Tuesday was a day of museums and parks for Sammie and me. The entire gang did the Prado art museum together in the morning, enjoying all the Goya's, El Greco's and Valazquez's. Highlights were Goya's "Saturn Eating his Son" and his other "dark" paintings from his later years. Creepy stuff!
After the Prado our group split up. Sammie and I headed to the Jardin Botanico while the rest of the gang meandered toward Puerto del Sol. Sammie and I had a great time just casually strolling through the gardens, drinking a big pineapple juice we had purchased at a little grocery store, then wandering to the Retiro park. The park was awesome - big and green and full of huge, shady trees. We stopped at a little outdoor cafe that was positioned next to a large pond where people rent rowboats and float around. Sammie practiced her Spanish and I fended off aggressive birds who were trying to steal our potato chips. Some of them succeeded. It was a pleasant time, and good just to get away from the city hustle and bustle and enjoy some quiet in the park.
After an afternoon siesta the gang again split. The Aragos met David's family for dinner while my mom, the kids and I went back into the center. We started with a nice drink and snack in the Plaza Mayor where we watched and listened to the buzz of activity around us. There were two shiny goats competing for donations, some human statues, and a gentleman playing the accordion. The four of then sought out a place to have dinner and watch the World Cup. We settled on an Irish Pub we had been to a couple days ago. The place was good. It wasn't packed and it had a couple of big screen tvs. It was a great place to just hang for a couple hours, kick back and watch some soccer. Brazil and Mexico played to a 0-0 tie. That's soccer for ya!
After dinner we walked to the Royal Palace. We wanted to see it lit up at night, but we also wanted to see what action was happening around there leading up to the coronation of a new King of Spain this coming Thursday. We're going to get caught up in this big even that hasn't happened in decades. There will be a parade and some other stuff that we're planning to attend.
Tonight the highlight should be watching Spain play Chile on a big screen outside the Bernabeu stadium - the stadium where Spain's Real Madrid soccer team plays. Hopefully Spain will play well and win and we can celebrate with all the Madrilenos!
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