El Escorial

Phillip II was Spain's most powerful king at its richest and most powerful time. He was married to the Queen of England and then was nearly the nemesis of England's next queen. He himself was relatively ascetic, ultra-religious ("most Catholic of kings"), a bit of an enigmatic figure. He built El Escorial in the later 16th century, primarily a monastery (he wanted lots of people praying for him) but also the royal residence. A century before Versailles, it has that kind of overwhelming size, massive grey granite throughout, although it is stark and anything but opulent. It houses one of Spain's finest collections of paintings, just about all religious in nature.

Cooler (sub-freezing) weather had been forecasted for Castile, so we decided to accelerate our visit, driving first to El Escorial and then on to Segovia.

We visited on a cold, gray, rainy day that somehow seemed

just right...here, you are approaching the main cluster of

buildings, with the church dome just in view

No pix are permitted in El Escorial, but we did sneak just a

few, including this of the gardens

Central courtyard, looking at the church

Its incredible altar

The king and his family in the wings, in gold....

In the huge Biblioteca, still an important

research site for old manuscripts

No late fines at this library: you get excommunicated!

The astrolabe, "proving" that the solar

system and stars revolve around the earth