Madrid, Spain: ¡Adoro España! (Part 3)

Having seen most of Madrid's major sights the day before, Bill and I decided to take a side trip away from the city on Saturday to visit El Escorial located in San Lorenzo. An imposing palace and basilica built by King Philip II, El Escorial is famous for its role in the Spanish Inquisition. An institution created by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1478, the goal of the Spanish Inquisition was to protect Spanish Catholicism from the influence of other religions. Despite targeting primarily Jews and Muslims in the fifteenth century, King Philip II sought to prevent the growing strength of Protestant religions sweeping through Europe. During the 16th century, approximately one hundred Protestants were charged as heretics under the Spanish Inquisition and consequently burned at the stake. How does El Escorial play into this historical scheme? King Philip II combined his palace with a monastery to demonstrate his allegiance to the Catholic church. An architectural statement of power, El Escorial is somewhat austere in design, which fits the intended impression of the Spanish Palace: "...an expression in stone of Catholicism in Spain; an answer, solid and unified, to the disintegration of the Christian universe." (Quote taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Escorial#The_reliquaries)

Wanting to see the forboding palace ourselves, Bill and I caught a late-morning bus bound for San Lorenzo. The bus ride across the Spanish countryside was a treat in itself. Built on relatively flat ground, Bill and I didn't realize until leaving the city that Madrid is surrounded by beautiful mountains. Marveling at Spain's magnificent scenery through the bus window, I hardly realized that an hour had passed and we were quickly approaching San Lorenzo. Originally, our plans were to tour El Escorial in the early afternoon and then catch a bus to Valle de los Caídos ("Valley of the Fallen") around 3 o'clock. Valle de los Caídos is the final resting ground of Francisco Franco, Spain's 20th century dictator. Marked by a huge granite cross, Valle de los Caídos seemed like an interesting site to visit. Unfortunately, we weren't expecting to see such an incredibly long line stretching from the gates of El Escorial. Reformatting our afternoon plans and cutting out a visit to Valle de los Caídos, Bill and I decided to enjoy a light lunch at an outdoor Spanish cafe in hopes that the line would shrink during our small meal. Watching a street musician entertain the cafe guests on accordion, we were in no hurry to stand in line at the palace, but I knew that we should grab a spot in the courtyard to ensure entrance before the El Escorial closed at 5 p.m. Paying our bill, we walked back to El Escorial and were encouraged to find that the line had become slightly shorter over lunch. Taking our place at the end of the line, we spent the next two hours inching towards the palace entrance. Legs aching from 120 minutes of standing and weight-shifting, we eventually reached the ticket counter and began our self-guided tour of El Escorial.

As indicated by the stark exterior of the palace, El Escorial was much simpler than the Palacio Real in Madrid. Boasting mostly whitewashed walls, only religious paintings and tapestries decorated the rooms of King Philip II's palace. Thankfully, there were a few exceptions to this rule: the Hall of Battles and the Basilica. The Hall of Battles was a long interestingly painted room that reminded me of a "Where's Waldo?" cartoon. On every wall and ceiling, cartoon-like depictions of Spain's most famous battles were painted for guests to see. Frescoes also adorned the Basilica, but the style and subjects were much different from the Hall of Battles. While the Hall of Battles seemed almost comical in their animated nature, the Basilica was decorated in paintings of the heavens, Holy Family, and various saints. Dark and bold, the Basilica proudly displayed its collection of characteristic Spanish art.

With only two hours to tour El Escorial before closing time, Bill and I felt slightly rushed to see the entire palace before it was locked up for the night. Unfortunately, we were unable to tour many areas of the Basilica because a wedding was scheduled to take place in the evening. Closing the church to visitors, Bill and I caught a glimpse of the bride as she emerged from a car in front of El Escorial with her father. Leaving the palace after our tour, we stopped to rest our legs in a nearby park. Watching as the sun quickly began to set behind the trees, we headed back to the bus stop to catch a return ride to Madrid.

Discouraged that we had wasted much of our day standing in line to see a single palace, Bill and I returned to Madrid with plans to find a great restaurant to lift our spirits. Much to our luck, we did! Located near Puerto del Sol, Hotel Europa was a charming restaurant with incredible staff. Served by the head waiter, Bill and I decided to try the infamous Spanish dish, paella. Known for its flavorful mix of spices, paella is an eclectic combination of meat, seafood, vegetables, and rice. Though usually adventurous in my taste for food, I was not exactly expecting to see so many random crustaceans piled onto my plate. Watching prawns stare up at me from my plate, I decided that this was an instance where I could be entitled to pick and choose which parts of the dish would be best to eat. Removing anything with eyes (i.e. whole shrimp, prawns, etc.) and anything that didn't look edible without complicated de-shelling, I was still left with a huge plate of rice, mussels, vegetables, chicken, pork, and beef. Checking with us often to make sure that we were enjoying our meal, the head waiter kindly offered us two free glasses of the house wine. Usually preferring red wine, I was impressed by the flavorful body of the white house wine and must admit that it was one of my favorite glasses of wine during our weekend in Spain. Laughing at the pile of critters piling on the sides of our plates, Bill and I felt our moods begin to brighten after a long day in San Lorenzo. Tipping the waiter generously to cover the free wine, we left Hotel Europa feeling light-hearted and loving the friendliness of Spaniards. Deciding to end our trip to Madrid on a happy note, I snapped a picture of my favorite Spanish restaurant before hopping on the subway to check into an airport hotel before our early-morning flight back to London.

Overall, our trip to Spain was beautiful and a lot of fun. With mild weather and gorgeous scenery, it's hard not to love Madrid. Despite the long palace line at El Escorial, San Lorenzo is a charming town and definitely worth a second visit. After a warm weekend in the Spanish sun, it'll be difficult to handle the opposite weather extreme next weekend: rain and snow in Munich, Germany.