
So, we just joined them and toured the small town. After a few hours, it was time for a beer break. The place we stopped at also had hand made pizzas on the menu…well food always goes good with beer, so we ordered two for the table. It was most enjoyable just to sit outside and drink our beers or glass of Sangria. Both of the pizzas we ordered were fresh, thin crust and excellent! That did take a little of the sting out of not getting in to see the interior of the palace.
When, we arrived back in Madrid, we had to pass the large shopping building of El Corte Ingles. Theresa and I needed to stop in there to each pick up one item. She needed a new curling iron and I needed fingernail polish remover. She didn't find what she wanted at a price she felt was reasonable (79 Euros) but I was successful in the polish remover (only 7 Euros).
The group meet in the hotel lobby at 7:00pm to go to dinner. I had planned for us to go tapas hopping but the 4 places I had selected three were closed on Sunday. We asked the hotel and they gave us walking directions to a couple of place close together. It was about a 10 to 15 minute walk. We stopped at one place and decided after we sat down, it was an OK place for a drink but not for dinner. Tony ran across the street and checked out another restaurant for us. The menu selection was good and the prices reasonable. He was able to talk them into holding a table for us for 30 minutes…great job Tony!
We sat on their outdoor front patio area a great place for people watching. The menu offered an wide selection of food and we all tried something different, except Sheila & Ed had the same dish. Tony had salmon, Theresa had mushroom risotto, Jim had turkey meatballs & pasta with a mild curry sauce, I had grilled pork and the other two had the Iberian Pork dish (more like pork hocks with a rich dark gravy). Everyone was pleased with their selection and it was a most enjoyable couple of hours. We arrived back at the hotel at 10:00pm where had the evening gone?
We have to meet in the lobby at 8:50 tomorrow morning. We will meet up with our professional guide then and she will take us to the Royal Palace, walking tour of Plaza Mayor area, lunch and the Prado Museum. It will be a full day of sightseeing for all of us.
Peggy
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