The Valley of the Fallen and then Madrid

Short drive to Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen) this morning with a minor delay as there was a crash on a traffic island. We could see the huge cross on the mountainside from miles away but then it seemed we were at the entrance in no time. This was because the entrance was several kilometres away from the monument. There was a bit of manoeuvring to get in – we could only get the motorhome in through the out entrance. 🙄 This massive structure was meant to be in memory of ‘all’ those who died in the Civil war. In truth, Franco’s tomb is here and the whole thing was constructed by prisoners from the opposing side. The place was vast inside – with mass taking place in the church bit at the end. Feel like we’re following in Dan Brown’s footsteps the last couple of days.
We left just before lunch and made our way to Madrid.
This vast, sprawling city was surprisingly easy to get in to. We parked in a park and had just a five minute walk to reach the Royal Palace. Wandered around, suddenly starving, we caved in and had Spanish omelette, patatas bravas and sangria for lunch – bang goes the diet! Back to the van for coffee and then drove to Toledo – which looks stunning. About to have a walk in as we are parked just below the old town.