El Escorial (2)
The brilliant sunshine of a hot summer's day does its best to soften the harsh aspect of "El Escorial", the renown palace and monastic complex built in the 16th century by King Felipe II. (Felipe was known in England as "Philip of Spain"; he was the consort of Queen Mary I and, after her death, the arch enemy of Elizabeth I.)
El Escorial stands about 20 miles north of Madrid (Spain).