Spain Part 2

After Morocco, we had Tuesday back in Madrid, and then our flight left Wednesday around noon.  We decided to stay at a hotel near the airport, and the regular rooms must have been booked because they put us in a hotel room bigger than I've ever seen before.  We enjoyed it!

Tuesday we went on an adventure to Toledo, about 30 minutes south of Madrid.  Unfortunately, it took us at least 30 more minutes to get into Madrid from the airport, but we figured out multiple trains and buses to get where we wanted to be.  

Toledo was worth seeing-- any small, charming towns are a welcome change from bustling big cities.  But, with the exception of the main cathedral, we weren't exactly sure what the big highlights were supposed to be.  We enjoyed just wandering around town, down small, empty roads, but the few other historic sites we visited were kind of misses-- or just not that exciting.  

But the Toledo Cathedral was amazing, possibly the most enjoyable church I've toured through.  We followed the Rick Steves guide from a book, and there were more astonishing things around every corner.  And I'm sure there was plenty we even missed. 

It dates back to the 13th century.  A few highlights:

• Part of the cathedral has become an art gallery, with many pieces by El Greco, who lived in Toledo.
• Monstrance de Arfe-- this giant piece of gold and silver, adorned with jewels, measures over ten feet tall and has been used in the parade of Corpus Christi for centuries.  It's no wonder Spain sent so many people to look for gold and treasures in the new world.  I told Hyrum that's where all of Colombia's gold went.  
• One smaller chapel contained paintings of every Pope in the Catholic church.  When they built the room, all previous popes were painted with the same face, and Popes added after were painted unique to the person.  Cool way to keep history. 
• In the choir area, there were friezes above each chair depicting important battles in Spain's history

Shockingly, Hyrum ate (and enjoyed!) sea food for lunch!  He ordered paella and didn't complain once. 

The other two sites we went in were a synagogue in the Jewish quarter, and an old Mosque that was later turned into a Christian church.  Both were small, didn't offer a ton of information on the role they played in Toledo's history, but luckily didn't cost much.  

Toledo was full of hills, so I got more than my fair share of exercise.  I was huffing and puffing all over.  Hyrum thought the views were worth it.  I wasn't really sold and would have preferred a flat city.  We left town in the late afternoon as the sun was setting. 

Wednesday we slept in and took our time getting to the airport.  Madrid's fancy airport lounge was the first we've seen with an outdoor area.  We enjoyed some snacks on the balcony watching planes take off while we waited for our flight.  

Unfortunately, our stop on the way home was in Toronto.  And they were in the middle of a storm.  We had all of our fingers crossed that our flight would make it out, and we wouldn't be stranded overnight.  The majority of flights up on the board showed as delayed, but I think that because we were going to somewhere warm (instead of somewhere also experiencing snow), and our flight wasn't for 3 more hours, it showed as on-time.  But, the airport in general was a zoo, and the lounge was anything but relaxing because it was packed with miserable travelers.  We were so, so grateful to get on the flight and actually have it take off!!  We arrived back in Dallas around 11 pm, and ubered back home to crash after a really long day.

Spain Part 1

Having a baby this summer meant that our window to take a vacation (without kids) was getting smaller.  We wanted to travel before I was uncomfortably big.  And it narrowed down where we could actually go.  (My first choice would have been a beach in Mexico where I did nothing for a week... but, Zika got in the way of something tropical.)

I narrowed it down to Spain/Morocco or Norway.  Ultimately, we chose the warmer (and slightly cheaper) option and crossed another continent off our list.

Getting there was a task.  We flew from DFW to Frankfurt, where we had to clear customs for the EU.  Unfortunately, our flight was delayed and we didn't have much time in between.  I haven't run a single step in the last 6 months, and I'm sure I looked ridiculous holding on to my luggage and waddling/running through the airport.  We practically begged the TSA-equivalent people to let us go to our gate (they flagged our luggage after the xray machines and were just hanging onto it waiting for who-knows-what.)  Eventually they let us go and we had about 60 seconds before our gate was supposed to close.  More 'running' followed, and the flight ended up being delayed about 15 minutes.  My calves were sore for the next 3-4 days.  We were so relieved to make it all the way to our destination relatively on time.

So first up: Madrid.  We've visited Barcelona, but this was our first time in the capital.  We only had an afternoon, since our flight was overnight, so we decided to see the two main museums which conveniently were near our hotel.  At Reina Sofia there was a lot of modern art--not necessarily our style--but more importantly we got to see Guernica.  I didn't know a lot of the painting's history--that it was commissioned before the bombing of Guernica even happened, and once complete toured around the United States to raise funds for the war.

The place we spent the most time was the National Museum.  It's said to be one of the best art museums in Europe and it didn't disappoint.  You could spend all day there and still miss stuff.  It's just webs of interconnecting rooms with art from famous painters everywhere.  We circled a few paintings in the brochure that we didn't want to miss, and then spent a few hours meandering.  We were deliriously tired at that point, only having slept 2-3 interrupted hours on the plane.  So eventually we went back to the hotel and fell asleep by 7:30 pm.

That didn't last.  I was wide awake at midnight, and started researching other parts of our trip and pinning restaurants in Yelp.  Hyrum joined me for a while, and eventually we fell asleep again for the rest of the night.

While I slept in, Hyrum snuck out for a run... to the old soccer stadium for Atletico Madrid.  It's in the process of being torn down because they've built a new one.

Day 2 in Madrid was spent touring the downtown and then venturing out to see one of the soccer stadiums and the temple. We started with delicious breakfast, which included juicy tomatoes and cheese on toast.  We did a walking tour from Puerta del Sol (one of the main public squares) to the Palacio.  Even though we just ate breakfast, it didn't take much convincing for us to try a giant cream-filled pastry at La Mallorquina, a famous pastry shop.

This is the main plaza in Madrid, the Plaza Mayor.  It's enclosed on all sides, and Hyrum said it reminded him of Brussels.

Nearby we visited the Mercado de San Miguel.  It's like a big food market with stalls inside selling 'tapas'-- tiny portions of just about anything.  We wished we were hungry!  (Of course we went back twice more during our trip.)

At the end of the walk we visited the Cathedral, which is next door to the palace.  It's recently constructed, I think it was finished in the early 90's.  It's Madrid's first Cathedral, which is a little sad considering how many nearby towns, like Toledo, have.  It was the least creepy Catholic church I've ever been in-- bright, wide open spaces and a decent amount of color.

Last up in downtown was the Palacio Real, where the royal family used to live (but no longer does.)  It was impressive!  Just the carpet alone in the first room was astoundingly large.  Not sure how stuff like that gets produced and moved around.  But... mostly  no pictures allowed inside.

We rushed off across town to see the new stadium for Atletico Madrid, Wanda Metropolitano. Whenever we plan trips to exotic locations, and Hyrum requests a trip to the soccer stadium(s), I kind of laugh.  But when I asked him the highlight of this entire trip, this was it.  The soccer stadiums.  He could almost care less about the amazing art museums and palaces.  So... we do both.

After the stadium tour (which FYI, are kind of hilarious because anyone who makes the effort to visit has to be an enormous soccer fan, which leads to some funny behavior/picture-taking) we went to see the Madrid temple.  It's located in a very non-touristy part of the city.  It is quite the complex, with the temple, a church building/stake center, and a third building which houses the mission offices, MTC, family history center, and temple lodging.  We tried to find somewhere to eat afterwards because I was starving, but there wasn't much to be had.  We went back to downtown and ate at a yummy restaurant across from the Chocolateria San Gines, which we visited after.  They serve Spanish hot chocolate, which is like a runny pudding, and you dip churros into it.  Delicious.  We went back there a second time, too.

Saturday we decided to divide and conquer, because I couldn't justify spending another $30 for me to see a second soccer stadium.  So Hyrum went on his cultural adventure to the Real Madrid stadium (Santiago Bernabeu) while I checked out a third art museum, the Thyssen.  It's known for its impressionist art, and it was quite the collection, including Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Degas and Monet.

 

 
We met back up for lunch, and wandering around town.  (We ended up at a sidewalk sale for books and got some book souvenirs for the kids for really cheap. I had to keep reminding Hyrum we were more limited by suitcase space than what was in our wallets.)

Saturday afternoon we went back to the airport to catch our flight to Marrakech, Morocco.  We felt like we spent a lot of time in airports, but my credit card gives me access to some nice lounges, and that makes such a difference!  We could relax and enjoy free wifi, drinks, and a full meal before leaving.