Madrid, Spain

We got up at 5:30 am on June 18 to catch a 2 hour train to Madrid. The train was two stories, so Dad booked us on the top level in a 4 seat box. The ride to Madrid allowed us all to catch up on journaling, work, and even a little napping. Unfortunately, the train ended up being delayed almost two hours so we missed our transfer to the airport. The good news is the train line reimbursed our entire ticket cost due to the delay so that was nice. We caught a taxi to our hotel which was right across the street from the Royal Palace of Madrid and after dropping our bags we grabbed lunch at Dudua Palacio. There we had some amazing Iberico jamon and a delicious seafood paella. After lunch, we walked around the palace grounds and headed over to the Plaza Mayor where we caught a military band concert! We were even able to buy art from a local vendor. We ended the evening with dinner at the world's oldest restaurant, Botin, which opened in 1725. The restaurant is famous for roasted suckling pig. At dinner, we were entertained by a singing band of medical students raising money for their education. We were true Spaniards as we had our dinner at 10 pm! Needless to say, we headed straight home for bed after dinner. 

The following morning we headed over to the Royal Palace of Madrid for a tour. We got there right as it opened so the palace wasn't too crowded. The place is massive, over 1M square feet, and is the largest in Europe. What was so amazing was how ornate and unique each room of the palace was and although we probably didn't get to see all of it we were worn out by what we did walk through in just a few hours. After the palace tour, we visited the Temple of Debod at the Casa De Campo Park. The temple is an ancient Egyptian temple that was gifted to Spain for their help in saving the Abu Sibmel temples from being flooded in the 1960s. The temple was originally built in the 2nd century BC and you can clearly see the ancient Egyptian carvings from over two millennia ago. We enjoyed the history and the girls enjoyed the cool air inside the temple because walking the streets of Madrid was hot! After the Temple Debod, we headed over to the Museo Del Prado and explored the art collection. We saw paintings by Goya, Raphael, and Rembrandt to name just a few. We went back to the hotel after the Prado for a quick rest before dinner. After our rest, we headed over to the Corral de la Moreria for dinner and a flamenco show. This was such a fun evening! There were 3 different Spanish menus to select from and our waiter even moved us to a different table with a better view of the stage. To say the flamenco performance was amazing doesn't seem to do it justice. It truly was an emotional experience and one that we didn't expect to enjoy as much as we did. Madrid really surprised us and even though we packed a lot into the short amount of time we were there, we didn't even scratch the surface of what the city has to offer. Spain was good to the Ledezmas and we can't wait to visit again. Next stop is Vietnam!

Much Love,

Moises & Jennifer