El Escorial, Segovia, Alcazar

Hello again! Saturday, June 9 has been a very full day. We began by boarding the coach and making our way toward El Escorial which houses a monastery, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and the pantheon (burial site) of Spain´s kings. The entire structure, its logo, and many areas are in the shape of a grill (or 9 square grid, 3 across and 3 down) reflecting the way that San Lorenzo was martyred --- he was grilled to death. It is a long 15 minute walk from the station where all buses must park to El Escorial and only 20 groups per day are allowed to tour. We were very lucky. There are many stairs and it is considered to be austere (it is a monastery after all), though the bottom half of the walls are covered with intricate blue and white tiles and original art work, mostly of the nobility. While most of the group toured the pantheon and endured the 100 steps, two of us took the less steep route through the cloister and lucked out to see the basilica. A wedding was about to take place and by the time the remainder of the group made it upstairs, the basilica was closed. The basilica must be booked 2 to 3 years in advance for weddings!
We then reboarded the coach and took to the highway toward Segovia. The highway has a 2 mile tunnel through the mountain to get to Segovia. This city was very beautiful and charming but you cannot miss the Cathedral and its many spires and intricate details. Another feature is an incredibly long and tall Roman aqueduct --- unbelievable! Our group had approximately 1.5 hours for lunch and some quick shopping. Another 10-15 minute walk took us to the Alcazar castle. This is the castle that inspired Walt Disney and the structure known in the U.S. as the Magic Kingdom or Cinderella´s castle. The real thing is awe inspiring and quite beautiful. We took photos inside as it is full of armor, gold ceilings, stained glass, and a moat that would be quite difficult to cross. Photos later.
Tomorrow, our last day will be spent singing in a mass in Madrid in the morning followed by the afternoon in Toledo (former capital of Spain) and a farewell dinner. We will post photos as soon as we can return to stateside. Love and hugs to each of you who are following our travels. See you soon!