The Palacio Real and Cathedral Almudena

Thursday we enjoyed a fun filled day of touring the Royal Palace and neighboring Cathedral.


Sarah and Thomas both enjoyed the Royal Armoury where we saw all of the beautiful suits of armor of Carlos I and Charles the V as well as various others, (even for children and horses); swords of Cortes and Fernando the Catholic; and interesting examples of early guns and war artifacts. Thomas truly enjoyed this moment in time as any boy would!

The Royal Palace from the Plaza De La Armeria

We then toured the main Palace filled with amazing fine art pieces and decor and beautiful frescoes on the ceiling... we toured the Royal Throne room and lavish Dining room that sits up to 160 guests! Imagine such a table...

We then made our way to the Cathedral Almudena.

View of the Cathedral de la Almudena from the Plaza de la Armeria

This is the first time my children have been in a European Cathedral. Sarah was struck by the the grand scale... and the fact that there were confessional booths. We had an interesting discussion about our great High Priest and his saving work on the Cross...

Of course Thomas enjoyed the echo of his voice...
Silencio!
We reminded him throughout our tour.

We returned after our busy day to this building, our home away from home.

Our window is on the right hand side, 2nd story up!

The Mercado de la Paz

Today was a very quiet day... we took it easy after our big day at the Prado. The children and I enjoyed a nice lunch with Daddy at our new favorite Italian place... then off we went to the market to pick up a few things for dinner.

There is a large supermarket in the local department store called El Corte Ingles, but today we chose the local Mercado de la Paz to do our shopping. It is so colorful and interesting. There are plenty of choices and everything is very fresh!

Wonderful Produce

"Look Pig Legs!" This is Thomas' favorite line... we see them everywhere...
Jamon is a staple item in most Spanish homes.

Roast Suckling Pig Anyone?

Sarah about had heart failure when she discovered this in the meat case... poor thing.

Museo Nacional Del Prado

Today is the day of longing fulfilled!

My daughter has been literally chomping at the bit to get to the Prado. I know, she is only a wee 9 years of age... but, she has been literally fascinated with fine art at the age of 10 months or so. I remember walking into a woman's home, when we lived in Japan, when Sarah was barely able to walk... and, she had a beautiful oil painting of fine quality ... floor to ceiling ... and my Sarah... looked and actually was breathless and admired the painting. The woman was most impressed ... but I just wondered in my heart ... is that for real??? Well, it was.

Sarah has enjoyed fine art museums all over the world. Her favorite thing to do in a Museum is to sketch her favorite pieces. She sits with her sketch book and draws them with her crayons... It just brings me joy to watch her... she is so happy!


Today we saw many works of art... masterpieces... it was amazing. Works of Goya, Velazquez, Rubens, Rembrandt, Ribera, El Greco and Bosch... just to name a few.

We saw Jesus, Crucified, in all different styles. Wow. It was very contemplative as we were reminded over and over the pain and suffering Christ endured... for us.

We also saw Mary breast feeding Jesus... and squirting milk out of the free breast to those awaiting (Holy Milk???) That, was kind of creepy to me.... fine art, yes... I obviously need to brush up on my religious art interpretation. We saw many other Bible figures depicted. Sarah's favorite painting was that of the scene of Abraham ready to sacrifice Isaac.... it was a very moving piece.

My favorite was the painting of Les Meninas (which I have shown previously) by Valazquez and also his depiction of Christ, on his Crucifixion... as well as Jacob's Dream, by Ribera.


Jacob's Dream, 1639


Christ on the Cross, circa 1630

We spent a good six hours in the Prado. It was amazing!

My husband treated us to a wonderful meal out of Tapas! (Spanish fast food) In Spain, the main meal of the day is early, around 2:00pm or so. Then, one must wait for a restaurant style meal until much later in the evening, 8:00pm or so. We opted for Tapas served between 6:00 and 8:00 pm. It is actually little plates of food that are kind of like what we might think of as appetizers. It was really very tasty!

Tomorrow we are taking a rest... for my dear son's sake :) Perhaps we will make a trip to the central park and enjoy a bit of play and running about...

Christopher Columbus!

Today we toured the Christopher Columbus square (very near our home away from home). We enjoyed the massive Spanish flag (which would not blow in the wind for my photo!) and the tall statue recognizing Christopher Columbus and his major discoveries for the country of Spain. Sarah and I discussed the importance of Columbus and the historical significance in our own lives... it was exciting to be in the country that commissioned the grand expedition that lead to the discovery of our very own homeland!

Thank you Christopher Columbus for having such strong faith in God
and in your great perseverance in seeing your vision to reality ...

Thank you Queen Isabel for having faith in Columbus...

Around the base of the statue is the story, carved into each of the four sides,
of the history of Columbus.

We then made our way down the grand Paseo de Recoletos, toward the Prado Museum.

Plaza de Cibeles, this is one of the many grand statues that grace the busy traffic circles...

We discovered that the Museums are all closed on Mondays... so we enjoyed the architecture of the historic building (built 1785-1811) and toured the attached Botanical Garden...

Autumn in Spain

Carlos the III, King of Spain 1759-1788

Tomorrow we will see the inside of the Prado!

I found the Prado's main website and is very well done. For those who are interested in learning more... go to this link: http://www.museodelprado.es/en/en/welcome/15-masterpieces/

You can then view 15 works of art and hear a narrative description of each piece... spend some time today and learn a little about the art works and about what we will (hopefully) be viewing tomorrow in person!

Tomorrow the Prado!...Wednesday, the Thyssen!

A Cross-Cultural Day

Today we took a one hour train ride out of the center of Madrid to a quiet suburban area northwest of the city. We met up with my husband's co-worker, and enjoyed a traditional two hour Spanish lunch.




We enjoyed all sorts of interesting foods, including Squid in Ink sauce (which my husband says was fabulous)... Steak, Spanish Tortillas (in Spain Tortillas are omlettes made with sliced potato throughout) homemade Croquettes and various other specialties. I felt like I had gained several pounds just after eating this one meal!


Sarah and Thomas enjoyed playing with the twin, 10 year old, boys (one whose name is Thomas), son's of the co-worker and her husband, who so graciously entertained us for the day.


They played soccer and board games with Sarah and our little Thomas enjoyed playing with the many cars the boys had stored away. They also gave us lots of advice on restaurants and museums. It was interesting for us to get a sense of what the "average" Spanish family lives like. They had a very nice home... a large back yard with a swimming pool and a beautiful view of the mountains. Very Mediterranean.


We arrived home late, with many loaned items to use while we are here for the month... one of which Thomas will enjoy much as we play at the park tomorrow!

Churros and Hot Chocolate

Today we made our way to the center of old Madrid. On our walk, we stopped to have the classic Madrileno breakfast, Churros and Hot Chocolate. We sat at an outdoor cafe on the busy Calle de Alcala. It was sunny and brisk... perfect to enjoy warm cups of pudding like chocolate and warm sugar dusted fried pastry...

On our walk we saw the famous Edificio Metropolis.

Some side street scenes in Old Madrid.

Catedral de la Almudina in the distance...

Entering Plaza Mayor through one of it's many gates

The Plaza Mayor.

A peek out of a gate of the Plaza Mayor at the
Cathdral Colegiata de San Isidro

We ate lunch in the sun drenched Plaza Mayor. The children were still not feeling up to par. Sarah did not feel much like eating...but enjoyed nibbling on bread, taking in the warm sun, and the company of her family. Thomas enjoyed McDonald's French Fries (which Daddy so kindly purchased for him ahead of time). Mommy and Daddy dined on the Menu of the Day... We enjoyed Salad, olives, Paella, Grilled Chicken, warm potato salad and finished our feast with dessert...

Thomas getting a bit tired

View from our Luncheon on the Plaza Mayor ... out another gate.

We ended the day returning home and making our favorite comfort food, Steak and French fries... the children ate heartily and appreciated a "home cooked meal". After dinner the children enjoyed a traditional "American" bubble bath ... and went to bed.

Tomorrow holds the promise of an adventure in the countryside ...

Hola, Welcome to Madrid!

A Room With a View

Today was our first full day in Spain. Thomas was feeling a little under the weather... so we took it slow. I managed to get to the Super Mercado (full service department/grocery store), where I was dizzy with all the new sights and smells as well as trying to figure out what was what... it is amazing how language is key to understanding and ease of life... it took me 15 minutes just to figure out what WAS detergent for the washing machine and which was the correct one to buy...I basically closed my eyes and hoped for the best :). I spent the day unpacking and figuring out my foreign appliances. It took me two hours to operate the washing machine... I finally found the instruction booklet in an obscure drawer in the kitchen and...there was an English section... voila! My clean laundry is currently drying on the handy rack in the bedroom :) Basically, I nested a bit... in our Ikea modern, mucho European, flat.

Later this evening we walked around the block...to get a sense of what is just around the corner... and that was about it for today... Poor Thomas was just too tired to do much...

We did find a wonderful local indoor open market on our walk... not more than fifty meters from our front door! Fresh flowers, produce, seafood, eggs, milk, cheese, jamon (Spanish cured ham) hanging from everywhere, local wine, olives, olive oil, specialty shops...Sarah and I had fun trying to communicate and purchase items. (We had a difficult time... but, we managed to smile and "perdon" and "gracias" our way through our very difficult intercourse with very friendly Spanish people.) We purchased a new little stove top coffee maker and Italian coffee for tomorrow's breakfast. As well as ear plugs from the local Farmacia. (I am hopeful for a better night sleep tonight).

This is the view from my bedroom window.... we are in the city! Lots of cars and sounds all through the day and night. The one sound that is driving me crazy is the resident saxophone player who parks himself just at the end of the block... he echos up the street and plays the same song over and over and over and over... he seems to never stop!


Hopefully, tomorrow will find Thomas feeling a bit better and we will get out to see a little more... until then, Adios!

First Stop, Frankfurt, Germany

After a long journey and many hours of flying, we made it safely to Germany... the children were wonderful on the airplane. Thomas was a perfect angel...he actually slept in my arms most of the flight. Any of you who know my exuberant son, know this was a miracle!

As we touched down... we had been up for about 24+ hours....our body clocks were off by about 11 hours. We arrived, exhausted, at our Hotel who offered us a beautiful room with a view of the city. We enjoyed a nice warm shower... and although the bed of crisp white linens and fluffy down comforters and pillows seemed to beckon to us, it was 10:00 in the morning... no time for sleeping, so we headed out for lunch and some sightseeing.



It was great fun walking the streets of Frankfurt again... we lived in Frankfurt just 10 years ago. Sarah was born there. The city was so familiar and had a feeling of " a past home" to it. Although, we have become accustomed to a bit quieter daily life (living in the suburban country side of America), the fast pace and hustle of the city was exciting... It was also very fun to watch our children struggle to comprehend the fact that everyone spoke in a different language around them... they were also amazed that their father could actually communicate in this language with ease :)


After a wonderful German style lunch at our favorite spot on the Romerberg (the children enjoyed the famous Frankfurter's and fries), we took the children to see the river Main. We then began to feel the effects of our jet lag... in a big way. So we headed back to the Hotel for a nice nap.

The following day, we visited our old neighborhood... we took a walk down memory lane... Sarah was shown the hospital where she was born and the first home she lived in... still ugly and post World War II military base looking !

Our Own Little Frankfurter!

We walked in the park that we spent nearly every day in with our old Lucky boy, over 10 years ago... here is where we first walked with baby Sarah in her little covered stroller as we began our journey as parents...


The leaves had recently fallen off of the many trees and the children had a blast playing in them!

I Spy a Little Boy...

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at our favorite local "traditional German" restaurant, The Feldbergblick.

It was a very fun time... we were able to enjoy some past memories... make new... and rest... and prepare for our next adventure!

All Packed and Ready to Go!

Well, almost. Tomorrow we leave on a grand adventure! We have been busy this week packing and preparing for our trip. Oscar, our cat, is most curious about our suitcases and I believe somehow wants to come along too...

Our next posting will be from Europe! Please keep us in your prayers that our travel will be smooth and our children well behaved... My goal is to make this journey as joyfilled as possible. This will be a challenge and exercise in putting my faith into practice.

Adios! For now...

One More Week and Counting!

Las Meninas or the Family of Philip Iv, circa 1656

We are starting to get a little excited about our trip... We leave a week from tomorrow!

Sarah and I are looking forward to visiting the famous Prado Museum in Madrid. According to the literature we have been reading, the Prado boasts some important Renaissance masterpieces such as Juan de Juanes's, The Last Supper. We will see famous works of Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Goya.

The above painting, The Maids of Honor, is an example of the work of Diego Velazquez. It's hard to imagine that we will be able to gaze at the original, finding all the hidden pictures within, in just a few short days...