| After enjoying tapas in Plaza Mayor, the 17th century main square of Madrid, we spent the remainder of the day at the Prado Museum, one of the world�s great art museums. This museum contained most of the exceptional art paintings accumulated by the Spanish monarchy. Here were housed the world�s greatest collection of Spanish paintings, and in addition, many Italian and Flemish masterpieces. |
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| Thursday morning we drove an hour northwest of Madrid to visit the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, built in the 16th century by the Catholic King Philip II. Housed here were the Spanish monarchs� Royal Pantheon, plus a small palace, monastery, basilica, and library.
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| In the afternoon we headed south to Cordoba, arriving there by early evening. For 300 years, from the mid-8th to the early 11th centuries, Cordoba was the capital of the Islamic civilization in Spain. At that time it was one of the world�s largest and most cultured cities, a center for intellectual achievement. Located in Cordoba was the Mezquita, the grandest mosque ever built by the Moors in Spain. Our hotel was located right across from this architectural treasure |
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