Madrid

We were met this morning by our city guide Martha. Only you need to say Marta and roll that 'R'! She was great. We drove around the city a bit and stopped at Plaza de Espana with it's statue of Don Quixote. We were then were dropped at the Palacio Real de Madrid. This is the palace of the Spanish royal family but they do not live here. With over 2000 rooms it is too large and used only for government functions. Versailles was the model for it's design so I was glad the kids got to see this.

After the palace visit we hopped back on the bus and Martha showed us lots of other great spots in
the city. Someone must have told her how much these kids like to shop because much of what she indicated was where the best stores and shopping areas are. She also showed us the location of the Prado museum and took us to the bull fighting arena.

After the tour EF treated us to a local specialty - chocolate churros. We went to and establishment that has been serving this dish for 125 years. It was quite a site to have the pots of chocolate and then huge plates of churros delivered to our tables.

The kids then had free time. Most shopped but a couple went with me to the Prado museum. It is packed full of Rubens, Rembrandts, Goyas, Titians, a second Mona Lisa and many other famous pieces of art. It was a good afternoon.

Dinner was paella. A local dish that consists of rice, chicken, shrimp and mussels. The shrimp are in full form so it was a bit startling to some. Many of the kids were to timid to try but others dug right in. Then back to the hotel, there was an important football (soccer) game to watch!