Toledo in morning and El Escorial in Afternoon sleep Segocia
After leaving Toledo we drove north of Madrid to Segovia. The weather was turning stormy. In the distance we could see the cross over the valley of the fallen. It must have been HUGE in person.
Before going to our hotel in Segovia we made a stop at the Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. It was not only a monasterio, but also a mausoleum for Spain's royal family (except Ferdinad and Isabel), a school that promoted the catholic faith, and a small palace.
Below is a picture of the crest above the entrance into the room that holds all the tombs for the kings and queens of Spain. The ornateness of each tomb is undiscribable!
This is the outside of the inner court. The building was huge, but fairly empty inside.
There was a lot of artwork that the narrator kept pointing out pieces of art in the Escorial "that were made for the basillica but did not work, or was replaced with something else." I kept wondering what Basillica he was referring to. The tour finally ended with entrance The Basillica. This was a sight to behold.
I was not supposed to take this picture (hence the funny angle), but this was amazing. The pieces of art were huge that hung from the alter. I can see now why so many had been commissioned for this altar then not used.
After El Escorial we went to our hotel in Segovia.
Before going to our hotel in Segovia we made a stop at the Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. It was not only a monasterio, but also a mausoleum for Spain's royal family (except Ferdinad and Isabel), a school that promoted the catholic faith, and a small palace.
Below is a picture of the crest above the entrance into the room that holds all the tombs for the kings and queens of Spain. The ornateness of each tomb is undiscribable!
This is the outside of the inner court. The building was huge, but fairly empty inside.
There was a lot of artwork that the narrator kept pointing out pieces of art in the Escorial "that were made for the basillica but did not work, or was replaced with something else." I kept wondering what Basillica he was referring to. The tour finally ended with entrance The Basillica. This was a sight to behold.
I was not supposed to take this picture (hence the funny angle), but this was amazing. The pieces of art were huge that hung from the alter. I can see now why so many had been commissioned for this altar then not used.
After El Escorial we went to our hotel in Segovia.
This is what I wrote in my journal for Oct. 7:
After spending more time than Daniel would have liked in Toledo shopping, we drove to El Escorial. As we left Toledo the sky began to darken and, after an hour and a half drive north, the sky became dark and full of rain. When we arrived in El Escorial the streets were flooded, literally. I could not believe so much water had nowhere to go, but down the street and over walls. After only a minute in the rain I was soaked.
We arrived in El Escorial around 1 or 2 pm. The only thing we could find open for lunch was a place called Bocodillo. It was a chain restaurant that sold small sandwiches on white bread- definitely not what I wanted to eat while in Spain. To this point we had found a few things I liked to eat (other than pastries). Most food has some type of pork in it. In every restaurant and home a pork leg would be on the table for eating. Daniel said he liked most things he ate. When we were hungry, usually we would pick up a pastry of some sort. I like Napoleans with ham and cheese, baguette with cheese, or tortilla frances, which was scrabbled eggs on a baguette.
After lunch we ran into El Escorial and listened to the audio guided tour. There were so many incredible works of art. After this we went to a restaurant called The Best Tapas, b/c we thought it was tapa time. But as usual we were the only ones in the restaurant. So far we have not had much luck eating tapas with the locals even though we were going at tapa time. I don't know about this.... Anyway at The Best Tapas restaurant we had a salad. Then Daniel and I went walking around this little town and found a small, but very nice pastry shop. We had a great honey treat, almost like a puff pasty with THICK honey/caramel in the layers. (not like baclava)
We walked back to our car and drove to Segovia. Our hotel was easy enough to find, but the parking that came with the room was IMPOSSIBLE to find, but we desperately needed it. It was interesting to see the different tactics Daniel and I used to find our car. He wanted to retrace the path we had taken to park the car (with the hotel attendant). I wanted to cut though streets and use familiar statues or restaurants I had remembered to guide us there. The first time we tried to find our car we were both completely wrong! We are a great team, let's just stop there.
After spending more time than Daniel would have liked in Toledo shopping, we drove to El Escorial. As we left Toledo the sky began to darken and, after an hour and a half drive north, the sky became dark and full of rain. When we arrived in El Escorial the streets were flooded, literally. I could not believe so much water had nowhere to go, but down the street and over walls. After only a minute in the rain I was soaked.
We arrived in El Escorial around 1 or 2 pm. The only thing we could find open for lunch was a place called Bocodillo. It was a chain restaurant that sold small sandwiches on white bread- definitely not what I wanted to eat while in Spain. To this point we had found a few things I liked to eat (other than pastries). Most food has some type of pork in it. In every restaurant and home a pork leg would be on the table for eating. Daniel said he liked most things he ate. When we were hungry, usually we would pick up a pastry of some sort. I like Napoleans with ham and cheese, baguette with cheese, or tortilla frances, which was scrabbled eggs on a baguette.
After lunch we ran into El Escorial and listened to the audio guided tour. There were so many incredible works of art. After this we went to a restaurant called The Best Tapas, b/c we thought it was tapa time. But as usual we were the only ones in the restaurant. So far we have not had much luck eating tapas with the locals even though we were going at tapa time. I don't know about this.... Anyway at The Best Tapas restaurant we had a salad. Then Daniel and I went walking around this little town and found a small, but very nice pastry shop. We had a great honey treat, almost like a puff pasty with THICK honey/caramel in the layers. (not like baclava)
We walked back to our car and drove to Segovia. Our hotel was easy enough to find, but the parking that came with the room was IMPOSSIBLE to find, but we desperately needed it. It was interesting to see the different tactics Daniel and I used to find our car. He wanted to retrace the path we had taken to park the car (with the hotel attendant). I wanted to cut though streets and use familiar statues or restaurants I had remembered to guide us there. The first time we tried to find our car we were both completely wrong! We are a great team, let's just stop there.
