Field trip to El Escorial

On Saturday we went on a field trip to El Escorial. Situated about 20 miles away from Madrid, this town is the site of a huge monastery founded in the 16th century. Contingent with the monastery, which still operates, is a royal palace of the Hapsburg-Bourbon kings and queens. The resulting complex is a UNESCO world heritage site and the largest Rennaisance building in the world, according to .

The image above shows the plaza in front of the church. Several hundred Guardia Civiles, some of who can be seen on the church steps, had just gone into the chuch. It must have been Family Day or something because they were in their dress uniforms and some were accompanied by wives and family. If you look closely you can see them wearing the traditional tricornio hat.

The monastery part of the tour was filled with paintings and frescos, so that was beautiful and fascinating. After you pass through the royal tombs, it's all royal palace. I'm not interested in kings and queens, and as far as palaces go, this one lacks the ornate and interesting displays you can see at Versailles, for example.

There were a LOT of stairs up and down, which were a little difficult for me, but I managed quite well.

From the bus on the way to El Escorial, you can see in the distance the enormous cross built as part of a burial complex for Francisco Franco. You can get a tour there too, of course, but I spurn it. If anyone said anything about the site, which is several miles away from El Escorial, I memorized a curse which I could say on cue. Forunately for everyone, nobody mentioned Franco, que su recuerdo apeste siempre.