Gaudi’s work is everywhere. From buildings, factories, parks, to the detail like tiles in the pedestrian, lamp post & park bench. Couldn’t imagine Barcelona without him. Thanks to Senior Guell who financed him, otherwise there’re no masterpiece as we saw today.
Miro
El Escorial is 49km from Madrid and 47km from Segovia. El Escorial served as a monastery, cathedral, and palace. It is also a mausoleum for many kings, queens, and other nobility. Construction ran from 1562 to 1584, although the monastery was not consecrated until 1595. Once the haunt of aristocratic Spaniards, El Escorial is now a summer resort where hotels and restaurants flourish in summer, as people flock here to escape the heat of the capital. You can either take a guided tour or wander through the rooms on your own. We chose the latter option; however, we rented an audio guide to describe what we saw. Just to give you an idea of the size of El Estorial (described as a fortress/monument/palace/monastery; perhaps it is all four), El Estorial has 9 towers, 16 patios, 86 sets of stairs, 1,200 windows, and 2673 doors, all in 30,000 square meters. The complex tour consisted of the royal apartments, the church (built in the shape of a Greek cross), the royal pantheon (where all but two of the Spanish rulers from Charles V to the present have been buried in 26 identical Baroque Sarcophagi – two are empty for the present rulers), museum, chapter houses, library, monastery, and king’s courtyard. A single ticket admits you to all sections expect the two 18th-century royal lodges outside the grounds. Give yourself 3 to 4 hours to spend here.
If I were a boy, this is my day dream place, become a knight, own a magic sword & save the pretty princes.
ancient Roman was all over Europe. Here in Segovia, their irrigation system stand still.
I felt like I’m in front of a mirror in Madrid. FYI, I have acne scars all over my face. And most of antique buildings in Madrid has bullet scars from Franco era. No matter there are plastic surgery for my face, and new technology could wipe off the building’s surface. No one can erase the wound. These building scars has tales that only time will cure it. Forget about mine though, they are part of me already. I can’t leave home without them.
Once upon a time it was Moor & Mosque. Now it is tourist attraction & catholic catedral.
I’ve been in Venezuela, part of our honeymoom in 1998, but never been in Spain before. As soon as we drove from Sevilla airport to the city, passed the country side, instantly I remember Venezuela. Spainish conqueror perhaps wasn’t as creative as the Dutch. In Indonesia, all Dutch buildings are totaly differ to what they build in the Netherland. But I must erase that statement immidiately after I saw Santiago Calatrava’s bridge.
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On the way to Granada, we took coast drive, passed Malaga
