Monday, January 26, 2009

Spain Series #4

We left Segovia a short time after lunch and headed back toward Madrid with plans to stop at El Escorial on the way. This is a pretty large complex that includes a royal palace, museum, and a monastery. It was built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. You can read more about it here.

The south façade of El Escorial in the afternoon sun.

Since we were operating in "drive-by tourist" mode, as I like to call it, we didn't go inside the buildings or take any of the tours. We did park and take a good walk around the exterior and took pictures.

Ken poses for a picture in one of the terrace gardens.

Again, it was cold, and we had the dog with us. But the upside was that the place was relatively uncrowded, and the weather was sunny and clear. We were on the south side of the mountains now and benefiting from what warmth the February sun could muster.

The south-eastern corner of the terrace garden.

As the day drew to a close, we got back into the car and headed toward Madrid. I remember going somewhere to get take-out food which we ate back at the hotel room with Sue. Then one of us (Ken, I think) drove her back to her apartment. The next day we planned to stay in Madrid and wander around.

Snow on the mountains above El Escorial.
And just for fun, below, a close-up of the spires.

5 comments:

  1. Great photos!

    I'm going to drive around Spain for a month in May. I can't wait to visit all these places.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'VE loved following along on your adventures...the photographs are amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We did do the tour inside El Escorial. It was our second trip to Europe so we were pretty amazed at the collection of paintings and tapestries in addition to the architecture and setting. Unfortunately, the tour was in Spanish so I don't think we got a lot out of it but the guidebook helped. You had a beautiful day and got some nice pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I found El Escorial to be a beautiful place. I especially fell for the library upstairs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. andrea, thanks! And have a great trip!

    lewis, merci, there's more to come.

    marta, I wish we were able to do that. Maybe next time.

    rachael, it sure was amazing on the outside!

    ReplyDelete

Tell me what you think!