#51 Spend a day in El Escorial

Well number fifty-one on my list is one thing that I actually (and very shamefully) had never done before. Despite the fact that I've lived in Madrid for nearly a year and a half now (and that's not including the semester I spent here as an undergraduate), I had never before visited this town only an hour northwest of Madrid. San Lorenzo de El Escorial is famous for the monastery there, which also used to serve as a palace for the royal family of Spain. The monastery was built in the 16th century by the king Felipe II up in the Sierra de Guadarrama (a mountain range) just outside of Madrid. Supposedly (well...ok, according to Wiki), the original floorplans of the monastery were inspired by descriptions of the design of Solomon's temple. According to Wiki, "the most persuasive theory for the origin of the floor plan is that it is based on descriptions of the Temple of Solomon by the Judeo-Roman historian, Flavius Josephus: a portico followed by a courtyard open to the sky, followed by a second portico and a second courtyard, all flanked by arcades and enclosed passageways, leading to the "holy of holies". Statues of David and Solomon on either side of the entrance to the basilica of El Escorial lend further weight to the theory that this is the true origin of the design." I like architecture a lot, so I think this is a pretty interesting theory.

Main entrance at the Courtyard of the Kings, with the basilica behind it.

Anyway, aside from being a monastery and a royal palace (at one point in time), the building also has a library, a basilica, a pantheon where twenty-six kings and queens from the Hapsburg and Bourbon dynasties are buried (or rather, stored in fancy coffins that are stacked on the walls), and now, of course, a museum for visitors, among other things. There is also a room called the Sala de las Batallas, which is basically huge corridors with frescos and paintings on the walls depicting various important Spanish battles, including, but not limited to, battles against the Moors in the middle ages and then later on against the French. Unfortunately I missed this room, but it's okay because it gives me an excuse to go back.

The pantheon (picture from Google; you can't take pictures inside).

Sala de Batalles (Hall of Battles) (picture from Google).

Aside from the building itself, the monastery is also surrounded by several gardens. We didn't spend a lot of time in the gardens because we didn't have a lot of time and also it was freezing and really windy when we were there, but they're nice gardens (though not as extensive or beautiful as those at the royal palace in Aranjuez).

Me, Nicole, and Kristin in the gardens of the monastery.

Me, Nicole, and Amelie (pictures courtesy of Amelie).

Anyway, after Nicole, Amelie, and I visited the monastery/palace, we met up with our friend, Kristin, who is living in El Escorial and doing the same teaching program as us in a school out there. She took us to one of her favorite restaurants there for lunch, and then afterwards we walked around the town (which is really pretty; I didn't have very high expectations but I was impressed by how nice it is) and the gardens of the monastery. Kristin also invited us to her apartment for a little while, which was fun. Her place is really nice and she has a terrace that has a great view of the monastery.

So, the wait to visit El Escorial was well worth it. I would definitely recommend taking the day trip up there to any visitors to Madrid. A good way to start off my list of 101 things to do in and around Madrid! Oh, and here are the pictures (mostly just of the monastery) that I took.