Spain won the World Cup last year and decided our vacation fate. Yep. Michael and I couldn't decide where we wanted to go on vacation, so he suggested (back in May/June) that we go to whichever country won the World Cup. Crazy? Maybe, but it made soccer much more interesting to me for a while.
I feel that I should share a few tales of that trip with you, but I've been putting it off for far too long because I just don't seem to have the passion or skill to tell travel stories (or any stories, really). Also, I seem to use parentheses more than the normal, healthy writer. It would be great if I had some awesome photography skills to make up for my lack of story-telling skills. Then I could let the pictures tell my story. Alas, I am an untalented nitwit. Nevertheless, I will share a time line and a few pics and short blurbs highlighting our trip. Part 1 will cover our time in Madrid.
Dec. 13 - We depart from Columbus in the afternoon to New York (JFK) where we had a 4ish hour layover. Then on to Madrid without much delay and arrive the morning of...
Dec. 14 - Our luggage does not arrive :( We file a report and wait for my dad who arrives from Phoenix via Chicago about an hour later. Checked in to our very nice hotel:
Husa Paseo del Arte. Visited
El Prado museum which has a large collection of Goyas, el Grecos, Velasquez and other classic Spanish and Italian artists. Lunch at
Museo de Jamon. Some sightseeing that included
Plaza Mayor,
Puerta del Sol, and
el Corte Ingles which is like the Macy's of Spain. Dinner @
Cañas y Tapas (not so good). Checked out
Plaza Santa Ana at night.
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| in front of El Prado |
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| lunch at Museo del Jamon: various cured meats, cheese, and bread |
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| I really enjoyed all the plazas they had in Spain. I love the pedestrian atmosphere and the old world architecture that surrounds them. |
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| A woman we met on the plane told us that Madrid has some of the best Christmas lights ever. They were pretty spectacular hanging over almost every street in the city. |
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| Plaza Santa Ana |
Dec. 15 - tour of
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu where Real Madrid plays, lunch at
Terra Mundi,
Museo de Reina Sofia, taxi to
29 Fanegas for tapas dinner (SO good!), realization that my pre-travel freak-out about what to pack now seems ridiculous after wearing the same thing for three days
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| Definitely a highlight for the men was visiting the Real Madrid soccer stadium where we took a self-guided tour and got to sit in the players' seats on the sidelines. |
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| Estadio Santiago Bernabéu |
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| in front of Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía |
Dec. 16 -
San Miguel market,
Palacio Real (loved the armory), lunch at
La Sanabresa (good but salty, classic Spanish-homestyle), suitcase arrives and we change into clean clothes!, walk through
Parque Retiro, dinner at Museo de Jamon again
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| Mercado de San Miguel |
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| monkfish @ Mercado de San Miguel |
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| Who needs a palace when you have a mansion? The royal family only uses theirs for special occasions, so we got to take a tour. The king had a huge room just to get dressed in! |
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| lovely photo op in Parque Retiro |
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| in Parque Retiro |
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