Abbey of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen

We went to visit two different yet unique places on Karina's birthday: el Valle de Cuelgamuros and the El Escorial Palace.

Our first stop was the Valle. It houses an incredible basilica carved just inside a mountain. It is an imposing place, and one of the things that called our attention was the sculptures inside the basilica, including the figures of two imposing angels guarding the entrance, and those of monks overseeing the people attending the service. As luck would have it, there was a mass at the time we came in, and for that reason, we couldn't take a picture of the place.

The basilica is crowned by a massive 150-meter high cross with a depiction of the 4 evangelists at its bottom. The cross is visible from the esplanade.

From there, we drove 20 minutes to reach El Escorial, an obligated scale for those who are tourists in the area of Madrid. El Escorial is a Palace-Convent that is famous for holding the remnants of most kings of Spain and their families. The Convent-Palace shows the close connection that existed between Church and Monarchy at the peak of the Spanish Empire. The most impressive room of the complex is the Library, which was designated as a room to study books but also to perform studies on astronomy and mathematics, amongst others. The second part of the complex is the Covent, which also includes the tomb rooms for Spanish royalty.

Nerea met with us at El Escorial and made the tour as we caught up and talked. Afterward, Nerea suggested for us to stop at a nice restaurant just 3 kilometers away, where we enjoyed some tinto de verano, octopus, and salad. We were ready to head into our final destination of the day at the heart of Madrid.Read more