Frank Speakin about…

After three or four days in Madrid, we find that visitors are keen to see some of the surrounding country side and the nearby towns. Generally we do this by local train or bus. Today we had four adults so we decided to hire a car thinking that it would be less expensive than the train. In hindsight I am not sure that it is all that much cheaper when you include parking, road tolls and petrol. However, without the car we would not have been able to visit as many places as we did.

Monasterio del Escorial
Our first stop was only 60 kms from Madrid at the World Heritage UNESCO listed Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real. The Monasterio dates back to 1563 and is a complex of buildings which house a royal palace, a basilica, a library and a beautiful parterre garden.

Only a month ago we visited the Monasterio and were fortunate enough to view a military parade as the King Felipe VI of Spain inspected his guard and awarded military medals. The Monasterio stood grand and it towered well overhead. On that day we were lucky enough to meet the King and attend a service inside the Basilica.

Today we were back to visit the gardens. The parterre gardens are designed to be viewed from above in the Monasterio. Box hedges make beautiful designs in the courtyard below and the walls are adorned with climbing pink roses. Today the roses were finished blooming and the sun had bleached most of the pink out of them, leaving behind browning petals, but even these were beautiful.

Valle de los Caidos
A short 10 km drive from the Monasterio Escorial is the Valle de los Caidos or The Valley of the Fallen. We had seen this imposing monument from the train one day when we were traveling to Cercedilla for a day of hiking and were keen to see it up close. I would compare the Valle de los Caidos to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. At both memorials the atmosphere is sombre and you are very aware that you are visiting a place of rememberance. The difference between the two is immense though. In Canberra we are proud of our War Memorial and it is the most visited landmark in the city, here at the Valle de los Caidos there are perhaps one hundred people visiting, the massive parking areas are empty. This is because many Spanish refuse to visit as they see it as a monument to Francisco Franco and his dictatorship rather than a monument to the fallen during the Spanish civil war. Franco’s tomb is at the base of the crucifix within the Basilica. The very steep 9 Euro per adult entry fee may also have something to do with the lack of visitors.

The Valle de los Caidos consists of a basilica that tunnels beneath the monumental cross. The cross has a height of 150m and the arms of the cross are 46m wide. Now I understand why we could see this monument from the train at Cercedilla. The scale of the complex is almost inconceivable. It is austere and built from granite, stone and concrete. You enter the basilica from the portico which is stark and blinding in the harsh sunlight into the dark almost vault like tunnel leading to the altar and crucifix.

Well worth a visit but I did leave feeling that I had somehow betrayed my Spanish amigos by doing so.

Ávila
The Ávila medieval town walls of this fortress city deliver a definite WOW moment. Actually you just cannot believe what you are seeing as your eye follows the length of the walls and they disappear into the distance. For just 5 Euros you can walk along the top of the town walls and look across Ávila’s rooftops of terracotta roof tiles that lead right across to the mountain skyline. Back on the ground both the Basilica and Cathedral are mammoth buildings that dwarf us and make us feel antlike.

We had the best Menu del Dia of our whole time in Spain in Ávila. Just off the Plaza Mayor is the Restaurante Cocó. I highly recommend this restaurant and we will definitely be heading back next time we are in Ávila. It was well priced at 14 Euros per person and the meals were delicious and restaurant quality. We enjoyed the pork ribs with apple and pineapple and the blood sausage.

Segovia
After lunch in Ávila we drove back to Madrid via the Aqueduct of Segovia. This aqueduct is a must see whilst in Spain and it is one of the best preserved elevated Roman aqueducts so it is also a UNESCO world heritage site. The aqueduct is a man made structure and it is over two thousand years old. It is also built without mortar or cement from granite blocks.

Another fabulous day in Spain that will be forever etched into my memory.

Hasta Luego chicos y mil besos!