Hola, Hola, Hola! Palacio Real de la Granja

And now for the Palacio Real de la Granja....

Unbelievable...Spain's Versailles..

built in the 1700s for King Philip as his summer house...

The palace as seen from the gardens...beautiful, beautiful..and so perfectly symmetrical...for those of you in Lafayette, you'll understand what I mean when I say that it is TOO bad that the owners of the nouveau grande "European" mansions didn't visit this palace before building! particularly the "cherub house" and the multi-structured gated monstrosity on Worth Avenue!

To give you a sense of scale, Tim is 5'6"....the simplicity of the arch and the classic shutters and simple iron railing are just perfection..

vast, vast, vast, vast....

This tower structure is just beautiful..reminds me of pal Robert Smith's tower house on Lake Martin..all very simple details but very, very effective..

Iron work that is, again, perfectly simple and beautiful...

Photos were not allowed in the areas of the house with antiques and art...this floor is an example of where 17th century design is still oh so relevant..in fact, the David Hicks tile collection from Studium utilizes this exact color combination of ivory, caramel, & chocolato..

I fell in love with these interior wood shutters...I recently was shopping for a client at Au Vieux Paris Antiques (www.auvieuxparisantiques.com) in Breaux Bridge, LA, where antique paneling very, very similar to the design of these shutters is available..

this ceiling is exactly the design of the foyer ceiling in a clients house..adds depth and interest in what would otherwise be just a flat ceilinged boring space..

Adios....off to see the Royal Palace of Madrid today!!