The McKenneys: Madrid

We had our Christmas/New Years holiday this year in Spain. The first stop on this two week trip was Madrid. We traveled on Christmas Eve and spent our first full day in Madrid on Christmas Day. Since we knew we were going to travel during this time, we celebrated Christmas early and frequently: we followed the Swiss tradition and celebrated Santa Clause Day on Dec 6 and the birth of baby Jesus the weekend before Christmas (you will see at the end that we also celebrated the eve of Three Kings Day on Jan 5). After attending mass at the church across the street from the Puerta de Alcala y Parque del Retiro, we decided to take advantage of the deserted city and visited Palacio Real, Plaza Espana, Plaza Mayor, and the spectacular Plaza de Toros. We were somewhat disappointed with the Plaza Mayor as it hosted a market where the only things sold were silly wigs and other “gag gifts” – not fitting for such a historic plaza - however Madrid had much more to offer. The following day was all about the art. The museum triangle formed by the Museo del Prado (featured El Greco, Goya, Rembrandt), Museo National Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Picasso, Joan Miro, and Salvador Dali) and Meseo Thyssen Bornemisza (Monet, Degas, Piccaso) was a real treat, we started early in the morning and the line to buy tickets was already around the block. However, we discovered that children don't have to wait in line. As we were lucky to have two with us, we bypassed the line and were in the museum in a matter of minutes (kids - never leave home with out them!). On our last day in Madrid, we visited more sites of the city. The Spanish people really take pride in the nativity displays called "belen" by the locals. Every church we visited had its own and we saw some with real intricate designs including waterfalls, vast landscapes, buildings, etc. Madrid offered also more than the typical tapas (appetizers) in terms of food. We had some delicious lunch menus (a menu is a fixed 3 course meal) that included typical dishes such as paella, albondigas (meatballs), seafood and meats. These menus include starter, main dish, desert, coffee and a whole bottle of a local young wine (most of the Spanish reds are made from tempranillo grapes). The best part of this deal was that its all for 9 euros (about $13). In terms of the weather, we had clear skies in the mornings but a little cold (close to the 30s). It would usually warm up in the afternoon going up to the 50s.

Puerta de Alcala