Middle-aged flash packers

Days 7 and 8 – San Lorenzo de el Escorial 

The weather continued its gloomy dampness as we drove on to SL. There was much more traffic on the road as we are close to Madrid now. 

Having googled what to do in SL apart  from visit the monastery (more of a palace really) we realised that there isn’t a lot and were beginning to wonder if two nights here was too long.

As we arrived too early to check into our hotel, we decided to visit the Valley of the Fallen, a monument to all the people who died in the Spanish civil war. Originally built by General Franco, leader of the Nationalist  Party, many people were unhappy about it as it was seen as a glorification of the Nationalist party, hence the legal change to the monument honouring all the people who died during the conflict.

To my mind there is something particularly horrible about civil war, where people who lived side by side literally turn on each other. Atrocities are committed on both sides and friends become enemies. How can this possibly be worth it? 

As a monument, the Valley of the Fallen is spectacular. The miserable weather only made it more atmospheric. The basilica was incredible yet the contradiction of a site supposedly all about worship and love being made by forced labour from political  prisoners, makes a mockery of religion.

An interesting visit indeed.

And on  to our hotel, the Hotel De Martin, right in the centre of things. Normally we would never choose accommodation overlooking a main square (too noisy) or in the Old Town centre of anywhere (no parking) , but needs must and so we spent some time looking for a street parking spot rather than pay €30 a day in a covered car park. However a space was found and we won’t move the car again until we check out.

The hotel is nice, no facilities but the room is big and comfortable and more importantly quiet as it faces on to a side road rather than the square. Plus the weather is awful so no-one is going to be sitting out in the town square..

Dinner. There was a lack of communication re our booking of the restaurant we particularly wanted to eat at and they could only offer us a table outside. Are you mad? How about no as I forgot to bring my padded ski suit and moon boots, the only garb I would even think about wearing in order to eat outside. We rebooked a table inside for the following night and found somewhere else nice and warm to eat in. 

We had a wander around SL at night and it was buzzing. We stopped for a digestif – a curiously flavoured herbal liquor which we both quite liked. Naturally we had to drink it outside as the bar was full. What is it with you people?

Our last day of our treble Spanish city exploration saw us moseying on down to the el Escorial monastery/Palace. We are 5 minutes walk away which is very handy as we are sleeping like extremely tired cats at the moment and could get the maximum amount of zzzzs in. 

It was a good job we were feeling relaxed as there were a few exasperating issues at the monastery/palace, the main one being the downloading of the audio guide we purchased in advance.

I hereby declare that from this day forward we will not succumb to the temptation of buying a guide ever again. We have had zero success with the damn things and this one took the biscuit.

First of all, my phone refused to accept the QR code by providing no WiFi whatsoever. After much faffing, Steve hot spotted his phone to mine so I could download the code. Done. Next, I had to download the app. Took ages. Then I had to download the guide which took half an hour!!!! 

Eventually we got into the monastery but the layout of the guide bore no relation to the route we were supposed to follow.

Admittedly the complex is amazing but was slightly spoilt by me trying to make out where the hell we were. I eventually realised that we had missed the library completely (our main reason for coming) and we had to go out of the building and through security again in order be re-admitted.

After all that, we got to see the library and it is stunning. The best bit is the painted  ceiling which is themed according to wisdom, learning  and knowledge. It’s  fantastic and I’m very glad we eventually got to see it.

In the afternoon we walked through the Bosque de Herreria (a forest) to see the view of el Escorial from the seat of Philip ll. it was a nice walk and a great view. 

Dinner. Second time lucky. We got our table at La Yesca Taberna and had a delicious meal. It’s very  popular as its now on the social media trail having had some great reviews. Excellent wine too.

We are now officially pooped and ready to head for home. 

Over and out.