When we arrived in Madrid, Cristina's brother picked us up at the famous Estacion de Atocha train station, which houses a beautfiul botanical garden inside the train station. We dropped our luggage off at Jose's home and headed downtown for our first adventure! How special to spend time with Cristina and her family in her hometown!
Our first stop was Puerta del Sol, the center of the city, where 10 streets radiate from the center. We stopped by the "symbol of the city", a bronze bear climbing an arbutus tree.
We then headed to Plaza Mayor, Madrid's most famous square, which is so large it could house 50,000 people.
Our first Madrid meal was at La Campana for "bocadillo de calamares". The kids absolutely devoured their squid sandwiches!!! So yummy!
And then the city exploration began! After Plaza Mayor, our next stop was Mercado de San Miguel, a high end market for food and drink meant to be eaten onsite. Sandra treated us to a glass of Rioja, Spain's classiest wine, which hails from Sandra's home town. The kids enjoyed some treats of churros and chocolate and chocolate easter eggs. A fun treat!
We walked by the Catedral de La Almudena, the most famous church in Madrid.
We then headed to Palacio Real, Madrid's famous Royal Palace. Because of the long queues outside, we enjoyed the palace from the outside. It's truly impressive!
After the Palacio Real, we headed to Museo Del Prado, which houses one of the world's finest art collections. We enjoyed a run in the rain to get there. And besides losing Ron and Canyon for an hour, we were able to experience the collection as a family. It was fun to explore the most famous paintings like Las Meninas (by Diego Velazaquez) and The Third of May 1808 (by Goya). But our most exciting find was the Maja Naked and the Maja Clothed (by Goya). When Cristina came to the US, she encouraged us to try a puzzle with the Maja Clothed image. It was by far the most difficult puzzle we have ever completed and it took us 5 months to complete. So it feels like we know this painting very well as a family! We were excited to take a picture outside by the sculpture commemorating the artist and these paintings.
However, our biggest highlight of the evening was enjoying dinner with Cristina's family. They treated us to all of the Spanish specialties like Tortilla, Spanish Olives, Bread, Serrano Ham, Manchego Cheese, Octupus, and a vegetable spread. And they spoiled us with gifts while we watched the Real Madrid defeat German Dortmund team. A special night with our Spanish family!
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