Walking from Shade to Shade

Today we explored Madrid from the shade! It is hot and sweaty here (not complaining!) but there is so much to see, that if you walk from shady spot to spot, being out and about is much more tolerable. It reminded me of when my dad and I went to Fresno and it was so miserably hot we used the same strategy and then drove immediately home. But I digress...

We took the Metro to the Museo del Prado, which is located centrally to the other museums and the Jardines de Buen Retiro. Hot tip, book your museum tickets online in advance! We were able to skip the line and go right inside when the museum first opened. We saw many Spanish masterpieces including two rooms with Goyas. His paintings are dark (especially his "black paintings") and a little creepy. I think the most famous one we saw was Saturn Devouring His Son. So gory! Photos weren't allowed in the museum, but I linked the Wikipedia page if you are curious.

Shade to the Museum

Museo Del Prado

 A walk from the museum, a shady path lead us to the lake in El Retiro. We saw a painting in the Prado of the Spanish kings riding a boat in this lake. It really made me think about the history this water has seen. The park is the biggest in Madrid, and I assume the lake is the biggest in Madrid too. People were renting row boats and paddling around.

Shade to the Lake

Obligatory Lake Selfie

 After lunch we found the statue of the bear and the strawberry tree in the Plaza del Sol. The image of the bear and the tree is on the Madrid crest. I didn't know what a strawberry tree was until I looked it up. They actually have a few growing in HMB, but they are a Mediterranean tree with bright reddish, yellow spiny fruit growing from them. They look like wild strawberries.

Shade Spots to the Bear

 Ironically, right behind the bear is the Madrid Apple store and Syd has a few colleagues who work in the corporate floors above it. I didn't let him go say hi because this is a no work trip!

Apple Building

To round out our day, I got to eat churros from the famous San Gines Chocolate Shop. The churros and chocolate sauce is RICH and muy athentico. The shop is cool because it has pictures of all the famous people who have visited over the years. It is a little touristy, but after eating my 6th churro, I was full and happy (6 come in an order and they are thinner than churros at home).

Shade to Chocolate

Delicious!!!