Madrid--El Escorial--Day 4 Spain and Portugal in Depth

Casa Grande, AZ

It was another glorious day in Madrid.  Estefi said September and October are the best times of the year to visit.  

I asked Estefi the night before about the Netflix movie "Money Heist" and she said she didn't know anything about it as she doesn't get Netflix.  She called her sister and this morning she told us she found out it was an enormous hit.  The actors stayed at the same hotel we were staying at.  It was filmed in Madrid and also Toledo.  

 Yesterday we were talking with a friend who was in Madrid and he mentioned El Escorial.  At first I had forgotten about this.  We saw so much during our almost three weeks in Spain and Portugal that it's hard to remember it all.  How I could almost forget about this place is unbelievable but I also didn't have any photos so that may explain why my brain didn't remember it immediately.

Today we had a chance to experience the grandeur of the Escorial Monastery, which was the residence of the King of Spain.  It's more than a monastery, it's a Royal Palace and also a school.

This monastery had its first stone laid in April 1563 and was intended to serve as the royal pantheon.  The complex was completed in 1584.

The library had a arched ceiling with beautiful paintings.  Many of those paintings were removed to the Prada museum.  500 years of Spanish kings are buried here.  Our local guide was definitely an expert on the monastery.  

There were alot of steps to climb when we got to the latest kings tomb room. It was steps straight down and lots of them.  Some in the group didn't attempt the steps.  It was a strange feeling because you had no idea how far down they went and it was somewhat of a narrow passageway.  At the bottom of the steps it opened up into this room full of caskets in the wall. These weren't any ordinary caskets.  I have no idea how much gold and marble was in there, but it was a lot.

We had enough time when we returned to the hotel to walk through the department store next door.  Bill was looking for a small coin holder.  Since there are no Euro denominations less than a five, you tend to have a lot of coins in your pocket.  Europe does charge to use the restrooms, but Estefi always directed us to clean free ones.  You never want to be caught without money to pay to pee. 

This department store had everything from groceries to guns.  I never saw a bigger perfume area than this store had.  On the top floor there was a cafeteria.  Sue got a really cute shirt.  Bill keeps trying to find me a down jacket for our next planned trip.  

Estefi did another walk about but we decided to pass and get our suitcases ready for tomorrow's drive to Granada.  We finally heeded her words--"pace yourselves"

Turtle Safely.......