Madrid \ March 25 & 26, 2009

MADRID
The shuttle picked us up at the ridiculous hour of 3:45 am. Actually it was not as terrible as the hour sounds. It gave us time to get our coffee on at DIA and watch the early morning commuters do their thing. Both flights (Denver to Miami and Miami to Madrid) were more than comfortable. We scored on the second flight and got those great seats at the front of economy where you get all the extra leg room. The only downside to those seats are that you are stuck watching the ‘chosen ones’ in First Class get treated right.
We met up with the rest of the Family in Madrid as we were on different airlines because Cortney and I are on an Around the World ticket (which means you go funky, long-layover ways). I quick taxi ride later and we were passed out in the Calridge Hotel. More than a handful of hours later we were up and ready to check out the city. Didn’t get very far as we were all still beat. I always have a ton more trouble recovering from an Eastern travel route. Pretty much a spent day.
On our first night we drug ourselves to a tapas joint across from the hotel. We somehow managed to get ourselves a full set up of amazing tapas (everything from potatoes in a creamy garlic sauce, cheese sandwiches, fish and a few other yummies) and a round of drinks. In the end we had to carry the girls (five and six years old) back to the hotel. Talk about crashing out, wow, there was some sleepin’ going on in our rooms.


MADRID
March 27, 2009
Big tour day today. We try to walk as much as possible because you end up seeing so much more than jumping on the metro or taking a taxi. Wandered our way to the Museo de Prado and the girls saw a fantastic slide park off to the side…we actually managed to talk them into going later.
Our first stop was at the famous Museo de Prado which is in the Golden Triangle of museums (others near by include the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. This is one big museum. If you have a number of days in Madrid I would go every other day to the Prado for a few hours so you can really get a good look about. Pick up one of the free floor plans if you only have a day (as we did). Most of the must see pieces are on the main floor which help quite a bit. If you are in Spain you really should see the Velazquezs, Goyas even if it is just to say you saw it in Spain. A little bit about the Prado for all those ‘Art Dorks’ out there. The Prado means ‘meadow’ in Spanish and was built by Juan de Villanueva starting in 1918. I really must go back as we only had a couple hours (just not enough).
We are traveling with kids so the next stop that most people forget about was a park but in this case we hit up the ‘big mother park’ of Madrid Parque del Buen Retiro. Parque del Buen Retiro is basically the ‘Central Park’ of Madrid. The girls wanted to hit up a slide park to have a bit of a play about so off we went in search of such a place. As it turns out taking a bit of a Sunday stroll through Parque del Buen Retiro is a Madrid tradition much like tapas and outdoor café life.
The lake area of Parque del Buen Retiro has at its focal point the Alfonso XII’s Mausoleum with giant marble lions overlooking it. Cafes and buskers make this area of the park a fantastic spot to dine and kick back a vino before continuing your walk about. In the end we never did find the playground but a good time was had by all.
Very sad that we only had two days in Madrid, especially since those where our jetlag days. Thankfully, Madrid is a short easy, cheap trip from anywhere in the states. Another trip here is an absolute.