Madrid

We decided to take Spring break a little early this year so we could vacation with Auntie Mallo during her break at school.  Picking a location that wouldn't be too much travel for her and wouldn't be too cold was a bit tricky and we finally settled on Madrid, which turned out to be perfect.  It was chilly in the mornings and evenings especially, but during the day it was absolutely gorgeous.  

We ended up traveling for the first leg with our youth group who were going on a temple trip to Copenhagen.  It was fun to be in the company of so many helpful people!  Though, luckily we didn't have to ask for much help because the kiddos were so great.  

We had a layover in Frankfurt and found this amazing little playground and the kids were able to climb and run and really wear themselves out after sitting for so long which was ideal!

 After another quick flight to Madrid we got in some taxis and found our flat.  It was beautiful.  On the top floor of an apartment building  right off of Gran Via and just two blocks from Sol and one more from Plaza Mayor.  It was so great.  If it had been just a little warmer we would have taken advantage of the beautiful patio overlooking the city, but most of the time it was just too chilly in the mornings to even eat breakfast out there.
After we settled in for a bit we walked to Parque del Buen Retiro.  We took a bit of a long route that night, due to my confusion, but we hit another little park along the way and then stopped at a restaurant for take-out lunch.

 Sometimes in the middle of a travel day I think, "I don't know if this is really worth it.  We always leave in the middle of the night because there just aren't any decent times for flights out of this place and it's so exhausting for everyone.  Is it really worth it?"  But then we arrive.  And while we're exhausted, it only takes a few hours of wandering in a beautiful new setting to feel like it was a great idea to get away.  Watching the boys play and laugh in this gorgeous park in the middle of the city and sitting on a park bench eating some delicious food, well, it doesn't get much better than that.

 After we ate we walked to the pond in the middle of the park.  We let the girlies stretch their legs, which required putting on their shoes again.  They absolutely refused to keep their shoes on while in their stroller.  So we usually ended up carrying them in the bag and putting them back on when we wanted to let them out.
They were fascinated by the pond.  The boats, the ripples in the water, the fish they could see if they looked down.  They just stood there and cooed and then they tried to climb up and dive in.

 Lucky for us, there is a churros and chocolate shop right next to the pond and the boys tried their first batch.

 Everyone loved it, obviously.  Finny did his presentation on Spanish food so he was excited every time we walked by a window and saw Jamon Serrano, or churros, or Spanish Tortilla or any of the other foods he learned.  It was darling.  I think his favorite food that he tried was Spanish Tortilla.

 On the way back to our place the boys shared their first Fanta limon.  And then they wanted one every day after that.

 The next morning we were expecting Auntie Mallo to arrive!  So we decided to have a chill morning wandering for a bit and then head back to meet her at the apartment!  We loaded up and walked to what would become our favorite and frequented breakfast pastry shop, Mallorquina which is at one end of Puerta del Sol.  We shared pastries and chocolate.  The girls had woken up earlier than the boys so Taryn had already fallen to sleep by the time we got there.  Kenna, got to try her first chocolate and would make chirping noises every time her mouth was empty to let us know she was ready for more, NOW!

 After our delicious breakfast we decided to wander and see if I could find my way to Plaza Mayor.  Turns out I remember a thing or two, which is fantastic!  We walked down a little side street and found the Museo del Jamon, and had to duck in, just because we live in Saudi Arabia!

 By that time we were about ready for Auntie Mallo to arrive and we went back to our place.  She was there waiting for us!  So we showed her around and then headed back out to show her Sol and Playa Mayor and to find some lunch at the Mercado de San Miguel.
Here we are in one of my favorite spots in Madrid, Plaza Mayor.

It's just so beautiful.  And tons of room for kiddos to run and play.

The Mercado de San Miguel was right around the corner from Plaza so we didn't have to look very hard!  We LOVE having fun new food while we're in new places so this place looked like a great place to gather some lunch!

  They had some strange looking food there.  Everyone was a little nervous about this enormous angler fish.

But we found some mini hot dogs for Tate and some tortilla that the girls gobbled up.  Finny's favorite was probably these amazing strawberries with a huge dollop of cream on top.

Mmmmmmm.

After lunch we jumped on a tour bus to get a ride around the city.  

Mallory and I saw a gorgeous military jacket in a store window as we drove away and made a mental note to try to find it again on our morning jog the next day.  We got the girls out and everyone had fun having a little rest while we listened to the audio tour and took in some sights.

We decided to jump off the bus at Retiro and show Mallo another playground we found.  And of course, have a little more chocolate as well!

It's such a great park.  A few different playgrounds, the pond, and tons of space that we didn't even have the time to explore.  It was wonderful to let the boys play the girls toddle around in such a lovely place.
The next day was Sunday and we made our way to church across town and then the missionaries there gave us directions to get to the temple.  The boys were pretty good during church but it was really hard when they couldn't understand a single word.  It was a bit of a trek to get to the temple and the kids were getting tired, but I felt like it was important to help them see how important it is to go to the temple, especially when we live no where near one.
We spent about half an hour exploring the grounds and then headed home to rest and change for a bit.

We couldn't pass up the chance to reproduce this statue.  We thought we were pretty funny.

On our way out we had to stop at a store and Mal and I laughed out loud at this grocery cart storage system that they have at the front of the store.  So many people carry grocery carts that they have to have a special spot for them in the store.  I suppose, if I lived in Madrid I'd be sporting a rolling grocery cart too!

Here's a couple of pictures of how we get around the metro in Madrid.  Lifting the stroller up countless sets of stairs, and thanking little Finny for being a good sport, always ready to jump to the rescue and make his baby sisters laugh.

After a little much-needed down time at the apartment we went to the Reina Sophia Museum.  Glenn and I had both been to a lot of art museums when we lived in Spain as students and we knew that if we were in Spain, whether we had kids with us or not, we had to hit at least a couple of art museums.  The boys were very good sports about it.

The reason we came to the Reina Sophia is to show our boys Guernica.  It's just as powerful as I remembered.  Glenn knelt down with the boys and explained the story behind the painting while Mallory and I read the handout with more detail.  Both boys got a little teary looking at the painting which I totally didn't anticipated.  I forget how powerful images can be until I'm standing in front of a piece like this.  

Thankfully, Mallo was with us and we figured out how to get our contraband photos with Guernica. 

 We hit a few more rooms but quickly realized that for the most part, modern art is not very child friendly so we went outside to the little plaza and let the boys chase some pigeons.  Then we ate at a little cafe right there in the plaza.  Everything was delicious as usual and we just sat, marveling at our lives.  So grateful to be able to share this place with our kids.
The next day we had planned a day trip to Segovia.  Glenn lived in Segovia as a high school student and was so excited to show us around.  Tate did his research project on Segovia and was looking forward to seeing the aqueduct in person.  We trekked across the city to the train station and just missed the first train so we wandered around the station for an hour while waiting for the next one.  We met a sweet little Spanish lady who was absolutely taken with our little kids.  Marveling at the fact that we have one girl and one boy who look like each other.  The boys probably spent 45 minutes staring in a closed toy store window display just reading the packages and talking about how they would play with those toys.  It was pretty funny.
Mallo coaxed Miss K down for a nap on the short train ride.  And my heart melted into a puddle.

When we arrived we stopped for a little chocolate.  Finn may have gotten more on his face than in his face.

And we took a very short taxi ride into the city center and were greeted by this:

93 feet tall and built with no cement or mortar of any kind, Tate reminded us.  It was spectacular.

Glenn led us up the hill and we stopped for an early lunch in the plaza in front of the cathedral.  The sun was starting to come out and we were starting to shed our jackets.

 Not a bad place to eat some lunch.

 Ninja poses, of course.

And the little girls got to move around a bit.  Kenna took off without even a backward glance.  and Taryn got to crawl around a bit and walk holding our hands.  She wasn't walking on her own yet and walking while holding someone's hands just didn't last very long because she really wants to do things on her own!

The cathedral was so beautiful.

Finn's favorite discovery he made was that all these big rectangles with words on them mean that people are really buried right there under his feet!  He kept asking us to read the names of the dead people and asking questions like, "Are there dead people here?  Is this a dead person?"

And then it was another wandering walk through beautiful little Spanish streets to get to the Alcazar, the Segovia castle.  Sadly, part of it was under construction so we had a lot of scaffolding to look at but it was still beautiful.

 The white stone, the blue turrets, and that view.  Set right on the edge of a cliff.  What a spectacular castle.

Tate got a lesson in different types of cannons and ammunition from Glenn and spent the rest of the trip informing us which cannons were which and how much damage they could do.  

 Yeah, I could live here.

 I didn't take more pictures in Segovia but it was a wonderful day.  We wandered down so many gorgeous little streets, I thought my heart might explode.  Glenn showed us his old neighborhood and some of his favorite spots.  We stopped for treats and let the boys chase pigeons and then we found their souvenirs.  Each boy picked a different stuffed bull which they decided were perfect souvenirs from Spain.  Finn named his Slicer, and Tate's is wrecking ball.
We got a taxi back to the train station and made our way back home.  By this time we were all getting pretty tired.  But luckily the kids slept in a little more every day and since this is the off season in Spain, nothing really opened until 10 so we had a couple of hours every morning to just relax and get going slowly.  That was so perfect.
The next day was our zoo day.  We were so excited, maybe me more than anyone else, to see the zoo.  I love going to zoos.  It's something we were lucky enough to be able to do with our kids all the time back in the States and I really miss it.  It seems normal but extraordinary at the same time.  The boys were really excited to have a day to just do kid stuff.  Since we had plenty of time we started the day at Chocolateria San Gines which was, again, just a few blocks from our place.  Such an ideal location!  On the way we stopped at the store with the beautiful jackets that Mal and I found again on our jog!  I bought the jacket and a beautiful wool coat too.  I love them so much!  And the next day Mal went back and got the same jacket.  I love that we both have them and we'll think of our trip and each other every time we wear them.  It's so fun.
Chocolateria San Gines did not disappoint.  It was delicious.  They gave us huge plates of skinny churros and we walked away with boxes of their chocolate mix too.  Mmmmm.

 Making our way to the zoo.

I think we should have got off one stop later than we did because we had to walk a long ways to get to the zoo.  But it was a long walk through the woods, which was actually not a bad idea.  Just not what we expected.  

Once we arrived we were greeted by this amazing park.  There were several playgrounds all over the zoo but this one at the entrance was amazing.  

As are my baby girls in matching trench coats!

 So many fun and unique places to play in this park.  I love exploring new playgrounds.  It makes me so happy.

  After a little break to change diapers and feed the babies some baby food we were off to explore the zoo.  This day was definitely one of my favorites in Madrid.  I love exploring zoos with my family.  We've been able to have zoo memberships in a couple of cities we've lived since having kids and there's something so magical and at the same time blissfully normal about wandering around a zoo together, marveling at the incredible animals and being together in the sunshine.

Many of the animals were really active that day.  The elephants were trumpeting and a daddy was pushing a little calf around like he was scolding him for being naughty.  The kids thought that was really funny.  

This gorilla was so funny.  He was sitting SO close to the glass and when we were right there next to the glass he would look away like he was too cool to pay any attention to us.  But as soon as we walked away, he came right up to the glass and put his hand over his eyes, looking for us.  Then we came back and he looked away again and started picking his nose, which the boys found hilarious!

 Taryn was a nervous Nellie about getting to close to the animals.  We went in the little goat petting enclosure and her whole body started trembling.  Kenna was fine with it but Taryn was terrified.  Poor little miss.  She did the same thing any time we got close to a window.  This window just had baby chicks but she was NOT excited about Glenn putting her too close!

 Possibly the most exciting find of the day was this little lady bug.  We haven't seen any lady bugs where we live so it was almost magical to watch Finn and Tate ooooh and ahhh over this normal little bug.  Passing it back and forth, watching it's tickly little legs scurry over their fingers, talking about what they could name it if only they could take it home with us.  They talked about that bug for the rest of the day.

Lemur family.

 Since it was off season for the zoo there weren't many shows that day and we tried to make it to a couple only to find out they weren't showing that day.  There was so much to see that it didn't throw us off a bit.  Our last stop was the aquarium which was really cool as well.  Such a wonderful day.  It was awesome to spend a day just taking it slow.  No rush.  No schedule.  Just strolling around enjoying each other in a really beautiful zoo.

 After the zoo Glenn and I helped get the kiddos ready for bed and Mallo put them to bed so we could go on a date!  We found a place for dinner and then made our way out to the Atletico stadium to watch a game.  Glenn of course had to get a scarf and really had a blast watching the game.  It was nice to be at an event together.  I'd forgotten how fun it is to be in a huge crowd like that.  And the changes in athletic event culture were notable.  Like most things in European culture, it seems to be less about making as much money as possible on every person who comes in the doors, and more about the event.  There were practically no food booths or merchandise booths in the entire stadium.  There were some outside, but once you got through security you were kind of on your own.  It was fun to see nearly everyone around us pull out their sandwiches wrapped in tin foil at half time instead of heading out to buy something.  They also didn't allow any alcohol in the stadium so the ground outside was covered in broken glass and cans as everyone threw out their empty bottles on the way in, but you couldn't bring any or buy any inside.  Interesting.

 This was also a first.  A LONG line for the Men's restroom, but NO line for the Women's.  Of course, I did pass a supposedly desperate man leaving the restroom on my way in to the Women's myself.

 I'm so glad I bought a coat that day because I was FREEZING.  Glenn was just fine but I was SO cold.  We ended up leaving a little early because I was so cold.  Glenn was very nice about it but I know he was a little bummed.  I'm glad we got to go out on a date.  A date in a foreign country.  So crazy!
The next day we decided to visit the Royal Palace.  It was a quick 15 minute walk from our apartment so we slept in, took our time, and then got there right when it opened.  The boys were good sports and the audio tours were a huge help, as usual.  Audio tours have been a life saver when touring castles and palaces and museums.  It's like a treasure hunt for them to find the numbers and have little gadgets to push buttons on.  They love it and it helps them be patient and maybe even soak in bits of information too.

The palace was beautiful and decadent as most palaces are.  I was, once again, mystified by the need royals have to decorate entire rooms in one single color.  The blue room, the red room, the green room.  It's funny to me.  This staircase reminds me of what Cinderella must have ran down on the way out of the ball.  I wouldn't mind being chased down these palace stairs.  So beautiful.

No photos were allowed inside.  So we just managed to sneak one of this dining room.  Straight out of a movie!  So long and so many chandeliers!

After the palace we headed to the cathedral right next door.  It was beautiful in a completely different way.  It was gothic in architecture but with really modern accents.

Like these ceiling panels with such beautiful bright patterns.  Mal and I fantasized about having dresses made from these patterns.

After the cathedral the boys were getting antsy so we found quick lunch and headed to the park for a bit.  We decided this was the day for our boat ride.  We had to split up into two boats.  Glenn took the little ladies.

Mal and I got the little gents.  We spent an hour paddling around chasing after fish or ducks.  It was a beautiful way to spend an hour and I'm so glad we didn't miss it.

On our walk home I requested a stop for dinner at a place that had been calling to me all week.  It was called Oven, Mozzerella Bar.  WHAT?!  We ate a lot of delicious food this week, but this place may have been my favorite.

So much yummy cheese.

And everything was so beautiful and delicious!

The decor was amazing as well.  Look at this light fixture above our table.  So beautiful.

The next morning we woke up and made our way to Atocha to catch a train for another day trip!  We decided to explore Toledo.  It was another short trip from Madrid, only about 30 minutes by train.  Here's our crazy crew on the train.

Our first stop was a tiny sword shop owned by the Zamorano family.  It was very small but really cool to squeeze in and be able to see all the stages of the swords being created.  The boys said it was their favorite part of the day.

The man who worked the counter brought us to the back shop and showed us the different rooms where the swords were made and we got to watch some of them in process.

The picture below is Mr. Zamorano sharpening a blade.  Apparently it's a dangerous trade and Mr. Zamorano has lost two fingers in accidents over the years.

this is the front of the shop with all their swords on display.  The wall on the other side had a display window with kitchen knives, all marked with Z. Morano.  Glenn even surprised me with some new sewing shears when we arrived at home.

After the sword making shop we wandered next door to a little tourist store and watched an artisan creating beautiful jewelry using an art form he called "Damasquinado", because it originated in Damascus.  He took a steel base fired until it was smooth and then scratched with a blade so it had tiny grooves in every direction and then wove tiny intricate designs on the surface with silver or gold thread.  He pounds it in carefully and then fires it to seal it.  It was such a cool process to watch and such tiny minuscule designs.  

Next we took a little walk through winding streets to find the cathedral.  The little ladies just fell asleep in their stroller.  Such sweet little travelers.  

It was a little tricky to get a good picture of the outside of the cathedral as it was so tightly packed in between thin streets.  And also hard to get a real idea of how large it was.  I'd been to this cathedral when I was in college but it blended in a little with so many other cathedrals and I'd forgotten just how outstanding it is inside.  

So much gorgeous light and ornate detail.  Gold leaf everywhere and more symbols and stories than I could memorize in a lifetime.

We love audio tours!  The boys are SO well-behaved while we wander through churches as they search for numbers to push on their guides and listen for tidbits of information to relate to us.  

I was really intrigued with these choir stalls.  They had scenes carved in beautiful detail in every seat back depicting cities and fortresses that were surrendered up until the conquest of granada.  So cool how they captured the stories of each battle with different captains, different strategies, and clearly identifiable cities as well.  

And this skylight was so awesome.  Angels around the edges opening up the heavens.  I believe this skylight was designed to create better lighting for the altarpiece.  So beautiful.

After the cathedral we found some lunch and then decided to hit up the Alcazar, or fortress.  It had a cool museum in it and we wandered for a bit.  We were almost the only ones there so we let the little ladies wander under close watch so they didn't touch anything precious!  Though I don't think the security guards would have minded a bit if they did.  Taryn and especially Kenna were VERY friendly with the guards and they seemed to eat up their attention.

We were all getting a little tired of museums so we decided to make one last stop as we wandered out of the city.  We hit up the church of Santo Tome where El Greco's most famous painting is housed, "The Burial of Senor Orgaz" depicting a count being buried and heaven opening and two saints descending to lay him to rest surrounded by portrays of the noblemen of Toledo at the time.  El Greco even painted himself in the crowd.  It was a fun quick stop, followed by more pastries, of course.  And strolls through streets like this.  

A beautiful, slow paced day of wandering around in Europe.  

We stopped on our way out of town for some pictures of the city.  I love this view of Toledo.  You can see the cathedral and the fortress but you really can't get a sense for how many tiny streets there are winding around this tiny city because they're all just stacked on top of each other.  We could have spent a couple of days in the city visiting many more churches and museums, but I think we accomplished an awful lot for one day and just the right amount for our little ones.

The next day was our last in Madrid so of course we had to start with breakfast at Mallorquina in Puerta del Sol.  It had become our fast favorite and we ate pastries there nearly every day.  So delicious.  This is a picture of the candy counter, not the pastries.  I think I was too busy picking out my pastries to be bothered with taking a picture of them.  I regret that now.

Sharing warm gooey Napolitanas in the plaza.  It doesn't get much better than this.

The girls having their breakfast on the metro.

Our first stop of the morning was the Prado Museum.  Again, it's difficult to do art museums with four little tinies.  But we feel like it would just be too much of a shame to be in Madrid for a week and not show them one of the most important parts of the city.  So we paired a visit to the art museum in the morning, with an afternoon at the amusement park and I think we all managed to have a glorious day!  

We couldn't resist a few photos while we waited in line.

We had done some research on the "top ten" highlights we had to see in the Prado so we got a map, and luckily the map had a "best of the museum" page too so it made it really easy to find the ones we wanted the boys to see.
This is by Goya.  It's called the Third of May and depicts executions of masses of Madrilenos after an insurrection against Napoleon's armies.  It was interesting how much I could remember about my art class here years ago.  Just highlights really, but enough to relate to the kiddos.

This one is by far my favorite.  Velazquez, Las Meninas.  The boys liked this one too.  And I LOVE that we have our photographer Auntie Mallo along for these museum excursions as she's always up for a sneaky forbidden photo.

And one more, Las Lanzas, by Velazquez.

And one silly elevator photo.

We were probably in the Prado just over an hour but it was perfect timing for us.  Then we walked back to the Metro to head to the amusement park.  We did a LOT of walking this week and the boys really were troopers for the most part.  They got tired by the end of the day and by the end of the week but they were really good sports.

I think Glenn and I had high hopes for the amusement park after our extraordinary experience at Phantasialand in Germany.  This one was fun, but it was not nearly as special as Phantasialand.  The boys couldn't have cared less.  They had a great day filled with things that were just for them.  No more culture, no more churches, just rides and kid food.  It was the perfect way to end our stay.

I think Finn's favorite was this ninja turtle car driving ride.  It absolutely thrilled him to the core that he was allowed to drive his own car!  He could have gone on that ride all day long.  

Finny loves these up and down rides.  I love watching his face.  And I also love that my little kids are getting bigger and like to ride big kid rides with me.  It's so fun.  Next we went on this wild mine train ride.  Both boys loved it but getting them on the train the first time was a little work.  It's funny how that works.

We'd looked at the website at different rides so we could get our boys excited and one that they both wanted to go on was called cave of tarantulas.  I'll be honest, when you're used to toy story mania and buzz lightyear astro blasters, cave of tarantulas is a let down.  In a big way.  It's VERY dark, you almost can't see anything at all.  There are tiny red lights that you're supposed to aim at and when you do there's this big, loud hydraulic sound as a mechanism is triggered and a massive tarantula moves somewhere.  It was unsettling but in a pretty lame way.  And yet, here we are, with our little boys who were absolutely thrilled.  Tate was less enthused but he still rode it multiple times.  Finn cried when we left after maybe 5 rounds for him.  Though to be fair, there were a lot of rides he wanted to try that he was not tall enough for and that was really disappointing to him.  Poor little man.

Mallory and I took a spin on this tower.  The ride was VERY short and the line moved pretty slowly.  It was nice of Glenn to let us leave him for a bit.  And fun to scream with my sister for a bit.

Glenn semi-forced Tate to do this swings ride with him.

It was no ordinary swings ride.

He did fine once he got on it but the build up was intense for the little guy.

The girls got a little out of the stroller time while awesome Auntie Mallo took Finny on a jungle cruise ride.

And then we decided we should all give it a spin.

Again, it wasn't jungle cruise from Disneyland, but I don't know if the kids noticed.

I love this look.  The one pigtail look.  Kenna's little elastics are always breaking and she ends up with one little piggy and one fluffy mess.

We made our way home, totally exhausted after our busy day and busy week.  Everyone slept well and we woke up early to haul our things out to the street to catch a couple of taxis to the airport.  It was sprinkling rain which made our sleepy kids none to thrilled.  But I thought it was sweet.  A little cool drizzle like Madrid was saying goodbye.  And somehow knew how much I liked rain and that I was going back to the land of no rain for a while.  It was a very nice little parting gift.
Mallory was incredible, as usual, helping us keep our kids' spirits up all week long.  Inventing games and carrying too-big boys. Carrying the stroller and ooooing and aahhhhing over new food.  She's the most wonderful travel companion.  We love her and we admire her and we have SO much fun together.  This picture at the airport was so sad.  Both boys walked away from their Auntie crying and I had the following conversation with Finny.
"Mom, soon Auntie Mallo will come live with us."
No, honey.  She has to find a job and there aren't any jobs for her in Saudi Arabia.
"But there is the job of being an Auntie!"
So true.  And she does it so stinking well.

It was a beautiful week in Madrid.  Just what we needed.  We did SO much but still managed to be pretty slow paced and relaxed because we didn't have to skip all over the place and move our things.  I hope our kids will have good memories of this week.  I certainly do.