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<\/a>El Escorial Complex<\/p><\/div>\n
Last night, after looking at how to get to El Escorial, we realized that we would not have to walk back to the Atocha station because the local train stopped in Puerta Sol, 5 minutes from the apartment. We also looked on-line and saw that it was almost sold out until 1200. We did not have notes saying that getting tickets would be a problem but we were concerned. So we decide to take an earlier train than planned and get there before they opened. This causes us to get up much too early. We walk to the Sol station and go down the stairs to the trains. The machine seems to only sell metro tickets, so I ask a cleaning guy where is the train. He says not here, up to the right under cupola, all in Spanish. Good thing I learned the word for right, yesterday, even though I still don’t know my left. We go back up, find the glass entrance and descend again. We find the right ticket machine, do not see an English translate button, yet figure it out and get two tickets. Ask the Security guy which platform and down we go. About 12 minutes later our train arrives.<\/p>\n
<\/a>El Escorial<\/p><\/div>\n
It is about an hour ride and as we leave Madrid and climb, the temperature goes down. El Escorial is about 1500 feet higher than Madrid. The clouds around here look ugly and it is a cool 46 chilly, damp degrees when we arrive. We have a hour before they open and we exit the station. No signs anywhere and so we walk a few blocks seeing if we find one or a glimpse of the site. Nothing, so we return to the station and find another exit up some stairs. It is not until we get to the top of the stairs that there is a sign saying monasterio. Great way to screw with the tourists, I guess. We go up the street hit an intersection, and are guessing we go right which is uphill and makes sense. We see a bus going the other way which says El Escorial to Estacion, so that is encouraging. It is quite a ways, all uphill, with no other signage until we get the complex in sight. It is a very large place. El Escorial was at once a monastery and a Royal Palace. It also functioned as a Basilica, pantheon, library, museum, university, and hospital.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Outside the Basilica<\/p><\/div>\n
We look for the entrance, see a sign (or at least I do) that says visitas with an arrow pointing around the corner. We walk and turn the corner, seeing people going in an entrance, we get there see a Church and a security guard inside a courtyard. I ask him where visitas buy tickets and he says the word of the day which is out to the right. We go out to the next door over and there are some young people there who say it is to the left. Back past the church and to another door. No Habla engles until she does and then she says to the right around the corner. I think the score is 30-love and we are being served. We end up where I first saw the sign. I must be tired because it says Visitas, and below a line says Basilica with the arrow I first saw. Well on the bright side, only 20 minutes until they open. Nobody is around but workers, so we go to see if there is a cafe nearby. Nope.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Library Ceiling<\/p><\/div>\n
When we return, there is a tour group nearby and a few people on line. So we get in line and wait until the church bells ring ten times and they open the doors. We buy our tickets and are in. Signs point the way to go. We start with the El Escorial Library which has a beautiful ceiling. Did I tell you that Carol is really enamored with pretty and decorative ceilings. She is smiling right now. It also has some globes with constellations on them and one contraption that shows how the earth is in the center and everything else revolves around it. Kind of like our elected officials, I think they will be proven wrong.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Body of Christ Side Altar<\/p><\/div>\n
We now emerge into the Courtyard of the Kings, outside the Basilica, where we saw the guard earlier. We enter the Royal Basilica and look around. There is a side altar for the body of Christ and we light a candle for our family to stay safe and healthy as we travel.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Ceiling Fresco<\/p><\/div>\n
Back outside, we walk around the cloisters which are covered with very well preserved frescos of scenes from the Bible. There is a staircase with a beautiful ceiling fresco above it. The photo police are in force but I will do my best to get a few shots. From the cloisters, we enter the gallery of paintings with a few works of some notable painters including El Greco. Another ceiling which makes Carol happy.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Children’s Pantheon<\/p><\/div>\n
We exit the cloister area and descend into several rooms where the Royal Families are buried. One room is a dedicated Pantheon to the Royal children who were taken from this world. I think it said there were over 60 buried here. Then we reach the Pantheon of Spanish Kings.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Pantheon of Kings<\/p><\/div>\n
The King is on one side, and across is his queen but only the one that was the queen mother to the next King, who is under his father with the next queen mother under the first and so on. The rulers of Spain included the House of Austria (Hapsburg) and the House of Bourbon. I know my brother prefers the House of Bourbon.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Scene in the Hall of Battles<\/p><\/div>\n
Our tour route goes into the Hall of Battles. Several large painted scenes blended into one, depict several battles in this very impressive hall.we tour several other rooms with paintings an tapestries. The visit is nice and when we exit the monastery, we walk around it and enter the gardens.<\/p>\n