Me, Myself, Moss and Madrid: El Escorial & Manzanares

Hey hey hey!

Today was a little slow, but it was still very cool! We actually went to three different places today! First, we went to the Valley of the Fallen. It was a little creepy, but interesting as well.

Zoomed...

I obviously didn't take this picture, but I couldn't get a good one of the whole place.

Here is the story. This building and monument were built in remembrance of the fallen on both sides of the Spanish Civil War. However, Francisco Franco had the whole thing built for him. You walk in the main entrance, which is the one right in the center. In the main chapel, Franco is buried along with José Antonio Primo de Rivera right under the cross. Again, a little creepy to think about but interesting none the less.

After the Valley of the Fallen, we went to El Escorial. The city was a ghost town for the most part. We were, however, able to walk around inside this...

This is the burial place of many of the Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses and other royalty of Spain. It is called the Monastery of El Escorial. I was able to see many tombs and read many names of Spanish royalty. I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they were all just right there! Their bones were just inches away from my face! This may seem a little gross- but this is what they do. When someone dies, their body is put in what they call the rotting room for 25 years. After 25 years, all that is left are their bones and there is no longer a bad smell. Then, their bones are transferred into a coffin and tomb. Our guide was a little on the strange side. He took a fancy to me and my friend Audi because we are brown skinned. He was probably 65 years old. He was talking right to us for a good part of the tour and he had no problem standing really close to us. Everyone else in the group got a good laugh out of it though.

After El Escorial, we hopped back on the bus and headed to Manzanares. There was no city in Manzanares that we went to, but we went to this...