Dear Family and Friends,
Month Two, June 15, Martha and Dani woke up before 8 AM and escaped from city-life in Madrid once again, catching a bus from the North-side of town to San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about an hour away, for three euro 20 cents each. Monasterio El Escorial is a grand monaster
y created by King Felipe II after he won a battle against the French on August 10, which is the day dedicated to recognizing the martyrdom of San Lorenzo. Prior to entering the battle, Felipe II prayed to Dios for assistance in defeating the French, promising to build a structure like no other in thanksgiving for God’s assistance. This four-quadrant monastery/picture gallery/royal burial ground/tourist attraction is gorgeous.
(In 257 AD, St. Lawrence was killed by Roman clergy for his Christian dedicatio
n by placing him over a bed of coals. He was a collector of funds for the church, but when he saw what the clergy were intending with the money, he refused to turn it over to them because he knew the it would not reach the poor and needy. His response upon refusing to give them the money was simply, “Your greatest wealth are the poor and the infirmed.” The story goes that, after a time with one side of his body against the heat of the coals, he turned to his torturers and said, “I think this side is done. Will you turn me over?” Just as he was close to death, he turned his eyes up to Heaven and asked God to bless the Romans and priests.)
We arrived at the bus station, dodged past the big groups of tourists, and asked a cou
ple of locals where the Dia supermarket was located so that we could buy some breakfast and bread to go with the container of salad (chicken, beans, and corn) that we had bought the other day for two euro 20 cents. We didn’t find the Dia, but we did find the local market. The indoor ‘open-air’ markets that are prominent in Spain contain multiple stalls with butchers, seafood vendors, fruit & veggie stalls, and 7-11–type shops, where we found yogurt, orange juice, whole grain bread (FINALLY … thank goodness) for a whopping four euro 50 cents!
In the plaza just outside of the market, we enjoyed managing our yogurt without spoons, shared one of the two yummy circles of fresh, warm, whole-grain bread, and headed down to the grounds of El Escorial (know around town as “El Esco”) to take some photos before entering the building for the afternoon. Eight euro each, another two euro 40 cents for a single audio guide for us to share, and a moment to stow our bags in a locker late
r … we entered the first section of El Escorial and enjoyed the 16th center tapestries that adorned the stone walls of this immense structure. What works of art these tapestries were—towering high above our heads, each depicted moments in Testament history via strands of gold and multi-colored silks and wools, painting pictures worthy of the greatest of the world’s artists. Immensely impressive. Accompanying the tapestries was a single painting: El Greco’s “El martyrdom de San Maurice y la legion Theban”. This was the onl
y Greco that Felipe II commissioned from the painter. He delivered it himself to the king, but, true to form, his vision did not coincide with the needs of the monarch who requested the painting. El Greco did not choose to position the moment of martyrdom, grotesque and beheading as it was, instead placing that moment in the background and focusing the painting on the moment when Maurice declared his dedication to Christianity, immediately befo
re his demise. As Martha and Dani were to learn about the martyrs represented in many of El Escorial’s artistic treasures, the focus required by Felipe II was predominantly the actual moment of death, such as in this famous painting by Juan Fernandez Navarrete (one of the more prominent painters in the amazing collection here) of El martirio del Apostol Santiago (St James, whose burial place—specifically for his head—we will visit next week as we head to Santiago de Compostela). 
Onward, we spent some time walking through the architectural museum, which housed early sketches of the immense structure and other historical inspirations to its design, models of the different stages of its building, and the tools that were used to put stone upon stone in the 16th century when it was initiated and designed by Juan Bautista del Toledo, and completed by Juan Herrera after Bautista’s death. We were most impressed by the number and size of the tools used to build the complex. 
Within a long series of rooms, we entered the area housing bulk of the art available in the building, ranging from 15th to 17th century works collected predominantly by Carlos II, his aunt, and other family members. The paintings themselves predominantly stretched from ground to ceiling, wonderfully displayed in the grand rooms of this impressive place. Our favorites included: Michele Coxcie’s David y Goliat (1550), Paolo Verones’ Dios padre y el espiritu santo (around 1575), Tintoretto’s La adoracion de los pastores, and van der Weyden’s El calvario. 
Out of the museum and up the stairs, we found ourselves in the Sala de Batallas—a grand room with frescos upon all of the walls depicting different Spanish victories, against the French, by sea, and against the Muslims in Granada. The ceiling held nicely-spaced grotesque figures that were an interesting contrast to the immense detail of the walls’ artworks, created by a team of four painters and based on a tapestry found by one of the monarchs. In recognition of the origin of the original work, ea
ch painting was 'hung' by painted nails. The grand wall shown in the photo on the left is considered of great historical significance since it shows the dress and battle techniques used during that time period. On each end-wall were images of sea battles, such as can be seen in the photo to the right. Across from the full-wall seen left was a series of windows separating nine battles scenes from Spanish victories against the French.
The next rooms were the living quarters of the royal family. Between the rooms occupied by children and used to welcome guests, was a grand room filled with maps of the known world at Felipe II’s time, as well as some more recent (and accurate) renditions of the coastlines and ruling countries. Dani LOVED this room, and spent a great amount of time examining the borders and the names of the countries—still largely the same—from centuries past. These rooms also included two panels on the floors, marked with zodiac signs, that were used as sundials to mark noon so the clocks could be properly set. Both of us were particularly taken with the woodwork in the doors between this room and those flanking
it. The doors were masterpieces of German woodwork: intricate and depicting three-dimensional views of destroyed Roman columns, ‘the Thinker’ before a great hall, and floral designs stained par-none. Exquisite.
We also walked through Felipe II’s quarters where his bed was still in the same place as it was when he died, at an angle so he could see the monks rejoicing in the Basilica and also enjoy the sunlight. Both the king's bedroom and the separate bedroom intended for the queen were built with views of the Basilica so that they could attend mass without getting out of bed. The three rooms making up the king's quarters also included a study, with an impressive clock and biologic sketches on the walls, and a grand room, with windows facing the morning sun and a scattering of religious devotional paintings. 
Down the stairs, into the cool, still air, we encountered the Pantheon, where much of the royal family and children of the monarchs (many of whom died in infancy … defined as before puberty) were buried. Martha and Dani had never witnessed anything as grand and beautiful as the pantheon here, where the tombs were made of marble and had the interred-people’s names, and perhaps a blessing in Latin, on each. A large, circular structure kept the babies of the family together in eternity. It was gorgeous and depressing at the same time.
Upward once again, we came into another series of large, open walls housing incredi
ble works of art by El Greco, Ribera, Nuzzi (known as Dei Fiori, who Dani was particularly taken with for his subtle Old Testament paintings surrounded by bright, intricately-presented flowers), Luca Giordani (creator of one of Martha’s favorites, Dudo de San Tomas), Tiziano Vecello, and Jacopo Tintoretto. El Escorial deserves its reputation as a jewel among Baroque and Romantic collections.
Exiting the second art grouping, getting hungry, and realizing that we h
ad spent about five hours wandering these halls already, we found ourselves in the square-section outside the Basilica, the grand spiritual center of the building. Along the walls of this square-area, floor to ceiling was painted with a moment in the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary, from her birth to the day of atonement and judgment. An incredible series of Scripture-based snapshots of miracle upon miracle, tragedy upon tragedy, and life after death.
Nestled among these adornments was the old chapel, where the royal family had worshiped during the completion of the main chapel, the Basilica. The room contained wooden seats around three sides where the monks could sit for worship, including chairs in the back with animal heads on the bottoms that folded up. The alter itself contained a gigantic rendition by Tiziano of el Martirio de San Lorenzo as he roasted upon the flames, looking up to heaven. (Again showing us why El Greco’s painting 
of the martyrdom of San Miguel was rejected because the act of death was not the centerpiece of the painting.) Flanking the enormous painting dedicated to the official saint of the parish were the original resting places of some of the royal family before the pantheon was completed.
Right next to the old chapel at the top of a stairwell, we found a fresco dedicated to the royal family, with their images placed at prominent central locations surrounding a vision of the triumph of the Trinity. Created by Luca Giordano, it was a delicious means of craning our necks for 10 minutes or so to enjoy the rich colors so vibrantly maintained over the years.
And finally, we came to the holy place of worship—the Basilica—a grand hall with central altar and the building’s stunning circular ‘cimborrio’ (photo to right). The altar itself contained an array of golden elements, including the four evangelists and other kneeling figures eternally praying and facing the altar, and additional artistic renditions of Christ’s life. The pillars in the hall were each adorned by paintings containin
g two of the saints on each portrait, along with the instruments of their destruction that identify each of them. Navarrete painted the apostles, who were featured closest to the altar itself; Luis de Carrajal and Antonio Sanchez Coello painted many of the other impressive works. Two smaller vestibules contained areas dedicated to the Virgin and a stunning white crucifix by Benvenuto Cellini. 
Out in the fresh air after six hours in El Esco, we finally found the Dia supermarket, just above the ‘open-air’ market where we had purchased breakfast. We scored a loaf of grainy bread, Tex-Mex chips, a can of pulpo, a chocolate bar for Dani (that she was nice enough to share), and a four-pack of digestives (protein-rich ‘cookies’ with chocolate centers, in this case) for three euro 37 cents!! Much better prices that downstairs!!
Back in our Breakfast Plaza, we sat among the kids who were playing after-school futbol and enjoyed the container of ‘Mexican salad’ that we had purchased on Wednesd
ay upon the grainy breads of the day. A three-year old child walked up, stared at each lunch item, and pointed to Martha’s chips as his mother yelled to him and came to retrieve him. Soon thereafter, his two-year old brother walked up, similarly assessed the situation, and pointed to Martha’s chips. His father collected him before she could hand one over. Lunch, rehydrating, and sitting for a while after seven hours on our feet were grand, but what to do next?
Early in the day, as we first stood outside El Esco, Martha pointed to one of the mountaintops and said, “Do you want to climb that?” Dani responded, “OK,” probably half-jokingly. But, but 5:45 PM when lunch was over, we decided that we would do just that in hopes of getting a bird’s eye view of the entirety of El Esco. It was time to take our hiking out of the urban arena! (That's 'our mountain' to the left!)
Up up up up up up up we wandered, through forest, but predominantly along a roadway that was safe and easy to travel. We found view after exceptional view of El Esco, thinking with each turn in the road that we had found ‘the photo’ and taking picture after picture. Martha discovered some neat tricks with color available in her camera on this trip, a
nd enjoyed seeing the distinctions between B&W; sepia; red, blue, and green tones; and inverted imagery, examples of which can be found on this blog posting. Dani enjoyed taking some video of the birds chirping and the incredible panoramic view that we got to enjoy at that altitude (look for the video to be posted to YouTube and added to our list on the right soon). We found two overlooks made of stone where we rested with our big waters (Martha broke
out her birfday 'Platypus' water jug that holds more than two litres, stands up, and doesn't leak! AWESOME!)
We felt great, and our weeks of urban hikes made us want to climb higher. We finally split from the roadway when it started downward, as we found a rocky path that led upwards towards the summit. Up through the rocky trails, the beaten path ended and we turned up into non-marked grassy lands filled with purple flowers, flies, and colorful rock faces. But a
s our eco-tourist conscience kicked in (we didn’t want to be burning new trails) and as the evening closed upon 8 PM, we decided to be smarter than stubborn, and turned back before reaching the absolute summit. So close!
he city from the four towers-in-progress that will one day represent Madrid’s skyline. (Dani's camera's zoom is impressive!) With such a clear and rainless day, we commented that we were actually thankful for the rough night’s sleep on Wednesday and the loudness of the neighbors that gave us this beautiful day to enjoy instead. We would never have had the Madrid skyline to view from such a distance had that cloud cover from Thursday's storm been anywhere in the area.
Back downtown, we decided to try to find the train station, and were happy that it was downhill. Dani asked a local where it was located, and we made it in plenty of time to hit the bathroom before embarking on the last train of the day, leaving at 10:15 PM. We arrived at the Atocha station (in Madrid) on our two euro 75 cent/each tickets an hour later, right on time at 11:15 PM, and wearily hike
d the mile back home. Lovely Ramen provided the last of the day’s sustenance. Martha did some yoga to stretch out those hamstrings while Dani sent out some emails. We fell asleep, exhausted, and thrilled with the events of the day! In love and light,
1 comment:
what a fascinating day! you guys are so smart to find reasonable transit and good food to pickanick on :-)
those photos really amaze me. especially the zoooooooom !!!
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