El Escoreal

El Escorial is 30 miles northwest of Madrid. It is dominated by the Monesterio de San Lorenzo. 400 years ago, Felipe II ruled his empire from here and directed the Inquisition. To 16th century followers of Martin Luther, this place epitomized the evil of Catholicism. Today it is a time capsule of Spain's golden age, packed with history, art, Inquisition ghosts, and tourists. Go early in the day. These pictures were taken in August 1998.

Do Not Adjust Your Set: These pictures were taken in between 1997 and 1999 with a first generation digital camera. They are as big and as good as they'll ever get.

Plaza in front of the Monesterio.
Palatial gardens.
The library is the most ornate room in the palace which boasts 2,600 windows, 100 miles of passage ways, a length of 200 meters and a width of 150 meters. If you doubt me, these metrics are in every guide book I've seen. That's boasting.
Museum display illustrating the construction techniques used to build the ornate doors throughout the Monasterio.