More of Madrid

I have a confession to make - I have fallen in love with Metro Madrid's station announcer.


Once a male announces Estacion Proxima, I know she will then intone Opairah or maybe Sol. It is worth it to leave marvellous Madrid's ozone laden morning air and descend underground just to hear her voice. If we are lucky there will be a delay and the incident will require explanation in her throaty Castillian accent. Grathias.


Our tour guide to El Escorial officiously herds us towards the departure point with a pamphlet - What, no wand?


We are in very good hands for our guide is Silvia and our driver is Jesus. The morning rush hour presents no problem for Jesus for he flattens it and drives straight through a red light. That got the sparrows twittering!

Our route out of Madrid takes us out the Arc of Triumph - Franco's celebration of the Nationalist's victory in the Spanish Civil War. Madrid's morning traffic is heavy but in the hands of Jesus we are soon hitting the high road to El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen. El Escorial is amazing. After skirting around the austere stone walls of the Monasterie de San Lorenzo we enter a stone flagged quadrangle bound by forbidding granite walls. Even the sound of the attendant school children does not leaven this feeling of dread. Once inside however we encounter evidence of the lives and times of the Bourbon and Hapsburg Royal Family. The death bed of Philip the second has been left in the original state, down to the copper bed warmer. Copies of many of El Greco's paintings, as well as originals, hung in various chambers. The battle room held depictions of maps of famous battles of the era - Australia is not depicted.

The high point of the visit was the descent of an exquisite marble staircase to the tombstones of deceased Royalty. The funeral urns of the Spanish Monarchs lined the marble Mausoleum of the Royal Pantheon. Current members of the Spanish Royal Family will rest here. The Bascillica of San Lorenzo contains a lavish altar piece with the Chapel housing a superb marble sculpture of the Crucifixion by Cellini. Leaving the Bascillica entrance we encounter crowds of uniformed school children on lunch break.

Re-boarding the bus we headed in the direction of Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos - The Valley of the Fallen. General Franco had this built as a memorial to those Nationalists who died in the Civil War and it dominates the surrounding country side. It is reminiscent of the Nazi architecture of Speer and left me cold. I almost felt sorry for the 40,000 troops buried here. There is little respect shown by visitors. Unlike other Spanish historical attractions, there were no opportunists playing the crowds. It was off the bus, quick look around and back on the bus. Few even gave it a second look as we headed back down the hill.

A serious problem of marble staining left me feeling somewhat satisfied. Spitting on Franco's grave would have been more satisfying.