Basque Country Day Two

Another update from our travelers in Madrid and their leader, Jami Whitmer:

Greetings from Madrid!

We started the day by taking the metro to the Prado museum. Our friendly guide, Gemma, took us on a wonderful tour of the major pieces, explaining meaning and composition of various works. Highlights were the dark paintings of Goya and the very famous “Las Meninas” by Velasquez. After the museum tour, we did a bit of window shopping, and the boys bought a soccer ball in the ‘soccer mania’ store. We then stopped at a lovely restaurant for a leisurely lunch complete with various desserts.

To burn the desserts off, we walked to the impressive Parque de Retiro, a park established in the 18th century by royalty. We looked for a place to play soccer, but instead walked around the grounds, enjoying the beautiful architecture.

After a short siesta, we ate dinner at a casual place called doner kebap (Turkish sandwiches) and have almost called it a night.

We didn’t make it to the second museum today, so we hope to go there tomorrow evening. On the agenda for tomorrow is a walking tour and finding a place to play a little soccer. The weather has been cooler and cloudier than expected, so thankfully all brought layers. The kids have amazing energy and have had a great day, I imagine the same will go for tomorrow!