Wednesday, 19th March
Took a trip to San Lorenzo del Escorial (about 45 minutes to the northwest of Madrid) to see Felipe II's monumental Palace-cum-Monastery-cum-Library-cum-Mausoleum of El Escorial!!!
Random statue in the town!
The largest building of the Spanish Renaissance, it was built between 1563 and 1584, and designed by Juan Bautista de Toledo, but completed by his assistant Juan de Herrera, as poor old Juan de Toledo died before he could see it finished!!! :p Felipe II decided to build it to commemorate the 1557 victory of Spain (over France!) at the Battle of St. Quentin and to dedicate it to San Lorenzo as the battle was won on his name day! The Monarch also envisaged the building as a necropolis for his parents (the Emperor Charles V, and Isabella of Portugal), himself, and his descendants, and as a centre for studies in aid of the Counter-Reformation against Protestantism, of which cause Felipe was himself a great exponent!
Architecture of the Building
Its highlights include the Panteón Real (burial place of all but three of Spain's Monarchs), Panteón de los Infantes (completed in 1888, with 36 niches filled and 24 left!!), the Basílica, the Main Staircase, the Salones Reales (and the Palacio de los Borbones), the MAGNIFICENT Sala de Batallas, and its Library, which contains more than 40,000 volumes (God! That could even keep me satisfied!), and is an absolute delight! :)
Approach to the Panteón Real (no photos, so I had to be quick! :p)
Inside the Panteón de los Infantes
Coat of arms inside the Panteón de los Infantes
On the way to the Basilica
The BEAUTFUL ceiling of the Main Staircase! Glimpse of Heaven!
Patio de los Reyes (so called because of the statues of the six Kings of Israel on the façade)
Patio de los Reyes
Patio de los Reyes (so called because of the statues of the six Kings of Israel on the façade)
Patio de los Reyes
Impressions:
Delighted to have seen the building, but it's more like a prison than anything else, and not my idea of a Royal Residence!
Random cow outside a shop (note the real cow in the backround! :p)
So I wandered around, trying to get a picture of the whole complex (but couldn't 'cos of the bloody big wall around it!), and then it was back to Madrid, where I took a trip to the little-known Museo del Traje. Was set in such an idyllic location (very peaceful)--in the suburb of Moncloa--and what a FAB exhibition it was! Some BEAUTIFUL costumes, and I had the place practically to myself! :)
I would LOVE to go about dressed like this! :p
Hell! I'd even wear this! :p
Mirador del Faro (would've gone up it had it not been CLOSED indefinitely! :p)
Statue in pretty little park! :)
Random 'coal miner' on Puerta del Sol!
So, after that, it was back to the Centre (via a pretty little park!) and to the Corte Inglés, where I bought yet another book: Las Austrias: Matrimonio y razón de Estado en la monarquía española!!! I then whiled away the night by chatting to two LOVELY girls from the Basque Country (from Zumaia) in my hostel, and to the American guy again! :p
Delighted to have seen the building, but it's more like a prison than anything else, and not my idea of a Royal Residence!
Architecture in town
Random cow outside a shop (note the real cow in the backround! :p)
Arco de la Victoria, built by Franco in 1956 to commemorate the Nationalist victory in the Civil War, and right next to Moncloa Bus Station.
I would LOVE to go about dressed like this! :p
Hell! I'd even wear this! :p
Mirador del Faro (would've gone up it had it not been CLOSED indefinitely! :p)
Statue in pretty little park! :)
Random 'coal miner' on Puerta del Sol!
So, after that, it was back to the Centre (via a pretty little park!) and to the Corte Inglés, where I bought yet another book: Las Austrias: Matrimonio y razón de Estado en la monarquía española!!! I then whiled away the night by chatting to two LOVELY girls from the Basque Country (from Zumaia) in my hostel, and to the American guy again! :p
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