We stayed in the luxurious Westin Palace, Madrid which is located in the heart of Madrid. This was our "premium view" from our hotel window.
Fuente de Neptuno
Fountain of Neptune
On my first morning, I decided the best way to get familiar with the city was to take a Segway Tour! I've always wanted to ride a Segway (seen one too many Galleria Security Guards zipping around on them) and it was everything I thought it would be and better! It literally takes 30 seconds to get acclimated and then you're off! In case you're wondering, the closest thing I can think of that is simiar is skiing - but different. I highly recomment it (they have SegCity Tours in the US too) - it was worth every euro! Here are a few pictures from my 3 hour tour.
Me on my Segway. If only I had an extra $4K lying around....
Plaza Mayor
This was built in 1617 and you can't tell from my picture but it is rectangular in shape. It has been used for markets, bullfights, soccer games and even public executions!
Palacio Real de Madrid
Royal Palace of Madrid
This is only a snippit of the royal palace and I was able to watch the Changing of the Guards on the palace square.
Catedral de Ntra. Sra. de al Almudena
Almudena Cathedral
This cathedal faces the palace across the square and my tour guide said this is where the royal weddings are held today.
Puerta del Sol
Gate of the Sun
This is Madrid's equivalent to New York's Time Square. This is where people gather to celebrate the new year but on this occasion, I got to witness a political protest. From what I could gather, it is was a bunch of young people protesting over high unemployment rates. Apparently Spain has the highest rate in all of Europe. This had been going on for days and it was considered a peaceful protest. I saw signs that said "REVOLUTION O NADA!" But in reality, this whole area smelled like 2,000 (literally) homeless people and fresh port-o-potties. As a foreign tourister, it sort of ruined the Puerta del Sol experience yet I was glad to witness a historical moment.
On my second day, I decided to visit a museum called Museo del Prado. This one happen to be right next to our hotel and it did not disappoint. I spent 3 hours in this museum - something that I could NEVER convince Bryce to do with me. The museum was currently showing an exhibit on The Young Ribera which I thoroughly enjoyed viewing.
Museo del Prado
I laid out on the grassy knoll on the left of this picture for about 3 hours after touring the museum and just read my book. This was the most relaxing and enjoyable day of the entire trip and exactly what I needed. I felt recharged and rejuvinated after this peaceful day.
On our last night in Madrid, Uyen, Bryce and I went out for dinner and I finally remembered to take pictures of our food. I forgot the name of the restaurant but we had delicious tapas (again) and I will miss all the delicious red wine.
Shrimp pancakes and calamari. This was the biggest and best calamari I've ever had. I will be dreaming about these again tonight - super soft and fried to perfection.
I wasn't about to leave Spain without eating paella. I even bought safron in Madrid so I can't wait to use it at home!
Grilled beef and chips
K Team Reunion - like my wine stained teeth?? This was an awesome way to end our long trip. :)
The flight back was fairly uneventful. I was too excited to sleep on my flight back from Newark because I was sooo completely excited to see Abby at the airport!! Grandma helped her make a "Welcome Home Mommy" sign and it made me so proud and melted my heart at the same time. We were both so excited to see each other and we hugged and kissed and hugged and kissed some more and true to my prediction, we still haven't let go. I'm so glad she's a little cuddle bug because we get to fill each other's cuddle bug buckets until it overflows!
I love you Xiao Xiao!
2 comments:
cute!!!
Madrid looks beautiful! So cool that you got to go over there while Bryce was on business. How do I get into that business? :)
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