Off to Spain! Dave and I met in Spain 22 years ago in the Fall of 2004. We went back together in 2009 and went to all the areas where he served his mission from 1997-1999. Then we went back again with all four kids in 2019. So even though this is our 4th time going to Spain together, it's been 7 years since we were last there and we've never been to this part of Spain - the Northwest region.
We landed in Madrid where we met up with my cousin Seth and his wife Cari and our friends Travis and Sheralyn. Once we all met up and picked up our rental car, we headed to El Escorial.
After Spain defeated France in 1557, King Philip II set out to build a big palace/complex to the Glory of God. Looking up at the ceilings of this place was reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel.
This is the Royal Library.
King Philip funneled all of Spain's wealth into this structure for 20 years from 1563-1584 and, as a result, Spain has almost nothing else to show from this time period.
The Basilica
Pantheon of the Princes
Tomb of the royal children who died during childhood/infancy
Here we are at a lookout with El Escorial in the background
In the streets outside of El Escorial with cute Sheralyn
Casita del Infante
Another viewpoint of El Escorail from the gardens of Casita del Infante
Valley of the Fallen
Valley of the Fallen is just six miles from El Escorial. It is a memorial sight in the Sierra de Guadarrama. The cross is 500 feet high and sits atop an underground basilica and serves as a monument to the victims of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
Because the Spanish Civil War is still extremely controversial in the country, there are very few monuments/memorials/museums devoted to it, so this memorial is one of a kind for many reasons. In fact Franco was actually buried here upon his death in 1975 and his remains stayed here for 44 years until 2019 when they were removed to his wife's mausoleum in El Pardo.
Next, we made our way to Avila!
Avila is well-known for several reasons, including being the birthplace of St. Teresa, the perfectly preserved medieval walls and for their nun-made yema treats, which we of course all tried!
The entrance to the city walls.
The military band walking the streets of Avila.
Walking the Wall of Avila.
And then we finally made our way to Salamanca. We lucked out getting there on the night of Junta de Semana Santa. This is usually done during Holy Week, but it happened to also be happening the night we arrived. What perfect timing!
It's a tribute to the Passion of Jesus celebrated by Catholic religious brotherhoods that process on the streets of the town. Each church/cathedral had a "float" that they carried throughout the town and through the Plaza. It started after it got dark. Each "float" had candles and things to keep it lit up. It was super cool to see in person!
This "float" belonged to the cathedral right across the street from our hotel, so we got to see it return to its "home" at the end of the evening, which was super cool!
Salamanca's Plaza Mayor is two thumbs up!! Super awesome!
Salamanca by moonlight
We packed a lot into Day 1 - especially considering we all had flown all night long and functioning on little to no sleep. But we loved everything we did and had a great first day!
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