Day 4 - Madrid

Very busy morning. Our tour bus picked us up at the hotel at 8:15am and approximately an hour later we were deposited in front of El Escorial. El Escorial was the summer home for generations of Spanish monarchs especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. It's both a palace and a monastery - built as a religious retreat for Philip II and stands in an exceptionally beautiful site north of Madrid. The architecture of the very austere looking palace reflects Philip's strong religiosity. It's built around a basilica and has the unique feature of the monarch's bedroom doors opening directly onto the church altar allowing him access at any time. The palace is perfectly preserved with many of its original furnishings from the 17th century. A truly fascinating place to visit.

Unfortunately no photos are allowed of the interior so we had to settle for a couple of exterior shots.










From there our bus took us on a 20 minute ride to the Valley of the Fallen. The Valley or Valle de Los Caidos is a type of war memorial built by Franco between 1940 and 1959 to commemorate those who died during the Spanish civil war. The monument is a catholic basilica built deep into the mountain over which a 300 foot stone cross stands weighing over 200,000 tons. It's controversial in part since 10% of the construction workforce were political prisoners who had fought against Franco during the war. Franco's tomb is inside the basilica. Frankly I found the place rather creepy. The basilica has a very fascist style particularly in its architecture and sculptures. Given Franco's bloody record during and after the civil war, it's very strange to see this monument to a dictator which essentially honours him.

Carl really enjoyed the visit because it was the location of the climactic scene of Graham Greene's late masterpiece "Monsignor Quixote". It was a comic assault on fascism and the Catholic church's collaboration with Franco whose grave Carl trod on. The security guy gave him a dirty look.

Once again, no photos of the basilica were allowed so here are some exterior shots.








Great dinner tonight at La Castela. Dined on braised bull tails and a delicious prawn and chickpea dish. We're enjoying all the Spanish wines...and we're loving Madrid. Really an amazing city to visit.

Our hotel from the Prado street.


Watching foreign TV can be weird. Who'd have thought we'd see the Jays highlights on Al Jazeera TV. Must be Bautista's beard. P.S. Carl wrote this, can't you tell!

Location:Madrid