We then left the welcoming embrace of the Plaza del Oriente to the forbidding glare of the Plaza de la Armeria, which is the front yard of the palace. The palace was built in the 1730's after the previous palace burned down, and is the largest in Europe, with 2800 rooms. It's facade is pretty severe, which tends to be a Spanish characteristic, since the country spent most of its history and wealth fighting Muslim and Protestant "infidels" on behalf of its strict brand of Catholicism. The arched wall with the menacing clouds forms the right border of the plaza, with views over the great plateau on which Madrid was built, and the more elaborate building sprouting from Somchai's head is the Cathedral, which forms the left border. The truck parked in front of the palace isn't ordinarily there, but it was closing for three months for renovations right after our visit, so we stumbled into some good timing there.