Two day meetings can sometimes be tough, except when you get to go to Spain for them. Also with my mom here, Hugh was able to join me. I can still feel the thrill of walking around without the stroller/diaper bag!
I was able to do some sight seeing with colleagues before Hugh arrived. We went to Museum del Prado. I saw works by Goya, El Greco, and many more. I know very little about art, but I could not help but be in awe of the collection at this museum. We also strolled through the Parque Retiro, which would be comparable to Central Park. Very serene.
After the meetings ended, Hugh and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Plaza Mayor. It is a huge rectangular plaza surrounded by 3 story residential buildings with over 200 balconies facing the square. Musicians and flamenco dancers entertained us while we enjoyed our paella and sangria. We were lucky enough to go out with a J&J colleague of mine who just moved to Madrid. They took us to the "Mercado de San Miguel". It is an iron and glass market that has 30 something vendors selling wine, tapas, pastries, etc. You just walk from booth to booth getting food or drinks. We like it so much that we went again the next day!
The following day was all about sight seeing. We boarded the double decker bus and enjoyed the ride. Madrid is beautiful, the building and monuments are really stunning. We visited the Royal Palace. The palace is only used for state functions now. It is enormous and every room is decorated in a different elaborate style. We saw 20 of the over 2000 rooms!
One traveller tip: if you go for tapas, make sure you do not just let the waiter bring you out a sampling of their choosing. We wound up with a VERY expensive lunch that included sardines - yuck. Totally taken for tourists!
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