Toledo/Valle de los Caidos

Welcome to Toledo, Spain.
I believe on the upper right that the building is El Escorial. Its a massive building and the history is amazing. The building was completed in 1584 and houses a monastery, royalty, museum and a school. Give yourself at least two days to check out El Esocrial, El Valle, and Toledo.
A gothic church in Toledo. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside. The attention to detail though is amazing.
This was the view from our hotel, Hotel Beatriz Toledo. I really enjoyed this hotel, its away from everything. The staff is bilingual English/Spanish.
This is Valle de los Caidos or Valley of the Fallen, a monument memorial for those who fell during the Spain Civil War. The remains of 40,000 lie here and can be found in a registry. It was built between 1935-1955 by Spanish prisoners. 
This is a shot of the dome inside of the monument. What I hope you get to see is how the gold color really shines and is quite beautiful.
Another shot of the entrance, the sculpture is moving even if you are not a religious person.

An open plaza where we ate lunch for the day. Toledo was warm and sunny in July.

Another shot of Toledo as the sun sets. Its beautiful and old buildings are worth the trip.

Happy Travels,

Carolyn

Madrid, Spain

Madrid has some very beautiful gardens and art museums. Unfortunately, most of the museums do not allow flashes so I would recommend you bring a tripod for your camera. For those of you not non-photo types, a tripod will stabilize the camera long enough to get the shot. This allows enough light to come in without the shake of your hands.
A court yard near one of the churches we went into. Some churches allow photography, some allow photography with no flash, and some do not allow pictures at all. Be sure to look for signs, most are translated into English :)
The Royal Palace or el Palacio Real in Madrid. It is used but not owned by the king of Spain. As a visitor you can see 50 of the 2800 rooms. This is the entrance and where I believe you can buy tickets to get it.
Corridor, everything is beautiful and white.
One of the courtyards inside the the grounds.
One of the amazing views, ahh the life of royalty.
There is an armory museum attached to the outside of the palace. There is interesting armor and history of Spain's military. You should check it out while you're at the palace. There is another museum across from the Palacio but I didn't go in, if anyone checks it out write a comment!

These pictures don't sum up the great shopping, art museums, food, or nightlife that Madrid has to offer. Great places to shop include Zara, Mango, Massimo Dutti, and El Corte Ingles. I figured no one wanted to see pictures of me dancing, but email me and I can give you names of night clubs or discotecas I thought were a lot of fun. My pictures are all over the place on my computer right now, I'll try to find some more to give you a better idea of Madrid. 

Happy travels,

Carolyn