El Escorial

Today Lee and I traveled to the village of San Lorenzo de El Escorial to see the palace/monastery that King Phillip II built in the second half of the 16th century. It is a very interesting and beautiful place. We spent hours looking at the rooms, painting collection, basilica, and library (contains over 40,000 old manuscripts and is second only to that of the Vatican).

Afterwards, Lee and I enjoyed an authentic Andalusian lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. We couldn't identify most of what we were eating, but really enjoyed it. Red wine is a standard drink at all meals, so I am in heaven.

I had planned to do shopping in the really cute village before heading back to Madrid, but, once again, the unusual Spanish schedule changed my planes. We completed lunch around 4 PM, which is siesta time, and all of the stores were closed. The streets were deserted. It was a very surreal feeling. So, Lee and I headed back to Madrid. I will have to do shopping another day.

Lee and I are resting this evening instead of going out to dinner. We are exhasted and have not been sleeping well. Our bodies are very confused by the siesta schedule. We are sleeping in 4-5 hour increments, with dinner in between. We decided to get a good night's sleep tonight and skip dinner. (However, our exhausted bodies did crash and we took a two hour siesta. I am hoping that doesn't mess up my hope for a full night's sleep.)

Time to call our boys and go to sleep! Buenas Noches!

Here are a few pictures from our day:

El Placio Real-Monestario de El Escorial

The king's apartments surround this courtyard. His summer quarters are on the ground floor and his winter quarters are on the second floor.
The basilica.
El Escorial with a view of the village San Lorenzo de El Escorial in the background.
The villiage.
A view of the countryside from the train ride.