San Lorenzo de El Escorial

Pinterest. It's awesome. Why? Because people love to pin travel ideas, and it's so easy to search for weekend trip itineraries, places to eat in a city, or day trips from somewhere and then save them to go back to later. I was looking through my Madrid ideas last week and came across a picture of a large, gorgeous library. The link, in fact, brought me to a page that was titled, "16 Libraries You Have To See Before You Die" (I've now officially seen three. Getting there.). The Library pictured was located at a monastery just outside of Madrid called El Escorial.

I had thought about going to visit the monastery over the last couple of days, but it just seemed easier to hang out in Madrid. Then today I woke up early and thought, "I'd better just do it." If I didn't make myself go this week, I knew I probably wouldn't end up going at all.

I took the bus into Madrid and then found the bus that would take me to El Escorial. The ride took less than an hour and the fare was only 4 euros. We drove up winding roads into the foothills of the mountains, to a small town of the same name as the monastery. It wasn't difficult to find El Escorial from the bus station. The huge dome of the basilica towered over all the other buildings in the town. I walked in its direction and arrived at the entrance in about ten minutes.

I learned quickly that El Escorial is not just a monastery. There is a monastery, library, palace, and burial site for the former royalty of Spain. It's also a school. I bought my ticket (50% off, yay for "student" discounts!) and went into the first room in the self-guided tour.

The first few rooms were a sort of museum; artifacts, building models, and sketches were on display. From there I was directed into rooms filled with paintings, which I quickly glanced at and moved on from. After the paintings I came to the tombs. The entrance to the King's tombs was amazing. The stairway's walls and ceilings were engraved and painted bright gold and red. At the bottom of the stairs was a circular room decorated in a similar manner. And all around the room were spaces cut into the walls where fancy coffins had been placed. A magnificent chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling, and a beautiful crucifix was placed on the far wall. No photography was allowed, but if I could have captured anything on camera it would have been this room. It was amazing. Here's an image from their website:

The cool thing about going on a Wednesday early afternoon is that there were very few other people there. But it was also weird, because every room was empty. It was a very strange feeling, walking through a huge stone fortress, knowing I was looking at the final resting place of dozens of people, and feeling like I was the only one there. The round tomb of the Kings was not the only tomb in the building. As I continued my tour there were more and more rooms filled with royal men, women, and their children. Above each was a name and description of who's son, daughter, or wife they were. It was like touring a really old, fancy graveyard.

I was glad to move on from the tombs and enter the main part of the palace. The rooms were furnished as they had been a few hundred years ago. My favorite thing from this part of the building was looking at the various maps hung on the walls. Knowing they were drawn in the 1500's, it was fascinating to see how closely they resembled our maps of the world today.

After the Palace I walked through the monastery to the basilica. I've been in quite a few cathedrals now, each one uniquely incredible. This was no different. I can never get over the enormity of these churches. The high ceilings, the huge pillars, and the ornate designs in the walls and ceilings. The style fit with that of the tombs and palace: Gold and red, with statues and paintings. In the hall next to the basilica, large portions of the wall had been painted as the stations of the cross. The paintings were beautiful, and probably fifteen to twenty feet high. The entry to the hallway had a wide ceiling painted with clouds and angels, as if looking up to the heavens. The detail put into these buildings just blows me away.

My last stop on my "tour" was the library. I crossed the outdoor courtyard and entered the same building through another door. The library was just as gorgeous as the picture. Even more so. Again, I wished I could take a picture, but photography was banned throughout the monastery. Below is a picture borrowed from Flickr, just so you can get an idea of what it looks like...

A walk through the Library and my tour was complete. I walked through the tiny town back to the bus station and took the next available bus back to Madrid. It was a short "adventure", but it was definitely worth it. The detail in the architecture, paintings, and design El Escorial are incredible. Some of the rooms are simply breathtaking. Out of all the palaces, castles, and churches I've been to in Spain, this is hands down the most amazing. I'm really glad I didn't miss it.