Day Six

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Today I again woke up late, making the group a little late for the Royal Monastery. I barely had time to grab any type of food and we were off. As soon as we got to the monastery I was surprised to how big it is. Cesar said the place smelled like death and after the tour, I realized why. There were so many kings, dukes, queens, princesses and princes in the monastery. There was one for example that gave me the creeps. It was a grave for all the children in the royal family who did not reach puberty. I don’t know why, but the thought of dead little kids spooks me out. Another interesting thing was that the current kings parents, had graves waiting for them. That is a weird thought that you have a casket waiting for you to die. Some nice parts of the monastery were the painted pictures, some of which I had seen the other day in the museum. In addition to the pictures, the tapestries were really nice to. Tapestries in Spain seem to be a big culture thing because I really have never seen any until now. The garden was also another part that I liked. It had a unique design and gave me a chance for some great photos outside the monastery.

After the monastery we headed to grab some food at a little restaurant in San Lorenzo del Escorial. We refueled and headed for Avilla. It took around 45 minutes to get there. I did not know what to expect with this town. As we approached Avilla, all that you could see was a brick fortress, surrounding a pretty big piece of land. As we got even closer I thought it might be another castle. I was totally wrong. We actually ended up driving into, what I thought was a fortress, and our hotel was off to the left. I was totally shocked when I realized that the wall surrounded the village of Avilla. It probably was one of the coolest things. As we walked through the town, it had a very old build and soft atmosphere. I really liked this town. I am a big fan of the old Spanish architect. Unlike Madrid, which is more modernized with some old fashion Spanish architect, this entire town was. I like towns like this because it takes me away from what I see daily at home. When the city looks old, there feels as if there is so much history behind every crack, brick, step and wall.

After our tour of Avilla we headed to eat again. I am starting to realize that we eat a lot with our group. It is kind of funny. We again ate at a traditional Spanish place and filled up. After dinner we all headed to the hotel for a good night sleep. I am excited for tomorrow because we get to go to another castle. Until then, goodnight.

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