Madrid - Phillip II and epic El Escorial

El Escorial is epic. 

The seat of the Spanish Empire in the 16-17th centuries this great monolith of a building sits on the edge of a plateau overlooked by the soaring Guadarrama moutains. Half-palace/half monastery/half cathedral, it was built to symbolize the power of Catholic Spain. Only twenty miles outside the Spanish capital and a good day trip - if you want to the Spain of power and intrigue come here...

To reach it is simple from the capital. The subway station Moncloa houses a bus station for northwest Castile. At its lower level is the Herranz bus 644 which departs every half hour to the village of San Lorenso de Escorial. The town itself is very pretty and perches on the edge of the Guadarrama mountains and the journey itself takes you past the infamous Valle de los Caidos - Valley of the Fallen - a giant cross that houses Franco's tomb.

To get a feel for El Escorial then you must remember it was the creation of the most powerful man in the world - Phillip II. The monarch of worlds first global superpower - Catholic Spain in an empire that stretched from Manila to Cuzco. This devout monarch seeked a refuge from his congested capital and built a palace where he lived a penitent hermetic existence. With treasure ships bringing gold and silver from South America - he could afford to indulge his whims. But his religious fervour is what always is remembered about him and his use of the inquistion.

From the outside, it looks like an austere rectangular prison topped by a baroque dome and towers. But inside it is built with cool Colemar stone and leads from green courtyards up to royal rooms decorated with pictures by El Greco and Titian. Each room is simple in its austerity and decorated with blue azulejas (tiles). The place is so large and winding that it is easy to escape the crowds and have pictures of Rivera and Degas all to yourself.

The royal apartments were the most decorated and overlooked the valley of Escorial on one side and directly onto the chapel on the other side. It was said that King Phillip liked to listen to mass from his bed. His gout chair stood nearby. More interesting was the Salle de Batalla. Great picture of Spanish battles adorned the walls usually taking place in the Netherlands. Then you follow the hordes down to the Pantheon Real - the final resting place of the Habsburg and Bourbon monarchs. Saicophagi of the Spanish monarchs lined the walls in little niches in a room decorated in gilt, red and black marble and jasper. And the tomb of the infantas was designed to hold the remains of sixty royal babies - it was already half full.