Outside Madrid

The Romans had a knack for selecting places to settle that were both strategic and beautiful. It’s as if they knew that someday Segovia would be a mere half hour train ride away from Madrid. For madrileños, Segovia is a place to beat the heat. For day-tripping families, Segovia offers the Spanish town trifecta: an […]

Felipe II had a compulsion for building new things in inconsequential places. In 1561 he upped and moved the capital of Spain from Toledo to the tiny village of Madrid. Two years later he selected a remote mountain foothill to build The Monastery of St. Lawrence of El Escorial (El Escorial for short) – a