Madrid Trip Cont.

Day 2 was on to the Hapsburg palace of El Escorial and Segovia. The palace of El Escorial is massive and is where all the kings and queens of Spain with the exception of a few are buried. El Escorial is quite a contrast from the other palace I saw, which is La Granja de San Ildefonso. It's a Bourbon palace modeled after Versailles minus the bajillion mirrors. Out of the two, La Granja is my favorite which contains some phenomenal gardens. La Granja and El Escorial are some pretty good examples of 18th and 17th archeitectural styles of the period. El Escorial has a cold, feel to it, while La Granja is very warm and...French. All of the art contained or most of it is in the Prado in Madrid.

Segovia is also one of my favorite cities in Spain now. Segovia has the famous aquaduct built by the Romans in the 1st or 2nd century after Christ. Also, Segovia is phenomenal for it's Alcazar and the Cathedral. The Alcazar is one of the castles that the Walt Disney castle is modeled after. I had lunch at a place that sells Durums, or Turkish versions of burritos. I met a retired couple and their friends who were from Alabama and the other couple was from Houston. The couple from Alabama had been to Europe going on 21 times. After they left, I wound up talking to a group of students who were living near Madrid and going to a soccer academy. They were between the ages of 13-17, some from the United States and some from else where.

After Segovia, was on to Madrid.

* P.S. I went to a pre-Roman Catholic mass in Toledo. It was done in Latin and in Gregorian chants.